The Speaker of the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...

is the presiding officer of the

, whose main role is to ensure that general order is maintained in the house by recognizing members to speak, ensuring members are following established rules, and to call for votes. The speaker is third in third in the line of succession behind the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and the

president of the senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

. The current speaker is Murrell Smith, Jr., 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 May 12, 2022.

History

James Parsons was the first speaker of the

, elected in 1776 after the adoption of South Carolina's first constitution. Since 1776, there have been sixty-one speakers of the house. Four speakers have served non-consecutive terms, but unlike the office of

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 ...

where each office holder is counted once regardless of terms served, speakers are counted separately for each time in office. Therefore, for example,

Solomon Blatt Sr. Solomon Blatt (February 27, 1895 – May 14, 1986) was a long time Democratic legislator of South Carolina from Barnwell County during the middle of the 20th century. He was a principal member of the so-called "Barnwell Ring." His 32-year ...

was the 50th and the 53rd speaker.

Election

The speaker is elected 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 ...

to a four year term following the most recent general election and may not serve more than five consecutive terms. The next election will be in 2023. Incumbent Speaker Murrell Smith was elected intra-term in 2022 following the resignation of Jay Lucas. Since 1776, there have been 34 Democrats, 9

Democratic-Republicans The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

, 8 Republicans, 8 Independents, and 2 Nullifiers. The speaker pro tempore presides in the speaker's absence.

Roles and Responsibilities

The speaker of the house "preserve order and decorum" in the chamber and oversees the proceeding of the House of Representatives by recognizing members to speak, calling for votes, and maintaining general order. The speaker also serves an

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

member of the Committee on Operations and Managementof the House of Representatives. Additionally, the speaker of the house has the ability to do the following: *Call for a special election after an inter-term vacancy in the senate *Appoint members all committees, but must ensure that both the majority and minority parties are represented *Adjourn the house without a vote in cases of emergency *If a quorum is not present, the speaker may order absent members to be taken into custody and brought into the house chamber.

Succession to Governorship

The speaker of the house is third in the gubernatorial line of succession. If the

, and

President of the South Carolina Senate 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 ...

are unable to serve as governor, the speaker of the house 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 Speakers

Notes+

References

{{Reflist South Carolina General Assembly