PIERRE, S.D. — Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s bill to make it clear that the governor’s emergency response powers apply to potentially destructive protests passed its first legislative test Wednesday over the objections of Democratic lawmakers and tribal officials.

A Senate panel voted 6-3 to advance the public safety bill, which the administration says is based on lessons North Dakota officials learned from large demonstrations over the Dakota Access pipeline. The bill would create new trespassing penalties and make it a crime to obstruct highways.

Matt Konenkamp, a policy adviser to the governor, said that the bill would allow the entire state to deal with potential issues, rather than individual counties, not unlike how the state deals with a disaster. He said it’s meant to address people who would ignore the law, not prohibit people from exercising free speech.

Daugaard said last week that President Donald Trump’s January executive order to advance the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline made him realize that protests could come if construction began in South Dakota.

“This is not directed at any race,” Daugaard said. “This is directed at aggressive activists who threaten other people regardless of race.”

But Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Chairman Brandon Sazue said the proposal goes against protesters and the First Amendment. Sazue said he thinks it’s targeting Native Americans.

“We’re going to be divided,” he said. “We’ll probably even go as far as closing our borders.”

Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier said he would look at suing the state if the bill becomes law.

The bill would allow the governor to declare an area a “public safety zone” if an event occurs that may consume significant public resources, poses a threat to property and threatens the health and welfare of the public.

The governor’s emergency authority includes assuming control over emergency management functions, declaring an emergency in a stricken area and helping local authorities give relief and controlling access to designated emergency areas. The governor can mobilize state resources and coordinate local resources in an emergency.

The proposal would make it aggravated criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, to defy a posted order not to enter a public safety zone. The sentence would be at least 10 days in county jail, and a second offense within two years would be a felony.