Daugaard seeks tougher penalties for protesters
PIERRE — Violent or disruptive protesters in South Dakota would face tougher penalties under a bill drafted in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Thursday he asked lawmakers to extensively amend a bill in the Senate State Affairs Committee to include language allowing the governor to set up a public safety zone in certain emergency situations and create tougher penalties for those who enter into the area, especially after being advised not to.
The Republican governor told reporters the legislation was crafted after he spoke with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Gov. Jack Dalrymple about months-long protests at the construction site of the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannonball, N.D.
Daugaard said he took their advice and retooled the provisions outlining his powers in an emergency situation to prepare for a potential protest surrounding construction of a Keystone XL Pipeline in South Dakota.
"I just didn’t foresee that potential for South Dakota and then President Trump’s order which encourages the renewed interest of the TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline made me realize, oh if that construction began in South Dakota this very well could occur right here," he said.
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President Donald Trump last month reignited conversations about the Keystone XL pipeline when he signed an executive order rolling back former President Barack Obama's block on the 1,179-mile Keystone XL pipeline that would run from Canada to Nebraska. Trump invited TransCanada to resubmit its application to the State Department for a presidential permit to construct and operate the pipeline. The company on Thursday applied for approval to place the pipeline in Nebraska.
Republican leaders said they would likely support the bill as long as it could be amended to provide a sunset date for the governor's enhanced authority, while Democrats said they were very troubled by the timing of the bill, which was introduced to them three weeks before the close of legislative session. They said they also worried about its possible discriminatory effects.
Sen. Troy Heinert, D-Mission, said he was worried the bill could specifically target Native Americans who want to protest at sites they view as sacred. He said he was working with Daugaard to address potential problems in the legislation.
"What happened in Standing Rock is obviously very fresh in my community's mind," the enrolled Rosebud Sioux tribal member said. "Hopefully the state of South Dakota does things so that we don't repeat what happened in North Dakota."
Daugaard said his intent was not to target any race or group, but to weed out serial offenders or those who join the protest with the intention of being violent. He said setting up a Class 1 misdemeanor for those who trespass into defined public safety zones after being warned not to would help deter the act. Judges would be able to sentence offenders to a minimum 10-day jail sentence. Those convicted of criminal trespass within two years of the offense would be subject to Class 6 felony charges.
"This is directed at aggressive activists who threaten other people regardless of race,” Daugaard said. "We’re trying to interrupt that revolving door of aggressive people being able to continue their aggression."
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Sen. Blake Curd, R-Sioux Falls, said Republicans would likely support the bill if a sunset provision or legislative check was added. Daugaard said he would support the change.
"I'm not interested in granting the executive branch continued authority to take action as laid out in 176 in perpetuity, I think it needs to be continuously re-evaluated," Curd said.
The Senate State Affairs Committee is set to vote on the bill Wednesday.
Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call (605) 370-2493 or email dferguson@argusleader.com