South Carolina S 98: County Auditor Qualifications

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 98 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 31, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 98

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Committee Amendment Adopted and Amended

March 31, 2026

S. 98

Introduced 
by Senator Matthews 

S. Printed 3/31/26--S.

Read the first time January 14, 2025

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
12-39-25 SO AS TO PROVIDE QUALIFICATIONS TO BE ELIGIBLE TO HOLD THE OFFICE OF 
COUNTY AUDITOR.

 Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 39, Title 12 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
12-39-25. For persons first elected or first 
appointed to serve as the county auditor after November 1, 2026, in order to be 
eligible to serve or continue to serve as the county auditor, a person must:

 (1) be 
a citizen of the United States and of this State;

 (2) be 
a qualified elector of the applicable county;

 (3) 
have:

 (a) 
a four-year bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or economics from an 
accredited post-secondary institution; or

 (b) 
at least four years' experience:

 (i) 
in the field of accounting or auditing;

 (ii) 
as an employee in an auditor's office in this State; or

 (iii) 
as an auditor in this state.

SECTION 2. Chapter 39, Title 12 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
12-39-18. (A) Any person first 
elected or first appointed to serve as the county auditor after November 1, 
2026, shall complete a one-time forty-hour training program that the department 
establishes or causes to be established. Failure to complete satisfactorily this 
course results in the auditor forfeiting five thousand dollars of his state 
salary supplement each year until the course is completed. The content, cost, 
and dates of the courses must be determined by the department.

 (B)(1) The department, for reasonable 
cause, may excuse a county auditor from attending this course for no more than 
one year. If excused, the auditor does not forfeit five thousand dollars of his 
state salary supplement for that year.

 (2) 
The department may credit some or all of the training program hours towards the 
continuing education courses required by Section 12-39-15 in the year in which 
the training program is completed.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on March 31, 2026 at 04:19 PM