South Dakota Senate elects Chris Carr president pro tempore, adopts temporary rules and conducts first reading of bills

Senators in the South Dakota Legislature on Jan. 13 elected Senator Chris Carr president pro tempore, approved leadership appointments and adopted temporary rules to begin the 100th legislative session.

The Senate voted to elect Carr after a nomination from Senator Melhoff. The roll call produced 33 ayes, zero nays and two excused members; Chief Justice Steven Jensen then administered the oath of office to Carr.

The session also approved Peggy Lorenz as secretary of the Senate by roll call, received appointments of employees, interns and pages, and adopted the permanent joint rules of the prior legislature and the Senate’s permanent rules as temporary rules for the 100th session. Senators completed a mass first reading of roughly 70 bills; titles were read aloud to meet constitutional reading requirements and many bills were assigned to standing committees for referral.

Melhoff, who moved Carr’s nomination, described Carr as “a very dedicated and honorable public servant.” Senator Larson supported the nomination, saying he had “shown a great strength and fairness in how he's approached issues” and urged colleagues to support Carr. In his remarks after the election, Carr said the integrity of the institution was his priority: “What is paramount to me as I approach this position is the integrity of this institution.”

The Senate adopted the permanent joint rules from the 99th session to serve temporarily for the 100th session and also adopted the Senate’s permanent rules as temporary rules; the second motion passed by roll call with 33 yays, 1 nay and 1 excused. The body appointed a five-member Senate committee to meet a House committee to arrange memorial recognition of deceased former members and set its next convening for 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.

Senators and staff noted this organizational day includes a heavier procedural workload: multiple oaths of office, formal roll calls and the constitutionally required reading of bill titles. The clerk and secretary handled roll calls naming senators individually; several members offered brief personal-privilege remarks and introduced family in the gallery during the ceremony portion of the session.

Among bills read on first reading were measures covering driver licenses and motor carrier regulations, appropriations related to Ellsworth Air Force Base expansion, campaign finance reporting, plumbing and professional licensing fees, criminal offenses for boat operators, and changes to 911 surcharge provisions. Committee assignments were announced on the floor: for example, Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources received a package of bills; Senate Commerce and Energy, Appropriations, Health and Human Services, Judiciary, Local Government, State Affairs and Transportation each received assigned bills as listed on the floor.

The Senate adjourned after completing organizational business and will convene in joint session with the House at scheduled times to receive messages from the governor (Jan. 14, 2025, 1 p.m.), the chief justice (Jan. 15, 2025, 10 a.m.) and a tribal chairman (Jan. 15, 2025, 1 p.m.).