Pierre, S.D. • A South Dakota legislative panel on Wednesday backed a measure meant to address concerns about a polygamous group’s Black Hills outpost by making it a misdemeanor not to report births and deaths.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 12-1 to send the measure to the chamber's floor. Republican Rep. Tim Goodwin, the sponsor, said the measure is a "tiny step" to start enforcement at the compound, which was founded by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
State law currently requires births and deaths to be reported, but there's no penalty for failing to do so.