South Carolina Amendment 2a, Sessions of the General Assembly (2006)

South Carolina Amendment 2a, also known as Sessions of the General Assembly, was on the November 7, 2006 election ballot in South Carolina as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

Amendment 2a permits either house of the South Carolina State Legislature "by majority vote to recede for not more than thirty days at a time or by a two-thirds vote to recede for more than thirty days at a time, permits each house to meet during the legislative session as it considers appropriate, and permits organizational sessions of the Senate in the years senators are elected after the election before the next regular session the following January."

Election results

Amendment 2a
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		797,252	78.7%
No		215,402	21.3%

Ballot text

South Carolina Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • VIII-A • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII

Question

The question asked on the ballot was:

"Shall Article III, Section 9 of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to provide that the annual session of the General Assembly shall commence on the second Tuesday in January at the State Capitol Building in the City of Columbia, but that each body shall be authorized by majority vote to recede for a period of time not to exceed 30 consecutive calendar days at a time, or by two-thirds vote to recede for a time period of more than 30 consecutive calendar days at a time, and to sit in session at the State Capitol Building in the City of Columbia, and to provide for meetings as each body shall consider appropriate, and to provide for an organizational session for the Senate in those years in which the membership of the Senate is elected and to delete obsolete language relating to earlier sessions of the General Assembly?:

Explanation

As provided for in South Carolina law, election officials include a neutral explanation on the ballot of each ballot question. The explanation provided alongside the question for proposed Amendment 1 in 2006 said:

"This amendment permits either house by majority vote to recede for not more than thirty days at a time or by a two-thirds vote to recede for more than thirty days at a time, permits each house to meet during the legislative session as it considers appropriate, and permits organizational sessions of the Senate in the years senators are elected after the election before the next regular session the following January. The House is presently permitted to organize this way but the Senate is not."

See also

• South Carolina 2006 ballot measures
• List of South Carolina ballot measures
• 2006 ballot measures
• South Carolina State Senate
• South Carolina House of Representatives

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