PIERRE -- After failing repeatedly in the past decade, a plan to allow construction of a nursing home on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation won final approval in the South Dakota Legislature on Wednesday.

The House voted 60-10 to pass the bill, which was approved several weeks ago by the Senate. It will become law if signed by Gov. Mike Rounds, who didn't oppose the measure this year.

South Dakota has banned new nursing homes for more than 20 years as a way to curb Medicaid spending and encourage the growth of cheaper alternatives such as assisted living facilities. The bill would grant an exception to allow construction of a nursing home on the southwestern South Dakota reservation.

Supporters said the reservation needs a nursing home so elderly members of the Oglala Sioux tribe needing round-the-clock medical care can live near their families. Many now go to nursing homes in Rapid City, more than 100 miles from the village of Pine Ridge, or other towns far from the reservation.

Families from the poverty-stricken reservation have trouble traveling to visit relatives in faraway nursing homes, lawmakers said.

"It's time for this bill to be passed and for them to be able to serve their elderly and the families that want to visit them," said House Health Committee Chairman Carol Pitts, R-Brookings.

Similar proposals have been rejected repeatedly over the past 12 years when state officials argued a new nursing home would increase state spending on Medicaid, which pays the bills for most nursing home residents. After talking with Rounds this year, those officials decided not to oppose the measure.

"The governor asked us to take another look at it, and that's what the departments of Health and Social Services did," state Social Services Secretary Deb Bowman said in a written statement. "In doing so, the two departments decided to remain neutral on the bill."

The bill says no state money can be used to build the nursing home, but it could be licensed to qualify for Medicaid funding to pay residents' bills. The measure also limits the facility to 50 beds.

The bill's provisions would expire on June 30, 2012, giving the Oglala Sioux two years to build a nursing home.

The bill's main sponsor, Sen. Jim Bradford, R-Pine Ridge, has said the tribe hasn't yet determined how it will pay for the nursing home, but said it might be able to use federal stimulus money or proceeds from its casino.

Rep. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark, said he voted against the bill because he supported a similar measure a few years ago to build a nursing home on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. That facility has been built but has never been opened, he said.

However, Rep. Dean Schrempp, D-Lantry, who represents the Cheyenne River reservation, said the nursing home in Eagle Butte has not opened because bad work by the contractor is being fixed.

Lawmakers said the state has opposed building a nursing home on the Pine Ridge reservation because other facilities around the state had vacancies. Area nursing homes are now full and have waiting lists of prospective residents, they said.