South Dakota House of Representatives
Lawmakers advance bill to block carbon pipelines as regulators continue permitting process
The end of the week brought a flurry of activity related to proposed carbon pipelines as lawmakers advanced a bill to block the projects, and regulators waded through requests affecting the speed of the permitting process. State utility regulators voted 2-1 on Thursday to deny an effort by some landowners to send a proposed carbon […]
Term limits lead to legislative whack-a-mole
In the 1990s, term limits were a hot topic in a variety of states, including South Dakota. In 1992, voters here endorsed a constitutional amendment that would limit U.S. senators to two consecutive six-year terms, U.S. representatives to six consecutive two-year terms, state constitutional officers to two four-year terms and state legislators to four consecutive […]
Infrastructure bill resists attempts to quash it in House of Representatives
PIERRE – The House of Representatives sent a $200 million infrastructure bill to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk on Monday with a hard-won 54-16 vote. Senate Bill 41 is a fix to 2022 bill that sought to send infrastructure funds to developers to help fill gaps in workforce housing. The agency deemed responsible for dispersing the […]
Leadership teams lean moderate in South Dakota House, Senate
The South Dakota House of Representatives elected its leadership team for the 2023 legislative session over the weekend, a week after their counterparts in the Senate did the same. Members of the 94-member GOP supermajority’s more moderate faction came out ahead in both chambers. Speaker of the House Hugh Bartels, Watertown, was elected to replace […]
Republicans lose a seat in state Senate, gain in the already deeply red House
The makeup of South Dakota’s deeply red legislature didn’t change much Tuesday night, although some races could see a recount. The 70-person House of Representatives has seen the number of Democrats steadily drop from 29 in 1992 to just seven now. Democrats managed to squeeze out a win in the 35-person senate, bringing the caucus […]
Analysis: Over one-third of state legislative races already decided
Election day is a week away, but more than a third of South Dakota’s state legislative races are already decided. Of 105 seats up for grabs in the South Dakota Senate or House of Representatives, 38% are unopposed races. A clear majority of Senate seats — exactly 60% — are unopposed. Every unopposed candidate is […]