In a South Dakota county that has combined the offices of County Auditor and Register of Deeds into one office under one elected official, when does that official's term begin, the first Monday in January (the Register of Deeds date) or the first Monday in March (the Auditor date)?
Plain-English summary
Buffalo County, a small SD county on the Missouri River that includes the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, had years earlier combined the offices of County Auditor and Register of Deeds under the authority granted by SDCL 7-7-1.2. The combined office is held by one elected official who performs the duties of both former positions.
A timing question arose. Most elected county officials begin their terms the first Monday in January after the election. But under SDCL 7-7-1, the County Auditor's term has always begun on the first Monday in March. So when a single person was elected to the combined Auditor/Register of Deeds office, could that person assume the Register of Deeds position in January (the normal county-officer date) and the Auditor position in March (the Auditor-specific date), effectively splitting the start of the combined office across two months?
The 2019 AG said no. The combined office is one office, not two. SDCL 7-7-1.3 expressly says the term for a combined county position commences on the first Monday in January. That overrides the Auditor-specific March date because the official is being elected to the combined office, not separately to the Auditor and Register of Deeds offices.
The AG also offered a structural argument. Allowing the newly elected official to assume Register of Deeds in January and Auditor in March would effectively split the combined office back into two separate offices for the two-month gap. That would be contrary to the county ordinance that combined them, which presumably contemplates one office one term. Absent a repeal of the combining ordinance, there is no authority to operate the office in split mode.
So the answer was: one office, one start date, the first Monday in January. The official elected to the combined Buffalo County Auditor/Register of Deeds office takes the full combined position in January at the same time.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. SDCL chapter 7-7 has been a stable feature of SD county government, but specific subsections including 7-7-1.3 should be checked directly before relying on the rule stated here.
What the opinion meant at the time
For Buffalo County in 2019, the opinion resolved the practical question for the next combined-office election cycle. The official elected at the November general election would take the combined office on the first Monday in January following the election. No two-month staggered assumption.
For other SD counties that had combined offices under SDCL 7-7-1.2, the opinion provided the same answer. Office combinations are not artificial bundles of two terms; they create one office with one term, governed by the combined-office statute rather than the individual-office statutes.
For county election administrators, the opinion clarified that combined-office officials should be sworn in and seated on the first Monday in January, not on the date that would otherwise apply to one of the constituent former offices.
For elected officials transitioning into combined offices, the opinion meant the transition happens all at once in January. Outgoing officials of the previously separate offices conclude their service per their applicable end-of-term rules; the new combined-office official begins the combined service on the January date.
For county state's attorneys advising on combined-office logistics (handoff of records, security access, signature authority, etc.), the opinion meant the planning calendar runs on the January date, with all combined-office duties transferring at once.
Common questions
Q: Why did Buffalo County combine the Auditor and Register of Deeds offices?
A: SDCL 7-7-1.2 lets county commissions, by ordinance, combine two or more county offices into one for efficiency. Small counties with limited tax base often combine offices to reduce the number of elected positions and the associated staffing and benefits costs. Buffalo County's combination was done years earlier under that authority.
Q: When does a regular County Auditor's term begin?
A: First Monday in March, under SDCL 7-7-1. The Auditor is unusual among county elected officials in having a March start date instead of January.
Q: When do other county elected officials' terms begin?
A: First Monday in January, generally, under SDCL 7-7-1.
Q: When does a combined-office official's term begin?
A: First Monday in January, under SDCL 7-7-1.3, regardless of when the constituent former offices would have begun.
Q: Can a combined-office official split the assumption across two start dates?
A: No. The 2019 AG rejected that approach. The combined office is one office; the term begins on one date.
Q: What if the combined office includes only the Auditor's old duties?
A: A combined office, by definition, includes more than one set of duties. If a county combined the Auditor with some other office, the same rule applies: SDCL 7-7-1.3's January start date controls.
Q: Can a county uncombine offices?
A: Yes, by repealing the combining ordinance. Until that happens, the county is bound by the ordinance and the combined-office framework.
Q: What was the practical concern that prompted the question?
A: Likely transition logistics. The State's Attorney appears to have asked because someone (perhaps a newly elected combined-office official, or an outgoing one) wanted clarity on when the combined-office assumption happens. The AG's answer eliminated the split-assumption option.
Background and statutory framework
SD county government has a list of standalone elected offices: sheriff, state's attorney, treasurer, auditor, register of deeds, coroner, and a handful of others depending on county size. Each office has its own statutory term-commencement date and its own statutory duties. The Auditor's March start date in SDCL 7-7-1 reflects a historical schedule that has not been harmonized with the broader January-start rule for other officials.
SDCL 7-7-1.2 was added to give counties a tool for consolidation. Counties with small populations and modest tax bases often have trouble recruiting candidates for every elected office, and the constituent duties can sometimes be handled by one person with appropriate staff support. The statute lets a county commission, by ordinance, combine two or more county offices and direct that "one person shall be elected to, and perform the duties of, the combined offices." SDCL 7-7-1.3 then specifies that "an officer" is elected to fill "the combined office."
The terminology shift is the legal hinge. Before combination, the county has two officers (an Auditor and a Register of Deeds), two offices, and two terms (one starting in March, one starting in January). After combination, the county has one officer, one combined office, and one term. SDCL 7-7-1.3's explicit statement that the combined-office term begins "on the first Monday in January" makes the timing rule clear.
The 2019 AG's structural argument adds a coherence reason on top of the textual reason. If the combined office could be assumed in stages (Register of Deeds in January, Auditor in March), then during the two-month gap the county would effectively have a one-person Auditor (the outgoing Auditor still in office until March under the old rule) plus a one-person Register of Deeds (the new combined-office official). That would defeat the consolidation purpose and contradict the county ordinance that combined the offices.
The opinion reaches its conclusion through standard statutory construction. SDCL 7-7-1 (general March date for Auditor) and SDCL 7-7-1.3 (combined-office January date) coexist. SDCL 7-7-1.3 is more specific to the combined-office context, and the AG reads it as controlling the combined-office case. The general Auditor March date continues to apply only when the Auditor is a separate elected office, not combined with another.
The opinion is short because the question has a clean textual answer. The AG does not need to do extensive policy analysis or weigh competing interests; the statute resolves the question. The structural concern about splitting the combined office is added as a coherence point but is not strictly necessary to the holding.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- SDCL 7-7-1 (general term commencement)
- SDCL 7-7-1.2 (county may combine offices)
- SDCL 7-7-1.3 (combined office term commences first Monday in January)
Cases:
- In re Wintersteen Revocable Trust Agreement, 2018 S.D. 12, 907 N.W.2d 785
- In re Estate of Ricard, 2014 S.D. 54, 851 N.W.2d 753
- In re Taliaferro, 2014 S.D. 82, 856 N.W.2d 805
Source
Original opinion text
Official Opinion No. 19-01
Re: Commencement of Term of Office for a Combined County Office
Dear Mr. Larson,
In your capacity as State's Attorney for Buffalo County you have requested an official opinion from the Attorney General's Office on the following question:
QUESTION:
When the offices of Auditor and Register of Deeds have been combined, may the person newly elected to the combined office assume the Register of Deeds position in January and the Auditor's position in March?
ANSWER:
By operation of SDCL 7-7-1.3, the term of office for the combined office of Buffalo County Auditor and Register of Deeds commences on the first Monday in January.
FACTS:
Several years ago, Buffalo County combined the offices of Auditor and Register of Deeds under the authority granted to them by state statute. Generally, the term of office for county elected positions, including the Register of Deeds, begins on the first Monday in January. Different from most other offices, however, the term of office for the county Auditor begins on the first Monday in March. The question has arisen whether an individual elected to the combined county office may assume the office of Register of Deeds in January, and then assume the office of Auditor in March?
IN RE QUESTION:
According to SDCL 7-7-1.2. "[t]he board of county commissioners may, by ordinance, combine two or more county offices and that one person shall be elected to, and perform the duties of, the combined offices." Further, SDCL 7‑7-1.3 requires that "an officer" be elected to fill the "combined office" created by the county's action under SDCL 7-7-1.2.
When interpreting statutes, the state Supreme Court has explained:
[W]e begin with the plain language and structure of the statute. When the language in a statute is clear, certain and unambiguous, there is no reason for construction, and the Court's only function is to declare the meaning of the statute as clearly expressed. When we must, however, resort to statutory construction, the intent of the legislature is derived from the plain, ordinary and popular meaning of the statutory language.
In re Wintersteen Revocable Trust Agreement, 2018 S.D. 12, ¶ 12, 907 N.W.2d 785, 789 (citations omitted). The purpose of statutory construction is to discover a statute's true intent primarily through an analysis of its language. In re Estate of Ricard, 2014 S.D. 54, ¶ 8, 851 N.W.2d 753, 755-56. The intent of a statute "'must be determined from the statute as a whole, as well as enactments relating to the same subject.'" In re Taliaferro, 2014 S.D. 82, ¶ 6, 856 N.W.2d 805, 806-07 (citations omitted).
SDCL 7-7-1.2 indicates that one person will "be elected to, and perform the duties, of the combined offices." SDCL 7-7-1.3 directs that an "officer" be elected to fill the "combined office." In reading the two statutes together, I conclude that when a county combines offices under SDCL 7-7-1.2 the county creates one combined office to be filled by one elected official.
Generally, elected county officials commence their term of office on the first Monday in January following their election. SDCL 7-7-1. Elected county Auditors assume their position on the first Monday in March. Id. The plain language of SDCL 7-7-1.3 clearly establishes that in a combined county office the official elected to that position serves a four-year term "commencing on the first Monday in January" following their election. It is my opinion that the term of office for the combined position of Buffalo County Auditor and Register of Deeds commences on the first Monday in January.
It should also be noted that to allow an individual to assume the positions of Auditor and Register of Deeds in the manner you describe would be contrary to county ordinance. You have indicated that Buffalo County combined the positions of Auditor and Register of Deeds through an ordinance duly enacted under the authority granted by SDCL 7-7-1.2. To allow the newly-elected official to assume the offices of Register of Deeds in January, and then Auditor in March, would essentially split the combined position into two separate offices for a period of months. This would be contrary to the County's ordinance. Absent a repeal of the ordinance combining the offices, I find no statutory authority that authorizes the assumption of the offices in the manner described.
CONCLUSION
By combining the offices of Auditor and Register of Deeds, Buffalo County created one combined office to be filled by one elected official. SDCL 7-7-1.3 clearly indicates that the term of office for the combined position "commenc[es] on the first Monday in January." It is my opinion that the four-year term of office for the combined position of Buffalo County Auditor and Register of Deeds commences on the first Monday in January. Allowing an elected individual to assume the Register of Deeds position in January and then the Auditor's position in March would split the combined position contrary to the County's ordinance combining the offices.
Sincerely,
Jason R. Ravnsborg
ATTORNEY GENERAL
JRR/SRB/lde