The 97th SD Legislative Session is underway!
One advantage of living in South Dakota is the ability for the average person to engage with their legislators. For many this can be be daunting. Just know that your legislators want to hear from you. Many issues are won because the average person wrote and submitted a letter to the local paper, wrote an email or letter, went to a Cracker Barrel/Legislative Coffee on a Saturday morning to talk to them, called them on the phone, or traveled to Pierre and visited with them on the chamber floor. Citizens are also welcome to attend committee hearings and to testify in person or over the phone.
How do I contact my legislators & learn about bills?
The South Dakota Legislature Research Council website is very accessible and easy to navigate. On the homepage, you will find buttons to help you locate critical information. The Legislators button will take you to their contact information. The Session button will take you to a list of bills that have been filed. Click on a bill link and you can follow it through the process. The Chambers/Committees tab contains more specific information such as agendas, links to bills, links to the members, etc.
Here’s a hot tip: wherever you see a little bird, you can click and listen to testimony and debate, live or recorded. You can also watch videos of the general sessions for each chamber live on SDPB.org or YouTube. Recorded sessions are also available on YouTube. Just search ‘SD Legislative Session 2022’.
If you want to follow a bill closely, sign up for MyLRC and you will receive notifications about the status of the bill. The information to sign up is easily found on the website.
Tips to help you successfully lobby your legislator:
Mandate Free SD is watching carefully and analyzing the bills. We have eyes and ears at the Capitol providing information. We will be timely in getting action alerts and talking points to you. These alerts will always be time sensitive, so be sure to open MFSD emails promptly and stay up to date.
1. Write a letter or email – Legislators really do respond well to direct communication, especially to letters and emails. They appreciate that you have taken the time to think about the issue and communicate your thoughts to them. A few letter and email tips:
Let them know that you are a constituent in the subject line. Legislators generally open these emails first. Also include the bill number and topic.
Keep it polite and short. Make your talking points concise. Personalize it especially if you have a compelling story to tell.
Conclude with a direct ‘ask’. Let them know what action you want them to take.
2. Make a phone call – It can be difficult to get in direct touch with legislators during the session, but it is worth trying. Some list their cell phone number. Over the weekends is a good time to call.
You can also call the Capitol and leave a message with a page who will deliver it to their desk. This can be especially effective shortly before or during the time a bill is being considered on the floor.
3. Attend a cracker barrel – Hosted in many South Dakota cities, cracker barrels (sometimes called legislative coffees) are attended by legislators throughout the session, and are a great place to talk to legislators directly and ask them questions.
4. Write a letter to the editor – While it is important to talk to your legislators about their votes, it is also important to let your community know what is happening as well. Most newspapers publish letters to the editor on an on-going basis. Check the paper’s opinion page or website for their submission requirements, and be sure to let us know when your letter is published so we can promote it.
Please share this information with your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Our very freedom is on the line. Your civic action can make all the difference!
If someone has forwarded this to you, be sure to sign up to receive action alerts and updates directly to your inbox. Don’t miss out! Please ensure the action alerts aren’t being delivered to your junk mail.