South Carolina H 3491: A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO EXTEND THE PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE ABBEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM, COACHES, AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS, AT A DATE AND TIME TO BE DETERMINED BY THE SPEAKER, FOR THE PURPOSE OF BEING RECOGNIZED AND COMMENDED FOR CAPTURING THE 2016 CLASS AA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE.

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3491 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3491

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

A joint Resolution

PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII OF THE CONSTITUTION 
OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS, BY ADDING SECTION 
16 so as TO ESTABLISH A SPECIFIED PROCEDURE FOR THE ENACTMENT OR REPEAL OF LAWS 
AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS BY INITIATIVE PETITION AND REFERENDUM, AND TO 
PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.

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

SECTION 1. It 
is proposed that Article XVII of the Constitution of this State be amended by 
adding:

 Section 16. (A) In 
addition to the provisions of Article III and Article XVI of this Constitution, 
relating to the enactment of laws and constitutional amendments, and in order 
to give meaning to the right of the people to petition their government for 
redress of grievances as guaranteed by Section 2, Article I of this 
Constitution, there is reserved by the people the power to repeal and enact 
laws and constitutional amendments by means of initiative petition. This 
section must be construed in a manner consistent with this Constitution and is 
an additional method of amending this Constitution and of enacting the general 
laws of the State.

 (B)(1) An 
initiative petition and referendum is proposed by submitting an application 
containing the full text of a proposition with a one-time fee of fifty dollars. 
The State Election Commission may periodically adjust this fee in an amount not 
to exceed increases in the consumer price index as calculated by the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Commerce, or its successor 
agency. The application must be signed by five qualified electors as sponsors 
and filed with the State Election Commission. The State Election Commission 
shall transmit a copy of the proposition to the Attorney General, Revenue and 
Fiscal Affairs Office, and Legislative Council for review and comment. Review 
and comment shall include suggested changes for compliance with the 
single-subject rule, pursuant to Section 17, Article III; the prevention of 
conflicts with existing law; language or drafting problems; and any other 
relevant comments. No later than four weeks after submission of the 
application, the State Election Commission shall present the official comments 
to the sponsors and to the public. Neither the General Assembly nor its 
committees or agencies has the power to require amendment or modification of 
the proposition. After review and comment, the sponsors may withdraw the 
application, modify and refile the application, or request that the State 
Election Commission prepare the standard initiative petition form. Upon request 
by the sponsors, the State Election Commission shall prepare the standard initiative 
petition form within seven days of notification, as provided by law, and send 
the initiative petition to the sponsors for signature collection.

 (2) Legislative 
Council shall formulate a concise ballot title and official summary of the 
proposition for use in an initiative petition. The ballot title may not exceed 
ten words, and the official summary may not exceed seventy words. Both the 
title and summary must be true and impartial statements of the purpose of the 
proposition and shall not contain editorial comment likely to create bias for 
or against the measure. The Attorney General shall prepare a constitutional 
analysis of the proposition for use in the initiative petition. The 
constitutional analysis shall include an opinion as to whether the proposition 
complies with the single-subject rule. The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office 
shall prepare a fiscal analysis of the effect of the proposition on state 
finances for use in the initiative petition. If the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs 
Office projects that the proposition will require a substantial expenditure of 
state funds in excess of general administrative expenses, then the fiscal 
analysis shall include projected total increases or decreases in state revenues 
or expenditures. If a proposition reduces state revenues, then the proposition 
must specifically provide how the reduction in revenue will be implemented. The 
Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office shall provide an opinion as to whether the 
proposed revenues will cover any expenditures required by the terms of the 
proposition. The fiscal analysis and constitutional analysis shall not exceed 
fifty words each. The constitutional and fiscal analyses must be fair and 
impartial statements concerning the effect of the proposition.

 (C)(1) An 
initiative petition must be signed by each qualified elector in his own name 
and must include his street address; telephone number; voter registration 
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