S 0831 General Bill, By M.T. Rose
 A Bill to amend Section 22-1-10, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
 relating to the appointment and term of office for magistrates, so as to
 provide that the initial term of a newly appointed magistrate shall be for two
 years rather than four years.

   05/11/95  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-14
   05/11/95  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-14

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 22-1-10, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF OFFICE FOR MAGISTRATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE INITIAL TERM OF A NEWLY APPOINTED MAGISTRATE SHALL BE FOR TWO YEARS RATHER THAN FOUR YEARS.

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

SECTION 1. Section 22-1-10(A) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(A) The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint magistrates in each county of the State for a term of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualified; provided, however, that the initial term of office of a magistrate who has not previously served as a magistrate shall be two years and the second term of an individual so appointed shall be two years. The provisions of this paragraph must be read in conjunction with the following paragraph and nothing in this provision shall be construed to alter the staggering scheme provided in the next paragraph.

Magistrates serving the counties of Abbeville, Allendale, Bamberg, Beaufort, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Dillon, Edgefield, Florence, Greenville, Hampton, Jasper, Lancaster, Lee, Marion, McCormick, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Sumter, and Williamsburg shall serve terms of four years commencing May 1, 1990. Magistrates serving the counties of Aiken, Anderson, Barnwell, Berkeley, Charleston, Chester, Darlington, Dorchester, Fairfield, Georgetown, Greenwood, Horry, Kershaw, Laurens, Lexington, Marlboro, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Spartanburg, Union, and York shall serve terms of four years commencing May 1, 1991.

At least ninety days before the date of the commencement of the terms provided in the preceding paragraph and every four years thereafter, each county governing body must inform, in writing, the Senators representing that county of the number of full-time and part-time magistrate positions available in the county, the number of work hours required by each position, the compensation for each position, and the area of the county to which each position is assigned. If the county governing body fails to inform, in writing, the Senators representing that county of the information as required in this section, then the compensation, hours, and location of the full-time and part-time magistrate positions available in the county remain as designated for the previous four years.

Each magistrate's number of work hours, compensation, and work location must remain the same throughout the term of office, except for a change (1) specifically allowed by statute or (2) authorized by the county governing body at least four years after the magistrate's most recent appointment and after a material change in conditions has occurred which warrants the change. Nothing provided in this section prohibits the raising of compensation or hours and compensation during a term of office. No magistrate may be paid for work not performed except for bona fide illness or as otherwise provided by law.

The number of magistrates to be appointed for each county and their territorial jurisdiction are as prescribed by law before March 2, 1897, for trial justices in the respective counties of the State, except as otherwise provided in this section."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.