Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives

The speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the South Carolina House of Representatives, 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 the line of succession behind the lieutenant governor and the president of the senate. The current speaker is Murrell Smith, Jr., a Republican who has held the position since May 12, 2022.

Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives
since May 12, 2022
Member ofSouth Carolina House of Representatives
NominatorElection by House
Term length4 years, 5-term limit
Inaugural holderJames Parsons[1]
Formation1776
Salary$33,400 + $140 per diem[2]

History

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James Parsons was the first speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, 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 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. was the 50th and the 53rd speaker.[3]

Election

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The speaker is elected by a simple majority vote to a four year term following the most recent general election and may not serve more than five consecutive terms.[4] 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, 8 Republicans, 8 Independents, and 2 Nullifiers.[3] The speaker pro tempore presides in the speaker's absence.[4]

Roles and responsibilities

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The speaker of the house "preserve[s] 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.[4][5] The speaker also serves an ex officio member of the Committee on Operations and Managementof the House of Representatives.[4] 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

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The speaker of the house is third in the gubernatorial line of succession. If the governor, lieutenant governor, and President of the South Carolina Senate are unable to serve as governor, the speaker of the house becomes governor.[6] 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

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List of speakers of the South Carolina House of Representatives[3][a]
# Speaker Party Term of office Notes
1 James Parsons None March 26, 1776

October 1776
2 John Matthews None December 1776

Spring of 1777
3 Thomas Bee None Summer of 1777

November 1778
4 John Matthews None January 1779

December 1779
2nd Time
5 Thomas Farr None 1779

1782
6 Hugh Rutledge None 1782

1785
7 John Faucheraud Grimké None 1785

1787
8 John Julius Pringle   Federalist 1787

1789
9 Jacob Read   Federalist 1789

1795
10 Robert Barnwell   Federalist 1795

1798
11 William Johnson   Democratic-Republican 1798

1800
12 Theodore Gaillard   Democratic-Republican 1800

1802
13 Robert Stork   Democratic-Republican 1802

1804
14 William Cotesworth Pinckney,   Democratic-Republican 1804

1805
15 Joseph Alston   Democratic-Republican 1805

1810
16 John Geddes   Democratic-Republican 1810

1814
17 Thomas Bennett Jr.   Democratic-Republican 1814

1818
19 Patrick Noble   Democratic-Republican 1818

1824
20 John Belton O'Neall   Democratic-Republican 1824

1828
21 Benjamin Fanuel Dunkin   Nullifier (Democratic) 1828

1830
22 Henry L. Pinckney   Nullifier (Democratic) 1830

1833
23 Patrick Noble   Democratic 1833

1836
2nd time

Changed parties

24 David Lewis Wardlaw   Democratic 1836

1842
25 William F. Colcock   Democratic 1842

1848
26 John Izard Middleton   Democratic 1848

1850
27 James Simons   Democratic 1862

1864
28 R. B. Boyleston   Democratic 1864

1865
Deposed by Union Army
29 R. B. Boyleston None 1865

1868
30 Franklin J. Moses Jr.   Republican 1868

1872
31 Samuel Jones Lee   Republican 1872

1874
32 R.B. Elliot   Republican 1874

1876
33 William Henry Wallace   Democratic 1876

1876
34 John Calhoun Sheppard   Democratic 1877

1882
35 James Simons, Jr.   Democratic 1882

1890
36 John L. M. Irby   Democratic 1890

1891
37 Ira B. Jones   Democratic 1891

1896
38 Frank B. Gary   Democratic 1896

1901
39 William Francis Stevenson   Democratic 1901

1903
40 Mendel L. Smith   Democratic 1903

1907
41 Richard S. Whaley   Democratic 1907

1911
42 Mendel L. Smith   Democratic 1911

1915
2nd Time
43 James Hoyt   Democratic 1915

1918
44 Thomas P. Cothran   Democratic 1918

1921
45 J. B. Atkinson   Democratic 1921

1923
46 Thos. S. McMillan   Democratic 1923

1925
47 Edgar Allan Brown   Democratic 1925

1926
48 John K. Hamblin   Democratic 1927

1933
49 James B. Gibson   Democratic 1933

1934
Died
50 Claude A. Taylor   Democratic 1935

1936
51 Solomon Blatt Sr.   Democratic 1935

1936
52 C. Bruce Littlejohn   Democratic 1947

1949
53 Thomas H. Pope   Democratic 1949

1950
54 Solomon Blatt Sr.   Democratic 1951

August 1, 1973
2nd Time
55 Rex L. Carter   Democratic 1973

August 1, 1980
56 Ramon Schwartz Jr.   Democratic 1981

October 1, 1986
57 Robert Sheheen   Democratic 1987

October 1, 1994
58 David Wilkins   Republican December 6, 1994

June 21, 2005
59 Bobby Harrell   Republican June 21, 2005

October 23, 2014
60 Jay Lucas   Republican December 2, 2014

May 12, 2022
61 Murrell Smith, Jr.   Republican May 12, 2022

Incumbent

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ There is no 18th speaker. This is because at some point in history, pre-dating Wikipedia, someone miscounted. Since, society has gone along with the incorrect number. Incumbent Speaker Murrell Smith announces himself as the 61st speaker, though he is supposed to be the 60th.

References

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  1. ^ "South Carolina Constitution of 1776". avalon.law.yale.edu. Yale University. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  2. ^ Slade, David. "Salary only part of S.C. lawmakers' compensation". publicintegrity.org. Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "SPEAKERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA 1776–2021" (PDF). scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "House Rules" (PDF). scstatehouse.gov. South Carolina Legislature. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ "South Carolina Constitution: ARTICLE III LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT" (PDF). sc.gov. South Carolina State House. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Article IV, Executive Department" (PDF). scstatehouse.gov.