South Carolina State Legislature

From Ballotpedia

State Government
State officials
State legislatures
Elections, 2010
Primary election dates, 2010
Find your state

The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of South Carolina. It consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. Prior to Reynolds v. Sims, the House of Representatives was apportioned so that each county had a number of representatives based on population, with each county guaranteed at least one Representative, while each county had one Senator. Moreover, each county's General Assembly delegation also doubled as its county council.

Reynolds v. Sims 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, some functions that in many other states are performed by county governments are still handled by county legislative delegations in South Carolina.

The General Assembly meets in joint session to elect judges, with all 170 members having an equal vote in such elections.

It is currently meeting in the first regular session of the 118th General Assembly which began on January 13, 2009 and adjourns on June 4, 2009.

Senate

The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the same time as United States Presidential elections.

The South Carolina Constitution of 1895 provided for each county to elect one senator for a four-year term. The election of senators was staggered so that half of the state Senate was elected every two years. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1964 for the case Reynolds v. Sims, the state Senate was reapportioned in 1966 as a temporary measure into 27 districts with 50 members for two-year terms. In 1967, the state Senate was again reapportioned, this time into 20 districts with 46 members for four-year terms. The number of districts was reduced to 16 in 1972 and in 1984, they were eliminated with the creation of single member districts.

Senators serve without term limits. The current make-up is 27 Republicans, 19 Democrats.

House of Representatives

The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 Representatives elected to two year terms at the same time US Congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seating on the floor is not divided by party, but is arranged by county delegation.

Representatives serve without term limits. The current make-up is 73 Republicans, 51 Democrats.

External links

• South Carolina Legislature Online
• South Carolina General Assembly on Wikipedia

v • d • e State legislatures 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) 2010 State legislative special elections in 2010 • Primary election dates in 2010 2009 State legislatures in 2009 • State legislative special elections in 2009 General Number of state legislators • State senators