AT THE STATEHOUSE

South Dakota Legislature
  • Bicameral; there is a House and a Senate and 35 Legislative Districts
  • 35 Senators; 1 for each district
  • 70 Representatives in the House; 2 for each district
  • Districts 26 and 28 are each further divided into two house districts, each of which elects just one representative
  • SD legislature meets for one regular session each year, not to exceed 40 business days, generally from January through March – there are generally 38 legislative days
Click here for a simple graphic on how an idea becomes a law.
​South Dakota Legislature Resources
Who are my legislators?

Fast Facts
  • Prior to 1964, the Legislature only met in odd-numbered years for a period of sixty days.
  • According to the South Dakota Constitution, legislators are reimbursed only 5 cents a mile for one trip to and from their homes during a legislative session.
  • It takes only a simple majority of the members of each house to pass the bill that funds all of state government, but it takes two-thirds of the members to pass other smaller, specific spending measures.
  • Representatives use an electronic voting machine to cast their votes in the House Chambers, but the Senators still rely on the Secretary of the Senate to call the roll for each vote.
  • Democrats have only controlled the House of Representatives once. That was in 1935. The Republicans have controlled it at all other times except in 1973, when the Democrats and Republicans had a tie with 35 members each.