South Carolina General Assembly
121st Session, 2015-2016

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H. 4083

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Corley
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ms\7131ahb15.docx

Introduced in the House on April 29, 2015
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Appointment of municipal judges

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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   4/29/2015  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 2)
   4/29/2015  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 2)

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

4/29/2015

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

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 14-25-15, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO APPOINTMENT AND QUALIFICATIONS OF MUNICIPAL JUDGES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON MAY NOT BE APPOINTED AS A MUNICIPAL JUDGE WHO HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE COMMITTED A PREVIOUS VIOLATION OF ETHICS ACT PROVISIONS BY THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION OR THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OR SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEES FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME AFTER A VIOLATION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT A MUNICIPAL JUDGE REMOVED FROM OFFICE BY THE SUPREME COURT OR GOVERNOR FOR MISCONDUCT OR NEGLECT OF DUTY IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REAPPOINTMENT UNTIL FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE OF REMOVAL; AND BY ADDING SECTION 22-1-35 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON MAY NOT BE APPOINTED AS A MAGISTRATE WHO HAS BEEN FOUND TO HAVE COMMITTED A PREVIOUS VIOLATION OF ETHICS ACT PROVISIONS BY THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION OR THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OR SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEES FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME AFTER A VIOLATION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT A MAGISTRATE REMOVED FROM OFFICE BY THE SUPREME COURT OR GOVERNOR FOR MISCONDUCT OR NEGLECT OF DUTY IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REAPPOINTMENT UNTIL FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE OF REMOVAL.

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

SECTION    1.    Section 14-25-15 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 238 of 2004, is further amended by adding an appropriately lettered subsection at the end to read:

"( )    A person may not be appointed as a municipal judge pursuant to the provisions of this section who has been found previously to have violated a provision of Chapter 13, Title 8, by the State Ethics Commission, the South Carolina Senate Ethics Committee, the South Carolina House of Representatives Ethics Committee, or any of their successor entities, for a period of not less than five years after the resolving of such ethics violation. In addition, a municipal judge removed by the Supreme Court or the Governor for misconduct or neglect of duty, as provided by law, is not eligible for reappointment until at least five years from the date of such removal."

SECTION    2.    Chapter 1, Title 22 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 22-1-35.    A person may not be appointed as a magistrate pursuant to the provisions of this chapter who has been found previously to have violated a provision of Chapter 13, Title 8, by the State Ethics Commission, the South Carolina Senate Ethics Committee, the South Carolina House of Representatives Ethics Committee, or any of their successor entities, for a period of not less than five years after the resolving of such ethics violation. In addition, a magistrate removed by the Supreme Court or the Governor for misconduct or neglect of duty, as provided by law, is not eligible for reappointment until at least five years from the date of such removal."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on May 5, 2015 at 11:46 AM