House approves measure allowing an additional off‑sale liquor license in small communities

The South Dakota House passed House Bill 1079 as amended, a bill that increases the baseline number of off‑sale liquor licenses from two to three in municipalities and counties with populations of 1,000 or fewer and adjusts subsequent allocations by population.

Representative Cole, who moved the amendment (1079B), told the chamber the amendment’s change is simple: it adds counties and modifies the numeric baseline from two to three. She described the proposal as an economic development tool, saying that in some small towns new grocery stores or convenience stores integrating liquor sales could be blocked by an exhausted license pool, and the change would allow at least one additional license to be made available.

Cole clarified that municipalities and counties are not obligated to issue additional licenses if they choose not to do so; local authorities may leave licenses unused. She also described the existing allocation mechanism: “1 license can be added for every 1,500 people or fraction thereof,” and said on‑sale licenses start at a baseline of three.

The amendment to add counties was adopted by voice vote and the bill, as amended, passed on final passage. The clerk reported the final vote as 53 ayes and 15 nays; the speaker declared House Bill 1079 as amended passed.

Next steps: The bill will proceed according to the legislative process; the transcript records the amendment, floor explanation and final House vote but does not include subsequent local implementation details or dates when local governments would be authorized to act.