South Dakota § 3-12C-205.1 - Trustees--Filling a vacancy--Represented group defined.

§ 3-12C-205.1. Trustees--Filling a vacancy--Represented group defined.

The executive director must be notified of a vacancy on the board by the vacating trustee, by the trustee's participating unit's governing body, by the trustee's employer, or by any other trustee. Upon the executive director's receipt of notice, the procedure to fill the vacancy is as follows:

(1)    The executive director shall notify all trustees of the vacancy;

(2)    If circumstances permit, the executive director must ask the vacating trustee to recommend a replacement to serve in the trustee's stead;

(3)    If the vacancy is for a trustee to serve on behalf of:

(a)    An employer-represented group, the executive director must provide notice of the vacancy to the governing body of each participating unit affected by the vacancy and request the governing body's input in seeking a qualified candidate. The executive director shall solicit resumes of qualified individuals from governing bodies and interested individuals. The resumes must be submitted to the executive director. If a statewide association exists that is made up of members of the employer-represented group, the executive director must notify the association of the vacancy and request the association's input in seeking a qualified candidate; or

(b)    An employee-represented group, the executive director must provide notice of the vacancy to all authorized agents for the group affected by the vacancy and request that all employees affected by the vacancy be notified of the vacancy. Any interested member of the represented group may submit a resume to the executive director. If a statewide association exists that is made up of members of the employee-represented group, the executive director must notify the association of the vacancy and request the association's input in seeking a qualified candidate;

(4)    The executive director shall provide to each trustee a copy of each resume received; and

(5)    At the next board meeting following a sufficient period of time to receive resumes, the board shall, by secret ballot, select a trustee from among the individuals who submitted resumes.

For purposes of this section, "represented group" means a group entitled to elect one or more trustees, pursuant to §§ 3-12C-203 and 3-12C-204. The group to which a trustee belongs is determined from the records of the system.

Source: SL 2025, ch 27, § 14.