SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - There's a bill in Pierre that would give the governor more authority to deal with protesters, similar to those that have been holed up in North Dakota over the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Senate Bill 176 would also increase penalties for trespassing under protest conditions.
Senator Blake Curd of Sioux Falls says the measure is an attempt to lay the framework to address potential problems that are occurring in North Dakota where he says that state has spent $35 million dealing with the situation.
Curd says the bill is introduced on behalf of Governor Daugaard who supports people's rights for political speech but would draw the line at disrupting commerce or infringing on the rights of private property owners.
Curd says a concern is that the authority is open ended and there's no closing date and it will probably not make it through the Senate in that form.
He says he's not interested in granting the executive branch continued authority to take action, outlined in the bill, in perpetuity.
Curd says governors and legislators change and what seemed like a good idea in 2017, in what is a preparatory for problems, may not be the solutions that are needed in 2018 or even '19. He thinks "that's a provision that's going to need to be placed."