Senate to vote on hemp, but funding still in doubt
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 10 months AGO
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Senate will vote on a proposal to legalize industrial hemp on Monday, but legislators and Gov. Kristi Noem still have not agreed on how much the program will cost.
With just days left in the legislative session, their difference over what the state should spend to test and enforce the state's hemp program presents a final hang-up to resolving a year-long dispute. The Republican governor has argued the hemp program will change the way the state enforces its marijuana laws and wants $3.5 million in the state budget for testing equipment, drug storage and beefed-up law enforcement. Lawmakers argue the governor's estimates are excessive and have put forward an estimate of around $1 million.
Noem has been an ardent opponent of hemp and vetoed a bill to legalize it last year. But facing opposition from a bipartisan group of lawmakers, she made a concession and told them she wouldn't veto it this year if it met her requirements, including funding for the program.
When asked last week by The Associated Press if she would veto the bill if it did not meet her funding requirements, Noem said she expects legislators to fully fund the program.