Legislative Council

Created by Act 294 of 1949 (Section 2-11-10), the Legislative Council is responsible for the organization and operation of the research, reference, and bill drafting facilities to serve the General Assembly. The Council also codifies and publishes the general and permanent statutory laws of this State in appropriate supplements and volumes (Section 2-13-30). All duties and responsibilities of the State Library were devolved upon the Legislative Council to be maintained as the Legislative Library by Section 2-11-70. The responsibility for the State Register was assigned to the Council by the provisions of Act 176 of 1977.

A Message from the Code Commissioner . . .

Welcome to the website of the South Carolina Legislative Council.

The Code Commissioner and Legislative Council Staff provide legal services and research to the South Carolina General Assembly. We serve under a five-member governing board consisting of the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, the Secretary of State, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Our mission statement is: "To provide high quality bill drafting and legal services to the General Assembly and others on a timely basis in compliance with the highest ethical standards and to accurately publish enactments of the General Assembly in codified form for use by government, the courts, and general public".

Legislative Council's purpose is to provide research, reference, and bill drafting services to the General Assembly; codify the statutory laws of this State into various publications mandated by state law; establish and implement all procedures for carrying out the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act relating to the General Assembly review of regulations and the publication of the State Register; and, maintain a legislative library which distributes over one thousand annual code of laws supplements to various public sector recipients upon their subscription and where the United States Code, and the acts and joint resolutions, Senate and House Journals, and various other books, publications, and documents are maintained.

Access to the South Carolina Constitution, Code of Laws, and Code of Regulations is available on the South Carolina Legislature website. Additionally, Legislative Council produces a variety of publications that are accessible on the legislative website. The Quick Links below provide instant access to these references.

Sincerely,

Ashley Harwell-Beach
Code Commissioner and Director
South Carolina Legislative Council

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