Jul 10, 2024 | SB 201
UPDATE on SB 201:
Jim Eschenbaum, Chair of SDPRLCA (South Dakota Property Rights & Local Control Alliance) and local control advocate, “I was just contacted by the SOS office, we are on the ballot!!!
Jim continues, “The validation rate of your petitions was 92%, which they said was an unheard of percentage. Way to go team!!
The SOS said we submitted an estimated 31,432 signatures.
I am so incredibly humbled to be part of this effort!!
Now we need to win in November!!!
Thank You ALL for your hard work!”
Jim Eschenbaum
Jul 10, 2024 | County Meetings
THANK YOU Yankton County residents for the GREAT turnout at the Planning and Zoning Meeting last night. The main room was packed and 20+ more were in the hallway. It is clear you are concerned about large wind complexes in our county. Thank you also to residents of other counties who are concerned about what is happening in Yankton County regarding “PROPERTY RIGHTS & LOCAL CONTROL”
The ordinance passed with few changes keeping intact two main components. It will include a 2 mile setback from non-participating residents and a decommissioning plan requiring the wind company to remove everything they put in and restoring the land to pre-construction status. The first of two readings before the Yankton County Commission will be Tuesday, August 6th at 6:00pm.
Share this link with others who have an interest in what is happening in Yankton County and across the state with “PROPERTY RIGHTS & LOCAL CONTROL”. We will see you on Tuesday, Aug. 6th.
Jul 7, 2024 | County Meetings
On Monday, June 24, 28,000 signatures were filed with the SD Secretary of State in the process of getting SB201 on the ballot in November as a Referred Law. This historic achievement gives “We the People” an opportunity to vote and show Pierre that our land is NOT for sale and decision-making stays local.
Jim Eschenbaum, Chair & Rep Tina Mulally, Treasurer, SD Property Rights & Local Control Alliance, filing the petitions in Pierre at the SOS office.
In Yankton County, SD the first meeting to protect personal property rights is Tuesday, July 9th at 7:00pm at the Government Center in Yankton. The Planning and Zoning Board is meeting to vote on an updated wind ordinance which contains new rules and guidelines for energy companies who are looking to build large wind complexes locally. This proposed ordinance reflects a fair balance between all entities and their interests, especially much needed protection for private landowners who will live among the turbines.
Your attendance and voice are needed to make sure this updated ordinance stands “as is” and is not “watered down” to favor the deep pockets of private companies. A majority vote of the Planning and Zoning Board on July 9th will pass the ordinance to the County Commission for their consideration and approval in August.
If you have any questions call Cindy at 605-660-5153 or email YanktonCountyNotForSale@gmail.com.
The proposed wind ordinance link is included below.
Wind Ordinance Begins on pg. 48
Large Wind Energy Systems Begins on pg. 50
Thank you,
Cindy Konopasek
SB 201 Yankton County Captain
Jun 28, 2024 | SB 201
SB 201 petition gathers 28,000 signatures
A group of citizens calling for a referendum of South Dakota’s SB 201 turned in around 28,000 signatures this week.
Jim Eschenbaum, Hand County Commissioner, Miller, South Dakota, served as the chairman of the petition drive.
He said the Secretary of State told him that 17,508 signatures were needed in order to refer the issue back to the voters and secure a spot on the ballot.
Eschenbaum said the group had planned to turn in signatures Monday, June 24, 2024, because that was 90 days after the day they obtained their first signature. The Secretary of State’s office told them that Tuesday, June 25, was their due date, but in an abundance of caution and to avoid their signatures being thrown out, the group decided to turn signatures on June 24.
“We had set a goal of 25,000. We weren’t quite to that goal by 10 am Monday morning, but we figured we’d be close,” he said.
“We turned in about 28,000 signatures,” he said. The petition gatherers met together in Pierre on Tuesday, and actually had in hand another approximately 2,000 signatures, but those were not submittable because the group had already submitted and verified their packet of signature sheets the day before.
Jun 24, 2024 | SB 201
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — If all goes the way that opponents want, South Dakota voters will get the final word this fall on how carbon-dioxide pipelines and other transmission facilities should be governed in the state.
Opponents believe they have gathered enough signatures to force SB201 onto the November election ballot. They announced on Monday that they intend to hand-deliver their petitions at 4 p.m. today to the Secretary of State office. (NOTE: The petitions actually were delivered on Monday afternoon, but a rally still occurred Tuesday. See related story.) They need at least 17,508 valid signatures of registered South Dakota voters to make it the 13th statewide referral since 1972.
The complex legislation took various twists and turns on its way to the desk of Governor Kristi Noem, who signed the final version into law. The Senate had approved its version on a vote of 23-11; the House of Representatives passed a different version on a 40-30 vote; and the compromise that was reached in a Senate-House conference committee received final approval by votes of 24-10 in the Senate and 39-31 in the House.
That came after the state Public Utilities Commission last year denied CO2-pipeline permit applications from two companies. Opponents held a rally at the Capitol and formed the South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance.
The sharp divide carried forward into the Republican legislative primaries, with opponents of SB201 taking out many of the legislation’s supporters.
Here’s a look at referral outcomes from the past 50 years.
