Hero of the Week: March 17, 2025: South Dakota Representative John Sjaarda

South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signing SB219
(From left to right: Senator Greg Blanc, Governor Rhoden, Rep. John Sjaarda, Kaye Sjaarda)

“[Rep. Liz May] said it was ‘ridiculous’ that the House was debating whether national currency should be accepted. [Rep. Logan Manhart] said the idea that cash wasn’t being accepted was ‘pretty crazy.’ [Rep. Travis Ismay] added that ‘cash is king.’”
~ South Dakota Representatives speaking in support of cash bill

By Susan Luschas

Representative John Sjaarda of South Dakota fearlessly led the passage of the first Cash Bill in a deep red state. Senate Bill 219 (SB219), signed into law by Governor Larry Rhoden on March 11, requires the acceptance of cash at school-affiliated events, including sporting events, concerts, and plays.

Accepting cash at school events may seem like a small win, but in South Dakota, students’ large families attend every single home and away event. A regular season high school football or basketball game can easily draw 500 people. If these large school events go cashless, it’s a huge step toward the entire economy of South Dakota eliminating cash. Passage of this school event ticketing cash bill is a major stake in the ground for financial transaction freedom in South Dakota.

Currently, there are 11 states with legislation prohibiting businesses from refusing cash. These states are all solidly Democrat-controlled, with the exception of Montana. Two additional states, North Carolina and Ohio, have “must accept cash at school events” legislation. Through Rep. Sjaarda’s efforts, South Dakota has become the first Republican-controlled state in the country to pass a “must accept cash” bill.

The journey to the passage of SB219 was rocky. Originally, John introduced two cash bills; HB1017 required acceptance of cash at school events (including high schools, colleges, and concessions), and HB1048 required businesses in South Dakota to accept cash. Although five citizens from the loosely organized, 38-member South Dakota “Team Cash” group testified in favor of HB1048, at least 10 lobbyists (mostly representing retailers, farmers, and schools) lined up to speak against it, and HB1048 died in committee (0-13). The committee, reluctant to put mandates on businesses, seemed to agree with the use of cash but felt that consumers should make the choice by not shopping at businesses that don’t accept cash. John kept his smile, positive attitude, and focus on the path forward.

John and the five “Team Cash” members presented statistics, articles, and arguments to the House Education Committee in favor of HB1017. Although several public school and college lobbyists lined up to testify against it, HB1017 narrowly passed committee (8-7). After committee, it was amended to exclude colleges but kept concessions. John felt this would give it a better chance of passing in the House. On the House floor, HB1017 won the majority vote (34-32) but failed to get the 36 votes necessary to pass. After being reconsidered and receiving a vote of 35-33, HB1017 was officially dead.

Luckily, the deadline for introducing bills in the 2025 legislative session had not yet passed. John decided to reintroduce the bill in the Senate; it would look better coming back to the House if it had already passed the Senate. At this late date, finding a Senate prime sponsor who still had bills left to introduce was not easy. A few hours before the deadline, pastor and Senator Greg Blanc stepped up and reintroduced the “cash at school events” bill, without concessions, as SB219. This was the last bill introduced in the Senate in the 2025 session.

Senator Blanc was adamant about being “right with the Lord” by having fact-filled documents to back up our statements wherever possible. Team Cash had already provided paper handouts with statistics and articles for the HB1017 testimony. However, the lobbyists had told several unsubstantiated lies during their testimony. This time, Team Cash was prepared and had a new five-page handout to disprove the expected lobbyist lies in Senate Education committee testimony. SB219 passed the Senate Education committee 4-3.

On the Senate floor, Senator Blanc put copies of the five-page Team Cash handouts on every Senator’s desk in advance of the vote. SB219 passed the Senate floor 19-16.

Back in the House, SB219 passed the House Education committee 10-5 this time. John’s calm demeanor and common-sense arguments set the tone. One Representative who previously had opposed the HB1017 “cash at school events” bill decided she could support it with the college provision dropped. Another Representative, a Republican from a rural part of South Dakota, realized during testimony that if he didn’t vote to preserve cash now, he might never have another chance. A literal “light bulb” went off in his head in the committee meeting, and he reversed his HB1017 “no” vote to a “yes” vote on SB219.

John’s testimony on the House floor was again common-sense and positive. Team Cash provided copies of its five-page handouts for every Representative’s desk. The only comments on the House floor this time were in support of cash. The final vote was 36-34, with the rural Republican from the House Education committee being the deciding vote to pass SB219.

It is highly unusual for a “new topic” bill to pass in South Dakota in the year it is introduced. Cash was a “new topic” in 2025. The passage of SB219 is a testament to John’s living of his Christian faith during the process. He did not give up, did not get upset, kept a positive attitude, and did not stoop to the lies of the lobbyists. His light shined throughout the whole journey on rough terrain.

Notably, John also sponsored a bill to prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution of cell-cultured meat in South Dakota. HB1109 passed the House on a vote of 42-26 but failed on the Senate floor by a vote of 16-19.

Behind every great man is an even more amazing woman. Kaye Sjaarda is no exception. Kaye supports John in the House in multiple ways, talking to constituents, stakeholders, and legislators; sitting in committees telling John when he needs to come back to vote; and doing anything and everything she can to support John. Kaye and John have been married for 27 years and have four children and several foster children. John grew up on a farm in Valley Springs, SD where he still farms. He is a volunteer firefighter, a substitute bus driver, and is on leadership boards for church and school. John and Kaye are Christians and can be found at worship service on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 a.m. in the South Dakota capitol.