South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is proposing a couple of bills aimed at heading off any violent protests connected to construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Noem says she will not tolerate protests that get out of hand.
Noem says one bill sets up a fund for extra costs to local governments.
Noem says the other bill would aim to collect from out of state groups organizing any protests.
Opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline in southern North Dakota held large protests that resulted in over seven hundred arrests starting in late 2016.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota says the bill could infringe on free speech rights.
The legislature suspended their rules to allow the bills to be introduced.
(WNAX)