The South Dakota House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a resolution that would have placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot asking voters if the lieutenant governor should be stripped of his role as the Senate’s presiding officer.

Tensions between the lieutenant governor and the state Senate have simmered in 2026 due to the health-related absence of Sioux Falls Republican Sen. Arch Beal. Without him, the likelihood of a tie in the 35-member Senate has increased.

South Dakota senators endorse resolution asking voters to rein in lieutenant governor’s authority

In order for a bill to pass the Senate, the state constitution requires a yes vote from the majority of elected senators — 18 of the 35 — not a majority of the senators in the chamber at the time of the vote.

The constitution also says the lieutenant governor, as presiding officer of the Senate, only gets a vote when members are equally divided. 

The effort to push a constitutional amendment onto the general election emerged amid multiple 17-17 vote controversies. After some senators challenged Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen’s authority to break ties, Gov. Larry Rhoden asked the Supreme Court for guidance. The court confirmed that the lieutenant governor can cast tie-breaking votes. 

Supporters of the resolution said letting senators choose their own presiding officer would create a more independent Senate. In the absence of the lieutenant governor, the Senate is led by the Senate President Pro Tempore, currently Sioux Falls Republican Chris Karr.

Backers of the resolution in the House, like Rep. Marty Overweg, R-New Holland, noted that the governor was only recently allowed to appoint their own lieutenant governor — and, by extension, the president of the senate — rather than having the position elected by delegates at the South Dakota Republican Party’s state convention. 

“I firmly think having the branches of government completely separate, checking on each other, is the right way to go,” Overweg said.  

Opponents, like Rep. Chris Kassin, R-Vermillion, said the change would be a major rewrite of the state’s constitution, and warned against adding another issue to an already long November 2026 ballot. 

“This is not a minor tweak,” Kassin said. “It is a fundamental change to the constitutional structure of South Dakota. It removes the lieutenant governor as the presiding officer of the Senate. A role placed there by design, not by accident.”