South Dakota’s 100th Legislative Session

New faces are the new look for District 5's delegation in Pierre.


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When last year’s South Dakota Legislature convened, Watertown and District 5 featured prominently, with Sen. Lee Schoenbeck serving as President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Rep. Hugh Bartels as Speaker of the House.

It was unusual for the top position in each legislative body to be held by lawmakers from the same district, especially one that doesn’t include the larger cities of Sioux Falls and Rapid City.

The 2025 Legislative Session, however, will be notably different. Instead of being stacked with power brokers, the District 5 delegation will feature three first-year lawmakers.

Sen. Glen Vilhauer and Reps. Dr. Josephine Garcia and Matt Roby were sworn into office on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Vilhauer, a retired Certified Public Accountant and former Watertown City Councilman, will serve on the important Appropriations Committee and on the Retirement Laws Committee. Garcia, a health-care provider, will serve on the Education and Human Services Committees, and Roby will be a member of the Judiciary and Local Government Committees.

All South Dakota legislators are facing an unusual session, given the likelihood that a new governor will be seated during the session. With Gov. Kristi Noem poised to become the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden would become governor.

As lieutenant governor, Rhoden will likely begin the session presiding over the State Senate before giving way to his replacement.

“(Rhoden) knows the system, knows the process, and does a great job,” said Vilhauer. “And then a new person will be coming in, and the Senate will have to adjust to the way that person does things.”

Biggest issues

Vilhauer and Roby both told the Watertown Current the state budget will be the biggest job for this year’s legislative session, with potential property tax relief and the Summit Solutions carbon pipeline also playing big parts. Garcia said, for her, the biggest issues are healthcare transparency, education and property rights, the last of which relate to the carbon pipeline.

“I will focus on all issues pertaining to my committees which are Education and Health and Human Services,” she told the Current in an email.

Sitting on the Appropriations Committee means Vilhauer will be spending a lot of time dealing with the budget.

“With sales tax revenue relatively flat, he said, “it’s going to be a tough conversation working through that budget. We’re going to see several more months of revenue coming in before we finalize the budget, and I’ve been hearing that maybe the economy is picking up a bit and may be a little stronger than what we’re projecting now.”

He said since the South Dakota Constitution mandates a balanced budget, lawmakers must always “assume the worst” when it comes to revenue projections.

New kids on the block

As first-year lawmakers, the session will be a learning experience for all three District 5 delegation members. Roby said he plans to do a lot of listening early on.

“I really don’t plan on making many waves,” he said. “I just want to listen and learn, and then do what I think is best in any particular situation.”

Garcia said: “The best way I can make an impact is by representing my constituents to the best of my ability. This will entail hearing the people’s voices, listening to all facts presented on issues with no bias.

“All legislators must never forget that we have been elected to represent the people not agendas.”

Vilhauer noted there a many new lawmakers coming into the session, and they represent a wide range of opinions.

Republicans hold an overwhelming 32-3 advantage in the S.D. Senate and a 64-6 advantage in the S.D. House. That’s about 91 percent Republican. But there is an almost equal split within the Republican Party between moderates and the more hard-right conservatives.

“It’s going to be interesting how we as a Legislature get along,” Vilhauer said. “Just working with a whole lot of new people and a lot of different viewpoints is going to present its own challenges.”

Even before the official beginning of the 2025 Legislative Session, lawmakers have already attached their names to a few pieces of legislation, according to the South Dakota Legislative Research Council.

Vilhauer is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 12. A measure that would limit the amount of money that may be loaned to a candidate or political committee. Garcia has put her name on Senate Bill 50, which would prohibit the use of drones for purposes of assessing real property for taxation. Roby is listed as a cosponsor of Senate Bill 8, which would establish certain criminal offenses for boat operators and to provide penalties in the event of fatal or injurious accidents.