A South Dakota House committee on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to allow industrial hemp in South Dakota.
The proposal would legalize and regulate the growth, processing and transportation of hemp in the state.
The bill's advancement to the House floor marked progress on an issue that was the subject of a split between legislators and Gov. Kristi Noem last year.
Noem has said she still doesn't think that industrial hemp is a “good idea," but her office worked with legislators to craft the bill this year. She wants the hemp program to be regulated by “four guardrails” that would provide for the program's enforcement, regulation, transportation permitting, and funding.