South Carolina S 249: Nonjudicial candidates, pledges and election

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 249 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 21, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 249

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 2-20-30, RELATING TO PUBLIC HEARING OF NONJUDICIAL 
CANDIDATES, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT THAT HEARINGS BE CONDUCTED NO 
LATER THAN TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE DATE SET FOR THE ELECTION, TO PROVIDE THAT 
CANDIDATES MAY NOT OBTAIN PLEDGES OR COMMITMENTS UNTIL THE TWELFTH DAY AFTER 
THE NAMES OF THE NOMINEES HAVE BEEN RELEASED, AND TO REQUIRE THAT A PERIOD OF 
TWENTY-TWO DAYS ELAPSE BETWEEN THE DATE THAT THE REPORT OF NOMINATIONS IS 
RELEASED AND THE TIME SET FOR THE ELECTION.

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

SECTION 1. Section 2-20-30 of the S.C. 
Code is amended to read:

 Section 
2-20-30. (A) Upon completion of the investigation, the chairman of 
the joint committee shall schedule a public hearing concerning the 
qualifications of the candidates. The hearing shall be conducted no later than two weeks prior to the date set in the 
election resolution for the election. Any person who desires to testify at the 
hearing, including candidates, shall furnish a written statement of his 
proposed testimony to the chairman of the joint committee. These statements 
shall be furnished no later than forty-eight hours prior to the date and time 
set for the hearing. The joint committee shall determine the persons who shall 
testify at the hearing. All testimony, including documents furnished to the 
joint committee, shall be submitted under oath and persons knowingly furnishing 
false information either orally or in writing shall be subject to the penalties 
provided by law for perjury and false swearing. During the course of the 
investigation, the joint committee may schedule an executive session at which 
each candidate, and other persons whom the committee wishes to interview, may 
be interviewed by the joint committee on matters pertinent to the candidate's 
qualification for the office to be filled. A reasonable time thereafter the 
committee shall render its tentative findings as to whether the candidate is 
qualified for the office to be filled and its reasons therefor as to each 
candidate. A candidate nominee may not obtain a pledge or 
commitment until noon on the twelfth day after the names of the nominees found 
qualified have been released in a report to members of the General Assembly.

 (B) As soon as possible after the completion of the 
hearing, a verbatim copy of the testimony, documents submitted at the hearing, 
and findings of fact shall be transcribed and published in the journals of both 
houses or otherwise made available in a reasonable number of copies to the 
members of both houses prior to the date of the scheduled election, and a copy 
thereof shall be furnished to each candidate. A period of 
at least twenty-two days must elapse between the date of the joint committee's 
report of nominations to the General Assembly and the date that the General 
Assembly conducts elections for these offices.

 (C) A candidate may withdraw at any stage of the 
proceedings, and in this event no further inquiry, report on, or consideration 
of his candidacy shall be made.

SECTION 
2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to 
elections taking place after July 1, 2025.

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This web page was last updated on January 21, 2025 at 11:25 AM