PIERRE, S.D. (AP) _ South Dakota lawmakers are preparing for a possible oil and gas boom in the state.
The South Dakota Legislature's Executive Board on Monday outlined the scope of a study on the issue. It will focus on state taxes and the problems caused when the land and the oil beneath it are owned by different people.
Surface landowners often don't have the rights to explore for oil beneath their property. They complain they have to put up with oil development hassles and don't get any benefits.
South Dakota lawmakers are expecting an oil boom in western North Dakota to spread to the south.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard has set up two groups to estimate the size of the expected boom and what South Dakota must do to handle the people and traffic.
