South Dakota legislators have advanced a bill that would make water fluoridation optional in municipalities, the South Dakota Searchlight reported Feb. 7.
Five notes:
1. The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources currently regulates fluoride in the state.
2. Senate Bill 133, introduced by Sen. Carl Perry in January, would allow municipalities that control a public water supply or a person who controls a private water supply to determine the amount of fluoride in their drinking water, with a cap of 4 milligrams per liter.
3. The bill would also allow cities to discontinue water fluoridation entirely.
4. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted to send the bill to the full Senate chamber.
5. Several state organizations oppose the bill, including the South Dakota Municipal League, the South Dakota Association of Rural Water Systems, the South Dakota Department of Health and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.