South Carolina General Assembly
118th Session, 2009-2010

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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

S. 55

STATUS INFORMATION

Joint Resolution
Sponsors: Senators Ford and Elliott
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ms\7046ahb09.docx
Companion/Similar bill(s): 63

Introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2009
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Supreme Court

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/10/2008  Senate  Prefiled
  12/10/2008  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   1/13/2009  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-97
   1/13/2009  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-97

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/10/2008

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A JOINT RESOLUTION

PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 2, ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE COMPOSITION OF THE SUPREME COURT, SO AS TO INCREASE FROM FIVE TO SEVEN THE NUMBER OF JUSTICES COMPRISING THE SUPREME COURT ON JANUARY 1, 2011.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    It is proposed that Section 2, Article V of the Constitution of this State be amended to read:

"Section 2.    The On January 1, 2011, the Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and four six Associate Justices, any three four of whom shall constitute constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. The Chief Justice shall preside, and in his absence the senior Associate Justice shall preside. In all cases decided by the Supreme Court, the concurrence of three four of the Justices shall be is necessary for a reversal of the judgment below."

SECTION    2.    The proposed amendment must be submitted to the qualified electors at the next general election for representatives. Ballots must be provided at the various voting precincts with the following words printed or written on the ballot:

"Must Section 2, Article V of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to increase the composition of the Supreme Court from five to seven justices effective on January 1, 2011?

Yes    []

No    []

Those voting in favor of the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'Yes', and those voting against the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'No'."

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This web page was last updated on Monday, November 23, 2009 at 2:37 P.M.