South Carolina General Assembly: Difference between revisions

South Carolina General Assembly
South Carolina General Assembly
	Great Seal of the State of South Carolina
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate ; House of Representatives
History
Founded	1753; 271 years ago
Leadership
Senate President	Thomas Alexander (R) ; since December 6, 2021
House Speaker	Murrell Smith (R) ; since May 12, 2022
Structure
Seats	170 voting members:; 46 Senators; 124 Representatives
Senate political groups	Majority Republican (34); Minority Democratic (12);
House political groups	Majority Republican (88); Minority Democratic (36);
Elections
Last Senate election	5 November 2024
Last House election	5 November 2024
Next Senate election	7 November 2028
Next House election	3 November 2026
Meeting place
	South Carolina State House; Columbia
Website
	scstatehouse.gov
Constitution
	Constitution of South Carolina

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The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. All together, the General Assembly consists of 170 members. The legislature convenes at the State House in Columbia.

Prior to the 1964 federal Reynolds v. Sims decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, each county doubled as a legislative district, with each county electing one senator and at least one representative. Moreover, each county's General Assembly delegation also doubled as its county council, as the state constitution made no provision for local government.

The "one man, one vote" provision of Reynolds v. Sims^[2] caused district lines to cross county lines, causing legislators to be on multiple county councils. This led to the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1975, which created county councils that were independent of the General Assembly. However, the General Assembly still retains considerable authority over local government. As a result, the legislature still devotes considerable time to local matters, and county legislative delegations still handle many matters that are handled by county governments in the rest of the country.^[3]

There are 124 members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, who are elected every two years, and the South Carolina Senate has 46 members, elected every four years concurrent to the presidential election. For both houses, there are no term limits. The General Assembly meets in joint session to elect judges, with all 170 members having an equal vote in such elections.

Role

The main role of the South Carolina General Assembly is to pass laws "as the common good may require."^[4] In order for a bill to become law, both the Senate and House of Representatives must vote to pass the bill by a simple majority. Then the bill must be sent to the governor. If the governor vetoes the bill, both houses can either sustain the veto or override the veto. Veto overrides require a two-thirds majority. Once he receives the bill, if the governor neither signs nor vetoes the bill, it becomes law after five days, Sundays excluded.^[5]

Qualifications

Senators

According to the South Carolina Constitution, no person may serve as a senator who:^[6]

Is not qualified to vote in state elections
Is not a resident of the district in which he or she seeks to represent
Is not at least 25 years of age
Has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony or voter fraud or bribery unless 15 years has elapsed since the time was served.

Representatives

According to the South Carolina Constitution, no person may serve as a representative who:^[7]

Is not qualified to vote in state elections
Is not a resident of the district in which he or she seeks to represent
Is not at least 21 years of age
Has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony or voter fraud or bribery unless 15 years has elapsed since the time was served.

Officers

Senate

South Carolina Senate officers
Position	Name	Party
President of the Senate	Thomas C. Alexander	Republican
Majority Leader	A. Shane Massey	Republican
Minority Leader	Brad Hutto	Democratic

House of Representatives

South Carolina House of Representatives officers
Position	Name	Party
Speaker	Murrell Smith	Republican
Speaker pro tempore	Tommy Pope	Republican
Majority Leader	Davey Hiott	Republican
Minority Leader	J. Todd Rutherford	Democratic

Historic party control

Statehouse Party Control since 1868
Year^[a]	Senate Majority	House Majority	Governor Control
1868	Republican	Republican	Republican
1870
1872
1874
1876		Democratic	Democratic
1878	Democratic
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1930
1934
1938
1942
1946
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974			Republican
1978			Democratic
1982			Democratic
1986			Republican
1990
1994		Republican
1998	Republican		Democratic
2002			Republican
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2024
2026	TBD

Notes

^ Years reflected in chart match gubernatorial elections

References

^ "South Carolina Legislature Online - House of Representatives".
^ "Reynolds v. Sims 377 U.S. 533 (1964)". Justia Law. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
^ "Scoppe: The Home Rule Act that didn't really allow home rule". thestate. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
^ "ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstathouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
^ "ARTICLE IV EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
^ "ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstathouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
^ "ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstathouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

External links

South Carolina Legislature Online

[8] Years reflected in chart match gubernatorial elections

[1] "South Carolina Legislature Online - House of Representatives".

[2] "Reynolds v. Sims 377 U.S. 533 (1964)". Justia Law. Retrieved May 12, 2016.

[3] "Scoppe: The Home Rule Act that didn't really allow home rule". thestate. Retrieved May 12, 2016.

[4] "ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstathouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

[5] "ARTICLE IV EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

[6] "ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstathouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

[7] "ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). scstathouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[a]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
 {{Infobox legislature
-| name              = South Carolina General Assembly
+|background_color=| name              = South Carolina General Assembly
 | coa_pic           = Seal of South Carolina.svg
 | coa_caption       = [[Seal of South Carolina|Great Seal of the State of South Carolina]]
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | house_type        = Bicameral
 | houses            = [[South Carolina Senate|Senate]] <br>[[South Carolina House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
+|foundation={{Start date and age|1753}}
-| leader1_type      = [[President of the South Carolina Senate|President of the Senate]]
+| leader1_type      = [[President of the South Carolina Senate|Senate President]]
 | leader1           = [[Thomas C. Alexander|Thomas Alexander]]
-| party1            = ([[South Carolina Republican Party|R]])
+| party1            = ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
 | election1         = December 6, 2021
-| leader3_type      = [[Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]]
+| leader2_type      = [[Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives|House Speaker]]
-| leader3           = [[Murrell Smith]]
+| leader2           = [[Murrell Smith]]
-| party3            = ([[South Carolina Republican Party|R]])
+| party2            = ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
-| election3         = May 12, 2022
+| election2         = May 12, 2022
 | house1            = Senate
 | house2            = House
 | members           = '''170''' voting members:<br/>46 Senators<br/>124 Representatives
-| structure1        = [[File:SC Senate 2023.svg|250px]]
+| structure1        = [[File:SC Senate 2024.svg|250px]]
 | structure2 = [[File:South Carolina House of Representatives 2022.svg|250px]]
-| political_groups1 = {{Color box|#FF0000|border=darkgray}}&nbsp;[[South Carolina Republican Party|Republican]] (30)<br>
+| political_groups1 =
+'''Majority'''
+*{{nowrap|{{Color box|#FF0000|border=silver}} [[South Carolina Republican Party|Republican]] (34)}}
+'''Minority'''
-{{Color box|#0000FF|border=darkgray}}&nbsp;[[South Carolina Democratic Party|Democratic]] (15)<br>
-{{Color box|#808080|border=darkgray}}&nbsp; Independent (1)
+*{{nowrap|{{Color box|#0000FF|border=silver}} [[South Carolina Democratic Party|Democratic]] (12)}}
-| political_groups2 = {{Color box|#FF0000|border=darkgray}} [[South Carolina Republican Party|Republican]] (88)<br>
+| political_groups2 = '''Majority'''
+*{{nowrap|{{Color box|#FF0000|border=silver}} [[South Carolina Republican Party|Republican]] (88)}}
+'''Minority'''
-{{Color box|#0000FF|border=darkgray}} [[South Carolina Democratic Party|Democratic]] (36)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scstatehouse.gov/house.php|title = South Carolina Legislature Online - House of Representatives}}</ref>
+*{{nowrap|{{Color box|#0000FF|border=silver}} [[South Carolina Democratic Party|Democratic]] (36)}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scstatehouse.gov/house.php|title = South Carolina Legislature Online - House of Representatives}}</ref>
-| last_election1    = November 2020
+| last_election1    = [[2024_South_Carolina_House_of_Representatives_election|5 November 2024]]
-| last_election2    = November 2022
+| last_election2    = [[2024_South_Carolina_Senate_election|5 November 2024]]
-| meeting_place     = [[South Carolina State House]], [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]]
+| next_election1    = 7 November 2028
-| website           = http://www.scstatehouse.gov/
+| next_election2    = 3 November 2026
-}}
+| meeting_place     = [[South Carolina State House]]<br /> [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]]
+| website           = {{URL|https://www.scstatehouse.gov/|scstatehouse.gov}}
+|constitution=[[Constitution of South Carolina]]}}
 [[File:Donald Russell Addressing the SC General Assembly.jpg|thumb|Governor [[Donald S. Russell|Donald Russell]] addressing the Assembly in 1964]]
@@ Line 39: / Line 46: @@
 The "[[one man, one vote]]" provision of ''Reynolds v. Sims''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/377/533/|title=Reynolds v. Sims 377 U.S. 533 (1964)|website=Justia Law|access-date=2016-05-12}}</ref> caused district lines to cross county lines, causing legislators to be on multiple county councils.  This led to the passage of the Home Rule Act of 1975, which created county councils that were independent of the General Assembly.  However, the General Assembly still retains considerable authority over local government. As a result, the legislature still devotes considerable time to local matters, and county legislative delegations still handle many matters that are handled by county governments in the rest of the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestate.com/news/special-reports/state-125/article54555565.html|title=Scoppe: The Home Rule Act that didn't really allow home rule|website=thestate|access-date=2016-05-12}}</ref>
-There are 146 members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, who are elected every two years, and the South Carolina Senate has 46 members, elected every four years concurrent to the presidential election.  For both houses, there are no [[term limits in the United States|term limits]].  The General Assembly meets in joint session to elect judges, with all 170 members having an equal vote in such elections.
+There are 124 members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, who are elected every two years, and the South Carolina Senate has 46 members, elected every four years concurrent to the presidential election.  For both houses, there are no [[term limits in the United States|term limits]].  The General Assembly meets in joint session to elect judges, with all 170 members having an equal vote in such elections.
 ==Role==
@@ Line 79: / Line 86: @@
  |party=Republican Party (United States)
 }}
-{{Chamber officers box position
+{{Chamber officers box position no party link
  |position=Minority Leader
  |name=[[Brad Hutto]]
@@ Line 90: / Line 97: @@
  |chamber=[[South Carolina House of Representatives]]
 }}
-{{Chamber officers box position
+{{Chamber officers box position no party link
  |position=[[Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives|Speaker]]
  |name=[[Murrell Smith]]
@@ Line 97: / Line 104: @@
 {{Chamber officers box position no party link
  |position=Speaker ''pro tempore''
- |name=Tommy Pope
+ |name=[[Tommy Pope]]
  |party=Republican Party (United States)
 }}
@@ Line 105: / Line 112: @@
  |party=Republican Party (United States)
 }}
-{{Chamber officers box position
+{{Chamber officers box position no party link
  |position=Minority Leader
  |name=[[J. Todd Rutherford]]
@@ Line 112: / Line 119: @@
 {{Chamber officers box end}}
-==Historic Party Control==
+==Historic party control==
 {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
@@ Line 118: / Line 125: @@
 |-
 ! Year{{efn|Years reflected in chart match gubernatorial elections}}
-! Senate<br>
+! Senate<br>Majority
-Majority
+! House<br>Majority
+! Governor<br>Control
-! House
-<br>
-Majority
-! Governor<br>
-Control
 |-
 |1868
@@ Line 257: / Line 260: @@
 *[[South Carolina House of Representatives]]
 *[[South Carolina Senate]]
+*[[List of South Carolina state legislatures]]
 *[[South Carolina government and politics]]
 *[[Governor of South Carolina]]

v t e Members of the South Carolina Senate
President of the Senate Thomas C. Alexander (R) Majority Leader A. Shane Massey (R) Minority Leader Brad Hutto (D)
▌Thomas C. Alexander (R) ▌Rex Rice (R) ▌Richard Cash (R) ▌Michael Gambrell (R) ▌Tom Corbin (R) ▌Dwight Loftis (R) ▌Karl B. Allen (D) ▌Ross Turner (R) ▌Danny Verdin (R) ▌Billy Garrett (R) ▌Josh Kimbrell (R) ▌Scott Talley (R) ▌Shane Martin (R) ▌Harvey S. Peeler Jr. (R) ▌Wes Climer (R) ▌Michael Johnson (R) ▌Mike Fanning (D) ▌Ronnie Cromer (R) ▌Tameika Isaac Devine (D) ▌Dick Harpootlian (D) ▌Darrell Jackson (D) ▌Mia McLeod (I) ▌Katrina Shealy (R) ▌Tom Young Jr. (R) ▌A. Shane Massey (R) ▌Nikki G. Setzler (D) ▌Penry Gustafson (R) ▌Greg Hembree (R) ▌Gerald Malloy (D) ▌Kent M. Williams (D) ▌Mike Reichenbach (R) ▌Ronnie A. Sabb (D) ▌Luke A. Rankin (R) ▌Stephen Goldfinch (R) ▌Thomas McElveen (D) ▌Kevin L. Johnson (D) ▌Larry Grooms (R) ▌Sean Bennett (R) ▌Vernon Stephens (D) ▌Brad Hutto (D) ▌Sandy Senn (R) ▌Deon Tedder (D) ▌Chip Campsen (R) ▌Brian Adams (R) ▌Margie Bright Matthews (D) ▌Tom Davis (R)
▌Republican (30) ▌Democratic (15) ▌ Independent (1) South Carolina General Assembly House Senate List of past legislatures

v t e Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Speaker of the House Jay Lucas (R) Speaker pro tempore Tommy Pope (R) Majority Leader Gary Simrill (R) Minority Leader Todd Rutherford (D)
▌Bill Whitmire (R) ▌Adam L. Duncan (R) ▌Phillip Bowers (R) ▌Davey Hiott (R) ▌Neal Collins (R) ▌April Cromer (R) ▌Lee Gilreath (R) ▌Don Chapman (R) ▌Blake Sanders (R) ▌Thomas Beach (R) ▌Craig A. Gagnon (R) ▌Daniel Gibson (R) ▌John R. McCravy III (R) ▌Luke Rankin (R) ▌JA Moore (D) ▌Mark N. Willis (R) ▌Mike Burns (R) ▌Alan Morgan (R) ▌Patrick Haddon (R) ▌Stephen Frank (R) ▌Bobby Cox (R) ▌Paul Wickensimer (R) ▌Chandra Dillard (D) ▌Bruce W. Bannister (R) ▌Wendell K. Jones (D) ▌David Martin (R) ▌David Vaughan (R) ▌Chris Huff (R) ▌Dennis Moss (R) ▌Brian Lawson (R) ▌Rosalyn Henderson-Myers (D) ▌Scott Montgomery (R) ▌Travis Moore (R) ▌Sarita Edgerton (R) ▌Bill Chumley (R) ▌Rob Harris (R) ▌Steven Wayne Long (R) ▌Josiah Magnuson (R) ▌Cal Forrest (R) ▌Joseph S. White (R) ▌Annie McDaniel (D) ▌Doug Gilliam (R) ▌Randy Ligon (R) ▌Mike Neese (R) ▌Brandon Michael Newton (R) ▌Heath Sessions (R) ▌Tommy Pope (R) ▌Brandon Guffey (R) ▌John Richard C. King (D) ▌Will Wheeler (D) ▌J. David Weeks (D) ▌Jermaine L. Johnson (D) ▌Richie Yow (R) ▌Jason S. Luck (D) ▌Jackie E. Hayes (D) ▌Tim McGinnis (R) ▌Lucas Atkinson (D) ▌Jeff Johnson (R) ▌Terry Alexander (D) ▌Phillip Lowe (R) ▌Carla Schuessler (R) ▌Robert Q. Williams (D) ▌Jay Jordan (R) ▌Fawn Pedalino (R) ▌Cody Mitchell (R) ▌Jackie Terribile (R) ▌G. Murrell Smith Jr. (R) ▌Heather Ammons Crawford (R) ▌Chris Wooten (R) ▌Robert Reese (D) ▌Nathan Ballentine (R) ▌Seth Rose (D) ▌Chris R. Hart (D) ▌Todd Rutherford (D) ▌Heather Bauer (D) ▌Leon Howard (D) ▌Kambrell Garvin (D) ▌Beth Bernstein (D) ▌Hamilton R. Grant (D) ▌Katherine D. Landing (R) ▌Charles V. Hartz (R) ▌Bill Clyburn (D) ▌Bill Hixon (R) ▌Melissa Lackey Oremus (R) ▌Jay Kilmartin (R) ▌Bill Taylor (R) ▌Paula Rawl Calhoon (R) ▌RJ May (R) ▌Micah Caskey (R) ▌Justin Bamberg (D) ▌Lonnie Hosey (D) ▌Brandon Cox (R) ▌Jerry Govan Jr. (D) ▌Gil Gatch (R) ▌Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D) ▌Ryan McCabe (R) ▌Robby Robbins (R) ▌Chris Murphy (R) ▌Mark Smith (R) ▌Sylleste Davis (R) ▌Roger K. Kirby (D) ▌Harriet Holman (R) ▌Carl Anderson (D) ▌William Bailey (R) ▌Kevin Hardee (R) ▌Val Guest (R) ▌Case Brittain (R) ▌Lee Hewitt (R) ▌Tiffany Spann-Wilder (D) ▌Tom Hartnett (R) ▌Wendell Gilliard (D) ▌Joe Bustos (R) ▌Vacant ▌Gary Brewer (R) ▌Spencer Wetmore (D) ▌James Teeple (R) ▌Jordan Pace (R) ▌Bill Herbkersman (R) ▌Leon Stavrinakis (D) ▌Weston J. Newton (R) ▌Michael F. Rivers Sr. (D) ▌Bill Hager (R) ▌Jeff Bradley (R) ▌Shannon Erickson (R)
▌Republican (88) ▌Democratic (35) ▌Vacant (2) South Carolina General Assembly House Senate List of past legislatures

v t e State of South Carolina
Columbia (capital)
Regions	Atlantic Coastal Plain Blue Ridge Mountains Grand Strand High Hills of Santee Lake Murray Country Lowcountry Metrolina Midlands Ninety-Six District Olde English District Pee Dee Piedmont Sandhills Sea Islands Upstate
Larger cities	Charleston Columbia Greenville North Charleston Rock Hill Spartanburg
Smaller cities	Aiken Anderson Beaufort Bennettsville Camden Cayce Conway Easley Florence Forest Acres Gaffney Georgetown Goose Creek Greenwood Greer Hilton Head Island Isle of Palms Laurens Lexington Mauldin Myrtle Beach North Augusta North Myrtle Beach Orangeburg Simpsonville Summerville Sumter Union Walterboro West Columbia York
Towns	Abbeville Barnwell Batesburg-Leesville Bluffton Clemson Darlington Dillon Edgefield Fort Mill Fountain Inn Great Falls Hardeeville Irmo Jefferson Kingstree Liberty Marion McCormick Moncks Corner Mount Pleasant Newberry Pageland Pendleton Pickens Seneca Sullivan's Island Travelers Rest Walhalla Westminster Williamston
CDPs	Berea Carolina Forest Dentsville Five Forks Gantt Garden City Ladson Parker Red Hill Saint Andrews Seven Oaks Socastee Taylors Wade Hampton
Counties	Abbeville Aiken Allendale Anderson Bamberg Barnwell Beaufort Berkeley Calhoun Charleston Cherokee Chester Chesterfield Clarendon Colleton Darlington Dillon Dorchester Edgefield Fairfield Florence Georgetown Greenville Greenwood Hampton Horry Jasper Kershaw Lancaster Laurens Lee Lexington Marion Marlboro McCormick Newberry Oconee Orangeburg Pickens Richland Saluda Spartanburg Sumter Union Williamsburg York
Topics	Outline Airports Amusement parks Census areas Congressional districts Famous people Geography Rivers Governors Highways History Historic places Legislature Mass media Newspapers Radio TV Shopping malls Sports venues State House State parks Symbols Tourist attractions Wildlife management areas
Society	Abortion Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Colleges and universities Gun laws LGBT rights Literature Politics Sports African Americans
South Carolina portal

v t e Legislatures of the United States
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate
State legislatures	Alabama (H, S) Alaska (H, S) Arizona (H, S) Arkansas (H, S) California (A, S) Colorado (H, S) Connecticut (H, S) Delaware (H, S) Florida (H, S) Georgia (H, S) Hawaii (H, S) Idaho (H, S) Illinois (H, S) Indiana (H, S) Iowa (H, S) Kansas (H, S) Kentucky (H, S) Louisiana (H, S) Maine (H, S) Maryland (H, S) Massachusetts (H, S) Michigan (H, S) Minnesota (H, S) Mississippi (H, S) Missouri (H, S) Montana (H, S) Nebraska Nevada (A, S) New Hampshire (H, S) New Jersey (GA, S) New Mexico (H, S) New York (A, S) North Carolina (H, S) North Dakota (H, S) Ohio (H, S) Oklahoma (H, S) Oregon (H, S) Pennsylvania (H, S) Rhode Island (H, S) South Carolina (H, S) South Dakota (H, S) Tennessee (H, S) Texas (H, S) Utah (H, S) Vermont (H, S) Virginia (H, S) Washington (H, S) West Virginia (H, S) Wisconsin (A, S) Wyoming (H, S)
Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands
Legislative elections	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
List of U.S. state legislators Lists of past U.S. state legislatures