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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
H. 4944
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Funderburk, Kennedy, W.J. McLeod and Clemmons
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ggs\22828zw16.docx
Introduced in the House on February 11, 2016
Introduced in the Senate on March 10, 2016
Currently residing in the House
Summary: Elections
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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2/11/2016 House Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 95)
2/11/2016 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary
(House Journal-page 95)
3/3/2016 House Committee report: Favorable Judiciary
(House Journal-page 4)
3/8/2016 House Read second time (House Journal-page 24)
3/8/2016 House Roll call Yeas-100 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 24)
3/9/2016 House Read third time and sent to Senate
(House Journal-page 10)
3/10/2016 Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 9)
3/10/2016 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary
(Senate Journal-page 9)
4/20/2016 Senate Referred to Subcommittee: Thurmond (ch), McElveen, Shealy
5/24/2016 Senate Committee report: Favorable Judiciary
(Senate Journal-page 13)
5/26/2016 Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 41)
6/2/2016 Senate Read third time and returned to House with amendments
(Senate Journal-page 59)
6/2/2016 Senate Roll call Ayes-41 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 59)
View the latest legislative information at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
2/11/2016
3/3/2016
5/24/2016
6/2/2016
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
June 2, 2016
H. 4944
Introduced by Reps. Funderburk, Kennedy, W.J. McLeod and Clemmons
S. Printed 6/2/16--S.
Read the first time March 10, 2016.
TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-190, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL VACANCIES IN OFFICES, SO AS TO REMOVE A MUNICIPALITY'S AUTHORITY NOT TO CONDUCT GENERAL ELECTIONS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 7-13-190(E) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 3 of 2003, is amended to read:
"(E)(1) A special election to fill a vacancy in an office is not required to be conducted if fourteen calendar days have elapsed since the filing period for that office has closed and:
(a) only one person has filed for the office; and
(b) no person has filed a declaration to be a write-in candidate with the authority charged by law with conducting the election.
(2) In such an event, the candidate who filed for the office is deemed elected and shall take office on the Monday following certification.
(3) The provisions of this subsection also apply to municipal general elections. The authority charged by law with conducting the election may cancel an election where only one person has filed for the office, under the conditions of subsection (E)(1).
When no person has filed a declaration to be a write-in candidate pursuant to this section, the candidate who filed for the office must be declared the winner by the authority charged by law with conducting the election, and the votes for the election must not be counted or otherwise tabulated. Nothing in this section requires a ballot containing the name of a person who has been declared the winner pursuant to this section to be reprinted to delete the winning candidate's name or candidates' names from the ballot."
SECTION 2. Section 7-13-35 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-13-35. (A) The authority charged by law with conducting an election must publish two notices of general, municipal, special, and primary elections held in the county in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or municipality, as appropriate. Included in each notice must be a reminder of the last day persons may register to be eligible to vote in the election for which notice is given, notification of the date, time, and location of the hearing on ballots challenged in the election, a list of the precincts involved in the election, the location of the polling places in each of the precincts, and notification that the process of examining the return-addressed envelopes containing absentee ballots may begin at 2:00 two o'clock p.m. on election day at a place designated in the notice by the authority charged with conducting the election. The first notice must appear not later than sixty days before the election and the second notice must appear not later than two weeks after the first notice.
(B) A municipality charged by law with conducting an election must publish two additional notices of municipal election filing date requirements in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or municipality, as appropriate. The notices required under this subsection must appear prior to the opening of candidate filing."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on June 3, 2016 at 12:50 PM