A Lincoln County judge dismissed a lawsuit over the Department of Corrections’ plans to build a men’s prison near Harrisburg.
At the heart of the lawsuit is whether new state law trumps an existing local government’s law.
The suit was filed last year by the Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion – or NOPE – group and a few other individuals who own property adjacent to the proposed prison site. NOPE claimed the state needed to request a conditional use permit as required by Lincoln County law.
The Department of Corrections argued the state does not have to abide by local governmental law under South Dakota’s constitutional right to sovereign immunity.
The DOC also argued that House Bill 1017 passed in March 2023 preempts the county’s zoning law.
HB 1017 immediately appropriated funds to go towards the planning and construction of the new prison. In that law, the DOC was authorized to purchase land for the new site.
In October 2023 the DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko used the appropriated funding to buy state-owned land between Canton and Harrisburg for almost $8 million.
Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Mammenga dismissed the case based on the grounds that Lincoln County’s zoning laws do not apply to the DOC.
Judge Mammenga wrote in her opinion “a county by its very nature is a legislative creation, and therefore seemingly lacks authority to preempt state law.”
She also said the need for the creation of a new prison likely out balances the surrounding landowners’ interests.
