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2021 South Dakota legislative session

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2021 South Dakota legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 12, 2021

Session end:    March 29, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Larry Rhoden (R)

House Speaker
Spencer Gosch (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Gary Cammack (R)
House: Kent Peterson (R)
Minority Leader
Senate: Troy Heinert (D)
House: Jamie Smith (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the South Dakota State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 12 and adjourn on March 29.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 32-3 majority in the Senate and a 62-8 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, South Dakota was one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The South Dakota State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, South Dakota was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the South Dakota state House and state Senate.
  • South Dakota was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • South Dakota's governor was Republican Kristi Noem.

    • Leadership in 2021

    South Dakota State Senate

    South Dakota House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    South Dakota was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    South Dakota was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the South Dakota State Legislature in the 2021 legislative session.

    South Dakota State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 3
         Republican Party 32
    Total 35

    South Dakota House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 8
         Republican Party 62
    Total 70

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in South Dakota after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in South Dakota after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in South Dakota state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 27 standing committees in South Dakota's state government, including one joint legislative committee, 13 state Senate committees, and 13 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committee

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the South Dakota Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XXIII of the South Dakota Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in South Dakota

    Amendments to the South Dakota Constitution may be proposed in three different ways—through a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, or a state constitutional convention.

    Initiative

    See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

    An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

    In South Dakota, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the South Dakota State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 36 votes in the South Dakota House of Representatives and 18 votes in the South Dakota State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 2 of Article 23 of the South Dakota Constitution, the South Dakota State Legislature can call a state constitutional convention through a 75% vote in each legislative chamber. Citizens can initiate a constitutional convention question using the same procedures as an initiated constitutional amendment.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of South Dakota.

    South Dakota Party Control: 1992-2025
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-two years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    Historical Senate control

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the South Dakota State Senate shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 20-15 majority. Republicans flipped the chamber in 1994 and, by 2020, expanded their majority to 32-3. The table below shows the partisan history of the South Dakota State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    South Dakota State Senate election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 20 16 13 13 12 10 10 15 14 5 7 8 6 5 3
    Republicans 15 19 22 22 23 25 25 20 20 30 28 27 29 30 32

    The largest shift in the partisan balance of the state Senate occurred as a result of the 2010 elections, when Republicans gained 10 seats. Democrats' largest gain was when they picked up five seats in 2006. Apart from the movement between 2006 and 2010, the changes in partisan balance between the 19-16 Republican majority in 1994 and the 30-5 Republican majority in 2018 were gradual. In 2020, Republicans expanded their supermajority to 32-3.

    Historical House control

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the South Dakota House of Representatives shifted in favor of the Republican Party. After the 1992 elections, Republicans held a 41-29 majority. That majority was gradually expanded to the 62-8 Republican majority resulting from the 2020 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the South Dakota House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    South Dakota House of Representatives election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 29 24 23 18 20 21 19 20 24 19 17 12 10 11 8
    Republicans 41 45 47 52 50 49 51 50 46 50 53 58 60 59 62

    The most significant changes in the partisan balance of the state House occurred between 2008 and 2014. Republicans gained four seats in 2010, three seats in 2012, and five seats in 2014. Before those Republican gains, Democrats picked up four seats in the 2008 elections. There was a similar uptick for Republicans—11 seats gained in three election cycles—between 1992 and 1998.

    See also

    Elections South Dakota State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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