PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Gov. Larry Rhoden has signed into law three more acts passed by the Legislature, including new restrictions on who can legally be in bathrooms and a new route for people to ask that public libraries remove obscene materials.
The governor’s office announced on Friday morning the signings of House Bill 1259 and House Bill 1239, as well as House Bill 1174 that revises certain provisions related to the rights and obligations of a father of a child born to an unmarried mother.
Another 66 House and Senate bills remain on the Republican governor’s desk awaiting action. So far, he has approved 154 and vetoed one, which the House of Representatives refused to override. The Legislature is scheduled to return to the Capitol on Monday, March 31, to consider any other vetoes.
The South Dakota Library Association opposed the original version of HB 1239 regarding obscene materials.
Sponsored by Republican Rep. Bethany Soye, the legislation sought to remove an existing exemption that protected from prosecution “a bona fide school, college, university, museum, or public library, or was acting in the capacity of an employee of such an organization or a retail outlet affiliated with and serving the educational purposes of such an organization.”
The House of Representatives voted 38-32 for Soye’s version. Dozens of librarians and supporters clad in green shirts however rallied at the Capitol when the Senate took it up on March 10.
That day, Republican Sen. David Wheeler significantly amended existing law, leaving in place the protection for librarians, while providing a new path for people to express opposition to materials.
The new law, starting July 1, allows an individual to appeal to the local school board or public library board to determine whether any matter or material is obscene. Any determination made by the board as to whether any matter or material is obscene can then be appealed to court.
Senators voted 18-16 for Wheeler’s amendment and then passed the amended version 32-2. The House agreed to accept the Wheeler version 36-34, with Soye notably changing sides from yes to no.
The governor’s announcement on Friday included a statement from Rhoden.
“South Dakota is a place where commonsense values remain common, and these bills reinforce that fact,” the statement said. “These bills promote strong families, safety in education, and freedom from the ‘woke’ agenda like what has happened in too many other places.”
