Polygamous sect concerns prompt birth, death reporting bill
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — 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.
“Finally, we’re at least doing something,” Goodwin said.
State law currently requires births and deaths to be reported, but there’s no penalty for failing to do so. The Department of Health said in 2017 that no such records had been filed from the compound’s address in the previous 10 years.
Read more: https://www.hjnews.com/news/state/polygamous-sect-concerns-prompt-birth-death-reporting-bill/article_b35008f5-fc5b-5910-a324-a6facc049f6e.html