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South Carolina General Assembly

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Legislative branch of the state government of South Carolina

South Carolina General Assembly
Great Seal of the State of South Carolina
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
History
Founded	1753; 272 years ago (1753)
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)^[1]
Elections
Last Senate election	5 November 2024
Last House election	5 November 2024
Next Senate election	November 7, 2028
Next House election	November 3, 2026
Meeting place

South Carolina State House Columbia
Website
scstatehouse.gov
Constitution
Constitution of South Carolina

GovernorDonald Russell addressing the Assembly in 1964

TheSouth Carolina General Assembly, also called theSouth Carolina Legislature, is thestate legislature of theU.S. state ofSouth Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of thelower South Carolina House of Representatives and theupper South Carolina Senate. All together, the General Assembly consists of 170 members. The legislature convenes at theState House inColumbia.

Prior to the 1964 federalReynolds v. Sims decision by theU.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 itscounty council, as thestate constitution made no provision for local government.

The "one man, one vote" provision ofReynolds 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 noterm limits. The General Assembly meets in joint session to elect judges, with all 170 members having an equal vote in such elections.

Role

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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, itbecomes law after five days, Sundays excluded.^[5]

Qualifications

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Senators

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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

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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

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Senate

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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

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

Historic party control

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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		TBD

Notes

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^Years reflected in chart match gubernatorial elections

References

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

External links

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South Carolina Legislature Online

v t e Members of theSouth 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) ▌Jason Elliott (R) ▌Karl B. Allen (D) ▌Ross Turner (R) ▌Danny Verdin (R) ▌Billy Garrett (R) ▌Josh Kimbrell (R) ▌Roger Nutt (R) ▌Shane Martin (R) ▌Harvey S. Peeler Jr. (R) ▌Wes Climer (R) ▌Michael Johnson (R) ▌Everett Stubbs (R) ▌Ronnie Cromer (R) ▌Tameika Isaac Devine (D) ▌Ed Sutton (D) ▌Darrell Jackson (D) ▌Overture Walker (D) ▌Carlisle Kennedy (R) ▌Tom Young Jr. (R) ▌A. Shane Massey (R) ▌Russell Ott (D) ▌Allen Blackmon (R) ▌Greg Hembree (R) ▌JD Chaplin (R) ▌Kent M. Williams (D) ▌Mike Reichenbach (R) ▌Ronnie A. Sabb (D) ▌Luke A. Rankin (R) ▌Stephen Goldfinch (R) ▌Jeffrey R. Graham (D) ▌Jeff Zell (R) ▌Larry Grooms (R) ▌Sean Bennett (R) ▌Tom Fernandez (R) ▌Brad Hutto (D) ▌Matt Leber (R) ▌Deon Tedder (D) ▌Chip Campsen (R) ▌Brian Adams (R) ▌Margie Bright Matthews (D) ▌Tom Davis (R)
▌Republican (34) ▌Democratic (12) South Carolina General Assembly House Senate List of past legislatures

v t e Members of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives
Speaker of the House Jay Lucas (R) Speakerpro tempore Tommy Pope (R) Majority Leader Gary Simrill (R) Minority Leader Todd Rutherford (D)
▌Bill Whitmire (R) ▌Adam Lewis 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 Samuel 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) ▌Keishan Scott (D) ▌J. David Weeks (D) ▌Jermaine 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 Hartz (R) ▌Bill Clyburn (D) ▌Bill Hixon (R) ▌Melissa Lackey Oremus (R) ▌Jay Kilmartin (R) ▌Bill Taylor (R) ▌Paula Rawl Calhoon (R) ▌Vacant ▌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) ▌Courtney Waters (D) ▌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 (87) ▌Democratic (36) ▌Vacant (1) South Carolina General Assembly House Senate List of past legislatures

v t e State ofSouth 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 Ninety Six 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
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Society	Abortion Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Colleges and universities Gun laws LGBTQ rights Literature Politics Sports African Americans
South Carolina portal

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