South Carolina General Assembly

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South Carolina General Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Houses Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Hugh K. Leatherman, Sr. (R)
Since June 18, 2014
Structure
Seats 170 voting members:
46 Senators
124 Representatives
South Carolina Senate.svg
Senate political groups
     Republican (28)      Democratic (18)
South Carolina House of Representatives Composition 2013-2015.svg
House political groups
     Republican (78)      Democratic (46)
Elections
Senate last election
November 2012
House last election
November 2014
Meeting place
SC State House at evening.jpg
South Carolina State House, Columbia
Website
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/

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 is bicameral and 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 1964 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, as the state constitution made no provision for local government.

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, and the General Assembly still devotes much of its time to local issues.

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

Senate

South Carolina Senate Officers
Position Name Party
President Pro Tempore Hugh K. Leatherman, Sr. Republican
Majority Leader Harvey S. Peeler, Jr. Republican
Minority Leader Nikki G. Setzler Democratic

House of Representatives

South Carolina House of Representatives Officers
Position Name Party
Speaker James H. "Jay" Lucas Republican
Speaker pro tempore Tommy Pope Republican
Majority Leader Bruce W. Bannister Republican
Minority Leader J. Todd Rutherford Democratic

See also

External links


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