The president of the South Carolina Senate is the presiding officer of the body. The role of the president is to ensure that general order is maintained in the senate by recognizing members to speak, ensuring members are following established rules, and to call for votes. Additionally, the president is second in the line of succession should the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and lieutenant governor be unable to serve as governor. The current president of the senate is

Thomas C. Alexander Thomas C. Alexander (born July 25, 1956) is an American businessman who is currently serving as the President of the South Carolina Senate. He serves in the senate as a Republican from the 1st District. Alexander served as an honorary chair of t ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, who has held the position since December 6, 2021.

History

Henry Laurens Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American Founding Father, merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laure ...

was the first president of the senate (as president of the

Provincial Congress The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...

) beginning with South Carolina's independence from the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

in 1776. Until 1865, the president of the senate was chosen by the legislature. From 1865 to 2019, the position of president of the senate was held by the lieutenant governor, who was elected at-large by the population of the state. In a 2016 referendum, voters decided to separate the offices of lieutenant governor and president of the senate. Beginning in 2019, the lieutenant governor is selected by the governor and the president of the senate is selected by senators. Kevin L. Bryant was the last lieutenant governor to serve as president of the senate. The current president is

, who succeeded

Harvey Peeler Harvey Smith Peeler Jr. (born September 8, 1948) is an American politician. He is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 14th District from since 1980, initially as a Democrat, and from October 1989, as a Republican. He was th ...

after his resignation in December 2021.

Election

The president of the South Carolina Senate is elected to a term of four years by a

simple majority vote Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...

by the members of the senate. The next election will be held in January 2025. Any senator may be elected president, except those serving as majority or minority leaders. The president is usually a member of the majority party. One exception is when

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Yancey McGill John Yancey McGill (born September 18, 1952) is an American politician from South Carolina. He was a member of the state Senate from 1989 to 2014. He served as the 90th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from June 2014 to January 2015. , he is ...

was elected president of the senate in 2015 by the Republican-controlled senate.Andre Shain
After delay, Democrat McGill becomes SC interim lieutenant governor
''The State'' (June 18, 2014).

Roles and responsibilities

South Carolina State Senate chamber IMG 4757

The president of the senate generally oversees the proceeding of the legislative body by recognizing senators to speak, calling for votes, and maintaining general order. The president is automatically the chairman of the committee on legislative oversight and is seated on the operations and management committee, but is prohibited from chairing any other committee. Additionally, the president of the senate has the ability to do the following: *Call for a special election after an inter-term vacancy in the senate *Adjourn the senate without a vote in cases of emergency *Should the senate be equally divided in vote, the president's vote will decide the majority *Seat six of the thirteen members to sit on the committee of ethics *Seat four members to sit on the operations and management committee, two of whom must be from the minority party *Seat two members and the chairman to sit on the committees of conference and free conference *Suspend a senator from office who pleads guilty or is found guilty of a felony or other indictment

Succession to governorship

The president of the senate is second in the gubernatorial line of succession. If the lieutenant governor is unable to serve as governor, the president of the senate becomes governor. Since the role of lieutenant governor was separated from president of the senate, no president has succeeded to the office of governor.

List of presidents

Notes

References

{{reflist Lieutenant Governors of South Carolina