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Senate rejects ban on cell-cultured meat after divided floor debate
Summary
House Bill 1109, which would have prohibited manufacture, sale or distribution of cell-cultured meat in South Dakota for 10 years, failed on the Senate floor in a 17-17 tie (1 excused) after extended debate that split senators across freedom-of-choice and consumer-safety arguments.
The Senate rejected House Bill 1109, a proposed prohibition on the manufacture, sale, or distribution of cell-cultured meat in South Dakota, after a lengthy and often partisan floor debate.
Sponsor Senator Vojta argued the measure would place a 10-year pause on cell-cultured products to allow independent, long-term safety studies and to protect traditional agriculture. He questioned the federal approval process and said many production techniques and ingredients are treated as trade secrets, creating transparency concerns. Senator Vojta cited actions in Florida and Alabama as precedents and said a sunset would allow time for research.
Opponents, including Senator Davis, Senator Duhamel, Senator Wheeler, Senator Melhoff and others, countered that the bill would be an unnecessary market restriction on an emerging product, that FDA and USDA processes exist for food safety, and that consumers and producers should be allowed market choice. Several senators urged deference to the federal food-safety review process and warned against government overreach that limits consumer choice.
Floor debate referenced regulatory and scientific uncertainty, producer competitiveness and possible long-term health questions; speakers on both sides framed their arguments in terms of consumer safety, market freedom or protection of agriculture.
At final roll call the secretary reported 17 yeas, 17 nays and 1 excused; because the bill did not receive a majority of the members elect, the president declared the bill lost.
