RL21 A Backroom Deal That Strips Away Local Governance From Communities

Early voting has now begun in South Dakota, and folks will have some big decisions to make that depending on the outcome could fundamentally alter the future of this state for our children and grandchildren.

One of those decisions voters will need to consider is Referred Law 21. Dubbed a “landowner bill of rights,” with promises of protections for farmers and more money for the counties, I urge you to dig deeper into RL21 and don’t buy the lie that exists within the deceptive and misleading title and description.

There are so many things terribly wrong with RL21, and I write this column to unpack the most concerning issues that so many South Dakotans see with this bad piece of legislation.

To start, RL21 tramples on the South Dakota Constitution. It violates the constitutional mandate prohibiting the Legislature from enacting private or special laws that regulate county and township affairs. The bill’s preemption of local land use, zoning, and building regulations undermines South Dakota’s 135-year-old tradition of established local control.

Furthermore, the South Dakota Constitution mandates, “No law shall cover more than one subject, which must be clearly stated in its title.” The title of RL21 encompasses three distinct and separate subjects, while the bill’s content incorporates several additional topics not reflected in its title.

Beyond the Constitutional crisis RL21 creates, it also undermines and erodes local control. The bill changes current law by mandating that transmission facility regulations be subject to Public Utilities Commission (PUC) orders, stripping local communities of their decision-making powers.

RL21 limits the ability of local government to impose fees, including those crucial for emergency response, effectively shifting the financial burden of potential pipeline incidents onto taxpayers.

It also provides inadequate protection for citizens. RL21, as passed, contains insufficient safeguards for citizens and property owners who would live in close proximity to the proposed pipeline. It totally fails to address the severe risk of possible catastrophic pipeline failures, which could endanger the lives and property of thousands of citizens.

RL21, as crafted, has extremely vague terminology. Ambiguous language within the bill restricts the PUC’s discretionary powers, compromises the commission’s ability to make informed decisions for the citizens’ welfare, and invites potential litigation.

RL 21 takes the ultimate authority away from the county commissioners who were elected to serve and represent their communities, and instead consolidates that decision power to just a few in Pierre.

RL21 allows the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to supersede, preempt and ignore all of your local rules, regulations, and ordinances relating to transmission facilities, including CO2 pipelines, even if you enacted such protections for the purpose of promoting your health, safety, or for the general welfare of the community.

RL 21 finds South Dakota must ensure transmission facilities, like CO2 pipelines, are permitted and constructed.

RL 21 limits any county, municipality, township, or governmental unit from enacting or increasing any tax, fee, or charge to offset that community’s cost and expense related to a gas or liquid or electric transmission line whether currently existing or that may exist in the future.

RL 21 does not require the owner of a carbon dioxide pipeline indemnify surface owners or tenants. And RL 21 unnecessarily restates legal requirements for carbon dioxide pipelines that are already law pursuant to the passage of HB 1185 and 1186.

Also notable is the important provision that was removed from the language of RL21. A section was deleted that stated “Without such a finding by the commission, no route shall be designated which violates local land use, zoning or building rules, or regulations, or ordinances.”

It is critical that this remains the law in South Dakota because it is central to local control. Right now, if the PUC doesn’t rule that a local ordinance or regulation is unreasonable, then the local regulation or ordinance stands. That law has worked successfully for 135 years in South Dakota, and there is no reason why it should be changed just so a private pipeline company with foreign investors wants to change the rules.

In summary, I ask South Dakota citizens to VOTE NO ON RL21 and please urge your friends and neighbors to do the same. Your “no” vote will stop a shady backroom deal that benefits one private, out-of-state company and its shareholders while also ensuring that we maintain our private property rights and our local governance.

In South Dakota, “Under God The People Rule,” and a VOTE NO ON RL21 will make sure that statement remains true.