A bill aimed at providing additional incentives for data centers to operate in South Dakota narrowly failed in the Senate Tuesday, exposing the intense disagreements over an industry that could prove economically lucrative for the state.
Drama on the Senate floor: Attempts to locate Sen. John Carley of Piedmont for the Feb. 24 meeting proved unsuccessful and, after a delay in proceedings, the Senate went ahead without him and voted against reconsidering Senate Bill 239, 16-17.
Local control vs. state regulation: The failure of the bill highlights the fault lines that have emerged in recent weeks between legislators who view the prospect of large data centers as an economic opportunity for South Dakota and those who are concerned the industry could negatively impact communities without sufficient guardrails in place.
Deadlock: At the moment, it appears neither supporters nor skeptics of data centers have gotten what they wanted, with the vast majority of the proposals put forth in this year's legislative session being defeated.
Go deeper: Read details about all the changes as well as the proposed legislation at the link below.
Alexander Rifaat
