PIERRE, S.D.- The South Dakota Supreme Court issued a unanimous advisory opinion Wednesday, confirming that the lieutenant governor holds the constitutional authority to cast a tie-breaking vote on the final passage of legislation in the state Senate.

The ruling, signed by all five justices, addresses a period of procedural uncertainty in the Legislature. The question was brought before the court by Gov. Larry Rhoden on Jan. 26 after a 17-17 tie in the Senate led to a dispute over the lieutenant governor’s role as the presiding officer.

“We answer the question submitted by the Governor in the affirmative-the South Dakota Constitution empowers the Lieutenant Governor, while serving as President of the Senate, to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate on any matter,” the court stated in the opinion.

The need for judicial clarity arose during the current legislative session due to the ongoing absence of one senator, which has frequently left the 35-member body with an even number of 34 voting members. Without a mechanism to break a deadlock, state officials expressed concern that key legislation could be stalled indefinitely.

In Rapid City and across the state, the decision is seen as a definitive resolution to the interpretation of Article IV, Section 5 of the South Dakota Constitution. That section provides that the lieutenant governor shall be president of the Senate but shall have no vote unless the senators be equally divided.

The advisory opinion follows a specific challenge in January involving Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen. After Venhuizen cast a tie-breaking vote on a bill, the action was challenged by Senate leadership and initially sustained by the chamber, prompting the governor to seek a formal legal interpretation.

This ruling also marks the first official decision involving Justice Robert Gusinsky. Gusinsky, a former Seventh Circuit presiding judge from Rapid City, was appointed to the high court by Gov. Rhoden in late 2025 to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Janine Kern.