South Carolina General Assembly

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South Carolina General Assembly
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
Leadership
President of the Senate	André Bauer, (R) since January 15, 2003
Speaker of the House	Robert W. Harrell, Jr., (R) since June 21, 2005
Structure
Members	170
Political groups	Democratic Party Republican Party
Election
Last election	November 4, 2008
Meeting place
South Carolina State House, Columbia
Web site
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.

Contents 1 Officers 1.1 House of Representatives 1.2 Senate 2 See also 3 External links

[edit] Officers

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] See also

• South Carolina State House
• South Carolina House of Representatives
• South Carolina Senate

[edit] External links

• South Carolina Legislature Online

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