South Carolina H 3033: Judicial Elections, lawyer-legislators

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3033 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3033

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTION 2-19-5, RELATING TO SOUTH CAROLINA JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION 
CREATION, APPOINTMENT, AND TERMS, SO AS TO REQUIRE ATTORNEY-LEGISLATORS WHO 
SERVE ON THE COMMISSION TO RECUSE THEMSELVES FROM THE VOTE AND SCREENING 
PROCESS OF JUDGES OR JUSTICES THEY APPEAR BEFORE OR HAVE APPEARED BEFORE IN THE 
PRECEDING FIVE-YEAR PERIOD; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 2-19-90, RELATING TO 
ELECTION OF JUDGES AND JUSTICES BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN JOINT SESSION, SO AS 
TO REQUIRE ATTORNEY-LEGISLATORS WHO SERVE ON THE COMMISSION TO RECUSE 
THEMSELVES FROM THE VOTE AND SCREENING PROCESS OF JUDGES OR JUSTICES THEY APPEAR 
BEFORE OR HAVE APPEARED BEFORE IN THE PRECEDING FIVE-YEAR PERIOD.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 2-19-5 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
2-19-5. (A) There is created the 
South Carolina Judicial Merit Selection Commission composed of twelve members 
who must be appointed as follows:

 (1) 
four members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and of 
these appointments:

 (a) 
three members must be members of the House of Representatives; and

 (b) 
one member must be selected from the South Carolina Bar who must be a member of 
the Bar in good standing with ten years' experience in the practice of law;

 (2) 
four members appointed by the Senate and of these appointments:

 (a) 
two members must be appointed by the President of the Senate one of whom must 
be a member of the Senate and one of whom must be selected from the South 
Carolina Bar and must be a member in good standing with ten years' experience 
in the practice of law; and

 (b) 
two members must be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee 
both of whom must be members of the Senate; and

 (3) 
four members appointed by the Governor all of which must be members in good 
standing of the South Carolina Bar with at least ten years' experience in the 
practice of law.

 (B) No 
person is eligible for appointment if he individually contributed to a campaign 
of one of the appointing authorities in the most recent election. 
Nonlegislative members may not be a public employee or serve in another elected 
office.

 (C) 
Members of the commission shall serve for a term of two years and may serve no 
more than two consecutive terms. However, a member of the House of 
Representatives or Senate who ceases to serve as a member of the General 
Assembly will have his service on the commission terminated upon the end of his 
service in the General Assembly. Additionally, a member appointed to fill a 
vacancy in an unexpired term may serve two full terms thereafter. The initial 
appointments must be made as follows:

 (1) 
one member each appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
pursuant to subsection (A)(1)(a) and (b) shall serve an initial term of one 
year and may be reappointed to a following two-year term;

 (2) 
one member each appointed by the President of the Senate and the Chairman of 
the Senate Judiciary Committee pursuant to subsection (A)(2)(a) and (b) shall 
serve an initial term of one year and may be reappointed to a following 
two-year term; and

 (3) 
two members appointed by the Governor pursuant to subsection (A)(3) shall serve 
an initial term of one year and may be reappointed to a following two-year 
term.

 (D) Members of the General Assembly who 
serve on the commission and who are attorneys licensed to practice law in this 
State may not vote or participate in any manner in the screening process of any 
judge or justice before whom that attorney appears or has appeared before in 
the preceding five-year-period. Such member shall notify the commission of the 
potential conflict of interest and recuse himself from the vote and screening 
process on behalf of that particular judge or justice.

 (D)(E) In making appointments to the commission, race, 
gender, national origin, and other demographic factors shall be considered to 
ensure nondiscrimination to the greatest extent possible as to all segments of 
the population of the State.

 (E)(F) A vacancy on the commission must be filled for the 
remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as provided for the original 
selection.

 (F)(G) Members of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission 
serving on the effective date of this act who have served more than four years 
on the commission are not eligible for appointment to the commission pursuant 
to the provisions of this act except for the current chairman and vice chairman 
who can serve a two-year term but then may not serve a