The Senate and House of Representatives met this week for their organization session in preparation for the 2025 legislative session. The 126th General Assembly will convene on January 14, 2025, for the first year of the two-year legislative session. Both chambers will have opportunities for members to pre-file legislation this month before the start of the session in January.
House
House members began their organizational session on Tuesday, reelecting Murrell Smith (R-Sumter) as Speaker of the House and Tommy Pope (R-York) as Speaker Pro Tem. Smith was elected on a vote of 102-17, defeating Freedom Caucus nominee Rep. Bill Chumley (R-Greenville). In his acceptance speech, Smith said the House’s priorities next year will include providing assistance to victims of Hurricane Helene, simplifying the state’s tax code, continuing to lower the income tax, investing in infrastructure and working to ensure a reliable energy infrastructure.
Republicans hold a super-majority with 88 Republicans and 12 Democrats. Nineteen new House members were sworn in for a two-year term of office. On Wednesday, members received their committee assignments and the standing committees met to elect their leadership. All committee chairs from last session were reelected, with the exception of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee (LCI). Representative Bill Herbkersman (R-Beaufort) was elected as chair, replacing long-time LCI chair Bill Sandifer, who was defeated in the June primaries. Representative Micah Caskey is the new Chairman of the House Rules Committee. All the other Chairmen remained the same.
Senate
Senators met on Wednesday for their organization session. Thirteen new Senators were sworn in for a four-year term of office. Senator Thomas Alexander (R-Oconee) was reelected as President Pro Tem. The Republicans now also hold a supermajority in the upper chamber with 34 Republicans to 12 Democrats among the 46 senators. Republicans have not had a supermajority in the upper chamber since Reconstruction. With it, they will be able to more easily shut down filibusters by the minority party, making legislation easier to pass.
With all the new Senators, the makeup of the committees has notably changed, especially the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Finance Committee. Senator Tom Young (R-Aiken) is the new Chairman of the Family and Veterans’ Services Committee. All the other Committee Chairmen remained the same. The Senate Committee website has been updated, and all the committees can be found here. The Judiciary and Finance committees are as follows (new committee members in bold):
JUDICIARY
Rankin, Luke A., Chairman
Campsen, George E. “Chip”, III
Massey, A. Shane
Cash, Richard J.
Adams, Brian
Johnson, Michael
Kimbrell, Joshua B. “Josh”
Reichenbach, Mike
Tedder, Deon
Devine, Tameika Isaac
Blackmon, Allen
Chaplin, James Daniel
Elliott, Jason
Fernandez, Tom
Graham, Jeffrey
Kennedy, Carlisle
Leber, Matthew W. “Matt”
Nutt, Roger
Ott, Russell L.
Stubbs, Everett
Sutton, Ed
Walker, Overture
Zell, Jeff
FINANCE
Peeler, Harvey S., Jr., Chairman
Alexander, Thomas C.
Grooms, Lawrence K., “Larry”
Verdin, Daniel B., “Danny”, III
Cromer, Ronnie W.
Jackson, Darrell
Williams, Kent M.
Davis, Thomas C. “Tom”
Martin, Shane R.
Allen, Karl B.
Bennett, Sean M.
Corbin, Thomas D. “Tom”
Hembree, Greg
Turner, Ross
Gambrell, Michael W. “Mike”
Goldfinch, Stephen L., Jr.
Young, Thomas R., Jr. “Tom”
Matthews, Margie Bright
Climer, David Wesley “Wes”
Hutto, Brad
Sabb, Ronnie A.
Rice, Rex F.
Garrett, Billy J.
Pre-filed Bills
The House of Representatives had their first of two days to pre-file bills on Wednesday, and there will be one more opportunity on December 12. The Senate will have one day to pre-file bills on December 11. To view all pre-filed bills, click here
Judicial Screenings
The Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) continued to screen judicial candidates this week, including three candidates competing for a seat on the state’s second-highest court after Judge Letitia Verdin ascended to the state Supreme Court from the Court of Appeals earlier this year. In all, 83 judicial candidates are vying for 52 spots that the General Assembly will fill in a joint assembly election in February. South Carolina is one of only two states where the Legislature elects nearly all judges. Virginia is the other.
We will provide you with a preview of the 2025 legislative session in early January and will keep you apprised of any General Assembly activities that may occur before then.
