# Taffy Howard

Taffy Howard is a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate for district 34.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: South Dakota Senate, district 34
- Serving since: 2017-01-10
- Current term: SD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/f06bd3c9-8cac-4cc6-be62-f949e51f28eb

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/f06bd3c9-8cac-4cc6-be62-f949e51f28eb (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

Howard sits at −0.29 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 99% of State Senate Republicans.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.29 (standard error 0.01), from 298 donors and 925 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 0.5% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (SD 2025–26 session)

656 roll calls. Attendance 97.2% (South Dakota Senate 96.6%). Party unity 96.3% (76%). 141 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-03-12 · voted nay · Do Pass · HB 1326 appropriate money for the ordinary expenses of the legislative, judicial, and executive departments of the state, the current expenses of state… · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1326/
- 2026-03-12 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1051 revise property tax levies for school districts and to revise the state aid to general and special education formulas. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1051/
- 2026-03-12 · voted nay · Do Pass Amended · SB 78 revise the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB78/
- 2026-03-11 · voted nay · Do Pass Amended · SB 78 revise the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB78/
- 2026-03-11 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1051 revise property tax levies for school districts and to revise the state aid to general and special education formulas. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1051/
- 2026-03-11 · voted nay · Do Pass · HB 1326 appropriate money for the ordinary expenses of the legislative, judicial, and executive departments of the state, the current expenses of state… · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1326/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1006 create a taskforce to study the creation of Indian medicaid managed care entities in the state. · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1006/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass Amended · HB 1241 modify the requirements for public notice of a hearing prior to a vote to impose an excess tax levy, and to modify requirements to refer an excess tax… · fail · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1241/
- 2026-03-09 · voted yea · Do Pass · HB 1140 permit a court to impose as a condition of probation, or parole in certain circumstances, treatment at a nonprofit entity awarded an alternative care… · pass · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1140/
- 2026-03-09 · voted nay · Do Pass · HB 1160 repeal the medical marijuana oversight committee. · fail · https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1160/

## Legislation (SD 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 123 bills: 120 reached committee, 57 passed one chamber, 45 passed both, 36 became law. Cosponsored 0. 87.8% of sponsored bills got out of committee (South Dakota Senate 78.2%; rank 8 of 34).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SC 822: honoring TKO’s Custom Catering and Capitol Cafe for outstanding service. (introduced, 2026-03-04) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SC822/
- HB 1323: modify the requirements to refer an ordinance or resolution to the voters of a political subdivision. (passed both chambers, 2026-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1323/
- HC 8012: recognizing Captain Royce Williams for his exemplary military service and bravery in combat. (introduced, 2026-02-17) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HC8012/
- SB 223: modify the requirements for a petition to refer an excess tax levy of a school district to a vote. (passed one chamber, 2026-03-02) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB223/
- SB 218: provide for the establishment of charter schools. (in committee, 2026-02-20) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB218/
- HB 1280: increase penalties for the operation of drones over certain facilities and to provide for mitigation techniques and countermeasures. (became law, 2026-03-12) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1280/
- SB 232: impose a one-year moratorium on the construction or expansion of hyperscale data centers. (in committee, 2026-02-18) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB232/
- HB 1286: amend the process by which moneys are distributed from the employer's investment in South Dakota's future fund. (became law, 2026-03-10) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1286/
- HB 1261: provide a tax credit for owner-occupied property, to make an appropriation therefor, and to transfer moneys to the general fund. (passed both chambers, 2026-03-02) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/HB1261/
- SB 203: require the review of a financing plan to establish a tax increment financing district. (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/sd/bills/2026/SB203/

## Campaign money (2024 cycle)

Itemized receipts $57.0K (State Senate Republicans median $28.3K). 91% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://sdlegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/4720/Detail
- Campaign site: https://www.taffyhoward.com/
- X: https://x.com/taffy_howard
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/howardforsd/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taffy_howard/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taffy-howard-a4014b1b9/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/f06bd3c9-8cac-4cc6-be62-f949e51f28eb