Senate Committee advances county zoning and appeals bill

The Senate State Affairs Committee has passed Senate Bill 157, county zoning and appeals on a 6 to 3 vote.

The vote followed more than an hour of public testimony followed by another 45 minutes of committee discussion.

Governor Kristi Noem made a rare committee appearance to testify in support of her bill. Supporters say the bill helps open South Dakota for business development.

Opponents argued that the bill takes away local control and fast tracks large scale development projects, particularly CAFO’s – concentrated animal feeding operations.

SB 157 will no go to the full Senate for debate.