PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota House panel has advanced a bill that would impose harsher penalties for methamphetamine dealing and manufacturing.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 12-1 Wednesday to pass the bill to the chamber’s floor.
Attorney General Marty Jackley’s bill would make distribution and manufacturing a more serious felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine, up from 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $20,000.
The bill would also make changes so mandatory minimum sentences for drug distribution and manufacturing are more broadly applied, among other provisions.
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Jackley says the panel has taken an “important step” to keep drug dealers out of South Dakota.
The panel also voted 11-2 to approve a bill that would enact stronger penalties for drug dealers whose product kills another person.