A member of the public can get involved in the legislative process in South Dakota by submitting their ideas for potential bills. While only a State Representative or State Senator can introduce these ideas as legislation, anyone can come up with a proposal that they would like to see become law. Here are the steps the public can take to engage in the process: 1. Develop an Idea: Formulate a clear and concise idea for a bill that addresses a specific issue or need. 2. Contact a Legislator: Reach out to your local State Representative or State Senator to discuss your idea. 3. Collaborate with Legislators: Work with the legislator who is interested in your idea. They can help take your concept and guide it through the legislative process by drafting it into a formal bill. 4. Follow the Bill's Progress: Once the bill is drafted, you can keep track of its progress through the legislative sessions, including committee hearings and debates. Testifying in favor of or against a bill during committee meetings is another way for the public to provide input. 5. Advocate for Your Idea: Engage with community members, attend town halls, or participate in advocacy groups to rally support for your idea and influence its chances of becoming law.

Tracking bills is hard, especially if you rely on state legislature websites, which are often hard to navigate. Thousands of bills get filed in South Dakota every year (and about 180,000 bills nationwide). If you want to be an effective advocate, you need to know where legislation of interest stands, and act quickly.

FastDemocracy's free version allows you to track an unlimited number of bills - no strings attached. We'll send you a daily or weekly email on your priority bills and give you tools to research bills and legislators.

FastDemocracy Professional is for anyone who tracks bills in a professional capacity. It features

• real-time bill, amendment and hearing alerts
• automated reporting
• team collaboration
• bill tagging for clients and stakeholders
• bill similarity detection
• ...and much more

1. Sign up here for a free FastDemocracy account.

2. Head to Tracked Topics to select issue areas you care about.

3. Use the search bar on top if you're looking for something specific.

4. Click "Track Bill" for any legislation you'd like to monitor a bit closer. That's how you add it to your Tracked Bills. You can also click on a bill to learn more, see the bill summary, most recent actions, votes, news and tweets. You can also contact legislators or share your bills on social media.

5. You can track an unlimited number of bills for free and we'll send you a daily or weekly email if your tracked legislation moves.

6. Do you need real-time alerts, outreach tools, bill lists, and professional functions? Then FastDemocracy Professional is the right fit for you.

7. Track bills on your smartphone using our free mobile app.

You can use the Find Your Legislators tool to find them, see their voting records, and contact them.