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2020 South Carolina legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
South Carolina: The South Carolina State Legislature adjourned its session, effective May 12, 2020.
South Carolina State Legislature

Seal of South Carolina.jpg
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 14, 2020
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Harvey Peeler (R)
House Speaker:  James Lucas (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Shane Massey (R)
House: Gary Simrill (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Nikki Setzler (D)
House: James Rutherford (D)
Structure
Members:  46 (Senate), 124 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art III, South Carolina Constitution
Salary:   $10,400/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  South Carolina Legislature has control

In 2020, the South Carolina State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 14 and adjourn on June 25.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

At the start of the 2020, South Carolina was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 28-18 majority in the Senate and a 80-44 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the South Carolina state Senate and state House.
  • South Carolina was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas.
  • South Carolina’s governor was Republican Henry McMaster.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2016 state Senate and 2018 state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    South Carolina was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    South Carolina was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the South Carolina State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    South Carolina State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 19
         Republican Party 27
    Total 46

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the South Carolina State Senate shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 30-16 majority. Control of the chamber had flipped by 2016, when Republicans maintained their previously gained majority at 28-18. The table below shows the partisan history of the South Carolina State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2016. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    South Carolina State Senate election results: 1992-2016

    Party 92 96 00 04 08 12 16
    Democrats 30 26 22 19 19 18 18
    Republicans 16 20 24 27 27 28 28

    Most of the movement in partisan balance in the state Senate occurred in the three election cycles between 1992 and 2004. Republicans gained four seats in the 1996 and 2000 elections, with the elections in 2000 resulting in Republicans gaining control of the chamber. The GOP would go on to pick up another three seats in 2004 and one in 2012, a 28-18 majority maintained after the 2016 election.


    South Carolina House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 44
         Republican Party 80
    Total 124

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the South Carolina House of Representatives shifted in favor of the Republican Party. After the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 73-50 majority. Republicans flipped the chamber in 1994 and, by 2018, expanded their majority to 80-44. The table below shows the partisan history of the South Carolina House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    South Carolina House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 73 58 53 59 54 51 50 51 53 48 46 47 44 44
    Republicans 50 62 70 64 70 73 74 73 71 75 76 77 80 80

    The most significant shift in the partisan balance of the state House occurred as a result of the 1994 elections. Republicans gained 12 seats that year and took control of the chamber. The following three election cycles—1996, 1998, and 2000—had the chamber moving back and forth between having seats gained by Democrats and Republicans, but with the GOP remaining in the majority. Between 2000 and 2018, the Republican majority slowly expanded from 70-54 in 2000 to 80-44 in 2018.


    Leadership in 2020

    South Carolina State Senate

    South Carolina House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in South Carolina state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 26 standing committees in South Carolina's state government, including no joint legislative committees, 15 state Senate committees, and 11 state House committees.

    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the South Carolina Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XVI of the South Carolina Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in South Carolina

    The South Carolina Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. South Carolina requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the South Carolina State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 82 votes in the South Carolina House of Representatives and 30 votes in the South Carolina State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    In South Carolina, the Legislature needs to approve a constitutional amendment for a second time after voters approve the amendment. This second vote requires a simple majority in the House and Senate.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 3 of Article XVI of the South Carolina Constitution, a constitutional convention can be held if two-thirds of the members of both houses of the South Carolina State Legislature vote to put the question on the ballot.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of South Carolina.

    South Carolina Party Control: 1992-2025
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections South Carolina State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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