SD Attorney General confirms his role in crafting Initiated Measure 11

Denise Ross over at Hog House posts this afternoon on the role of South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long in the crafting of Initiated Measure 11. VoteYesForLife has said all along things like; "Measure 11 was written by a panel of 11 legal experts, under the direction of State Attorney General Larry Long…"

Responding to a letter Ross wrote Long seeking clarification on that statement, Long writes;

Leadership (state lawmakers) asked me to continue the effort to draft a bill which would generally prohibit abortions, but have meaningful exceptions for rape, incest, and the life and health of the mother. They suggested that a drafting team with representation from the various groups generally supporting the concept would be the best approach. I agreed to organize the drafting team….I would not characterize my role as “leader” of that group. It was a team effort….

Procedurally, my job is to write a neutral ballot explanation and to comment on the “legal consequences” of the enactment of the law including “the likely exposure of the state to liability”. Because of my personal involvement in the drafting, I tasked a group of my staff which had no role in drafting IM 11 to write the ballot explanation. The explanation is their product entirely.

AND … I think that the quotes you sent me are largely correct, but that they may somewhat over-state my role. 

In the past, some have questioned the Attorney General's key role here with IM11. My response has been… he's the guy who has to defend this in court - one would hope it'd get drafted with his input.