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2021 South Carolina legislative session

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2021 South Carolina legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 12, 2021

Session end:    May 13, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Harvey Peeler (R)

House Speaker
James Lucas (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Shane Massey (R)
House: Gary Simrill (R)
Minority Leader
Senate: Brad Hutto (D)
House: James Rutherford (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the South Carolina State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 12 and adjourn on May 13.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 30-16 majority in the Senate and a 81-43 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, South Carolina was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The South Carolina State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, South Carolina was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the South Carolina state House and state Senate.
  • South Carolina was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • South Carolina's governor was Republican Henry McMaster.

    • Leadership in 2021

    South Carolina State Senate

    South Carolina House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    South Carolina was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 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 2021 legislative session.

    South Carolina State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 16
         Republican Party 30
    Total 46

    South Carolina House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 43
         Republican Party 81
    Total 124

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 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 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in South Carolina after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    Template loop detected: Redistricting in South Carolina after the 2020 census

    Template loop detected: Redistricting in South Carolina after the 2020 census

    Click here for more information.

    South Carolina's seven United States representatives and 170 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in South Carolina after the 2020 census, click here.

    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 2021 legislative session, there were 26 standing committees' in South Carolina's state government, including 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

    Historical Senate control

    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. Partisan control had flipped by 2020, when Republicans expanded their majority 30-16. The table below shows the partisan history of the South Carolina State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. 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: 1992-2020

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

    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.

    Historical House control

    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 2020, expanded their majority to 81-43. The table below shows the partisan history of the South Carolina House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2020. 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: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 73 58 53 59 54 51 50 51 53 48 46 47 44 44 43
    Republicans 50 62 70 64 70 73 74 73 71 75 78 77 80 80 81

    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 2020, the Republican majority slowly expanded from 70-54 in 2000 to 81-43 in 2020.

    See also

    Elections South Carolina State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

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