South Dakota legislative committee will vote on deer hunting bill Thursday
February 3, 2021
PIERRE, S.D.–A bill that would allow non-resident landowners to harvest deer in South Dakota was held over in committee Tuesday morning in Pierre.
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee took more than 90 minutes of testimony and discussion, but will not call a vote on House Bill 1047 until Thursday.
The bill would allow Game, Fish and Parks to issue deer licenses to out of state hunters who own lands in South Dakota.
An amendment to cap the number at no more than 500 licenses in both east and west river failed early on in the process.
Supporters say the bill allows South Dakota land owners to hunt their own property. Opponents worry it’s a first step towards allowing out of state landowners the ability to sell their tags to guides and outfitters.
GF&P Interim Secretary Kevin Roblin told the committee the bill helps encourage out of state landowners and their family, many of who are former South Dakotans, to return to the state to hunt. He sees it as an economic development opportunity and encourages good land management.
A brief power outage at the State Capitol delayed the hearing when online staff could not connect. The committee voted to hold the bill over for a vote until Thursday morning.
