A rare tie-breaking vote by Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen sent Senate Bill 25 to the House Wednesday, after the Senate split 17–17 on final passage.
Venhuizen, who presides over the Senate and votes only in the event of a tie, broke the deadlock with a “yes” vote, giving the Public Utilities Commission bill the minimum majority needed to pass.
Senate Bill 25 updates state law governing how large energy and transmission facilities move through the Public Utilities Commission’s siting process. Supporters say the bill streamlines permitting as electricity demand increases, while opponents argue it reduces transparency and limits landowner participation.
Prime sponsor Sen. Steve Kolbeck, R-Brandon, said the bill eliminates a six‑month notice of intent requirement for certain large energy conversion facilities.
“The bill eliminates that six-month period, thus allowing developers to enter the permit evaluation process sooner and to have the permit application adjudicated six months sooner.” He added that “In today’s environment of increasing electricity consumption, faster permitting is important for new generation sources.”
Sen. Joy Hohn, R-Hartford, opposed the bill, speaking from her experience as a landowner involved in multiple PUC dockets.
“Nothing in this bill helps landowners,” Hohn said. “It waives rights in Section 2 if action is not taken within 60 days of an application being filed, and this leads to less participation in the docket.”
During the debate, concerns about the energy demands of future data centers surfaced when Sen. Liz Larson, D-Sioux Falls, asked whether the bill was tied to proposed data centers in the Sioux Falls area.
Kolbeck said it was not.
“As defined in the statute, it does not,” Kolbeck said. “There have been four applications to the PUC in the last 19 years… This does not apply to that. Only electricity.”
With the tie vote, Venhuizen’s intervention proved decisive — an uncommon moment on the Senate floor highlighting the narrow divide over energy development, property rights, and public input.
