South Carolina General Assembly
South Carolina General Assembly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 170 |
Political groups | Democratic Party Republican Party |
| Elections | |
Last election | November 4, 2008 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| South Carolina State House, Columbia | |
| Website | |
| http://www.scstatehouse.net/ | |
The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. Altogether, the General Assembly consists of 170 members. The legislature convenes at the State House in Columbia.
Prior to the federal Reynolds v. Sims decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, 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.
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 no term limits. The General Assembly meets in joint session to elect judges, with all 170 members having an equal vote in such elections.
Officers
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Rep. Bobby Harrell (R-Charleston, SC)
- Speaker Pro Tempore : Rep. Doug Smith (R-Spartanburg, SC)
- Majority Leader: Rep. Kenny Bingham (R-Lexington, SC)
- Minority Leader: Rep. Harry Ott (D-St. Matthews, SC)
Senate
- President: Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R)
- President Pro Tempore : Sen. Glenn F. McConnell (R-Charleston, SC)
- President Pro Tempore Emeritus : Sen. John W. Drummond (D-Greenwood, SC)
- Majority Leader: Sen. Harvey Peeler (R-Gaffney, SC)
- Minority Leader: Sen. John Land (D-Manning, SC)
See also
External links
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