A series of bills introduced after the Dakota Access Pipeline protests are before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
And the chairman of that committee said he will likely work to make some changes to them.
The bills deal with trespassing, property damage, rioting and protestors who wear masks to cover their faces.
Sen. Kelly Armstrong (R-Dickinson) said the bills are "a good start" to help deal with such situations.
"My biggest concern is how they affect two neighboring landowners in Barnes County four years from now," Armstrong said. "When we write the criminal code, we write in general language. We don't specify towards a particular activity. If we change the trespass law, we change it for everybody, not just protesters."
Armstrong said he also wants to make sure the bills will protect First Amendment Rights to protest peacefully.
"I don't want anything that has a chilling effect on legal protests," Armstrong said. "Illegal protests -- let's go after it and get into it -- rioting, inciting a riot. I have no problem with any of that. But It don't want language in our code that actually would cause people to be scared to exercise their First Amendment Constitutional rights."
The bills have already passed the House.
