State House Approves Changes to Board on Geographic Names
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The state House has approved a measure that would limit the autonomy of a state board thrust into the spotlight for considering whether to recommend renaming Harney Peak.
The chamber approved the plan 54-15 on Tuesday. It now heads to the Senate.
Rep. Lee Schoenbeck's measure would restrict the board from acting on a name change unless a geographic place name has been identified in state law as offensive or insulting.
The worked largely in obscurity until members considered a request to rename Harney Peak. They decided against it last year.
Schoenbeck says the Legislature should make the determination about what is offensive.
Democratic Rep. Shawn Bordeaux opposed the bill. He says the measure could work against future efforts to change offensive geographic feature names.
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