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South Carolina General Assembly

NameSouth Carolina General Assembly
Coa PicSeal_of_South_Carolina.svg
Session RoomSC State House at evening.jpg
House TypeBicameral
HousesSenate
House of Representatives
Leader1 TypePresident Pro Tem of the Senate
Leader1Glenn F. McConnell
Party1(R)
Election1January 15, 2011
Leader2 TypeSpeaker of the House
Leader2Robert W. Harrell, Jr.
Party2(R)
Election2June 21, 2005
Members170
Political Groups1Democratic Party
Republican Party
Last Election1November 2, 2010
Meeting PlaceSouth Carolina State House, Columbia

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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 is bicameral and 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.


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