What others think: Smoking decisions should be made locally

Publication Date: 2008-02-21

• Publication:Aberdeen (S.D.) American News

Smoking policies should be regulated by local governments.

Currently, South Dakota law says "the Legislature is the exclusive regulator of all matters relating to the use of tobacco products."

The philosophy behind that law is distinctly un-South Dakotan because people here generally favor local control. The law needs to change.

Several legislators wrote HB1237, legislation that would've shifted that power from the state to where it really should be local government. The bill was killed in committee, but it was a good idea.

Rep. Burt Elliott and Rep. David Novstrup both supported the bill because it would give back local control.

Novstrup hit the nail on the head when he said, "Most of the time, letting the local people decide is better than the state."