Senator Grooms proposes the following amendment (SR-3865.JG0009S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding appropriately numbered SECTIONS to read:

SECTION X. Article 1, Chapter 17, Title 14 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 Section 14-17-15. No person is eligible to hold the office of clerk of court who is not at the time of his election:
  (1) a citizen of the United States and of this State;
  (2) at least twenty-one years old;
  (3) a qualified elector of the county in which he is to be clerk of court; and
  (4)(a) a graduate from an accredited post-secondary institution with a bachelor's degree, or
   (b) has at least eight years experience as an employee in a county clerk of court's office in this State if he has not received a four-year bachelor's degree.

SECTION X.  The provisions contained in Section 14-17-15, as added to the S.C. Code by this act, do not apply to a person serving as county clerk on the effective date of this act for the remainder of his current term or any subsequent, consecutive term.

Amend the bill further, by striking SECTION 2 and inserting:

SECTION 2. This act takes effect January 15, 2025.