South Carolina 126th General Assembly Status: Introduced

H 4716 — A JOINT RESOLUTION TO AMEND SECTION 26, ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE APPOINTMENT OF MAGISTRATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THEY SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR BY AND WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RATHER THAN BY THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE SENATE; TO PROVIDE FOR A MAJORITY VOTE OF EACH CHAMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY; TO DELETE PROVISIONS PROVIDING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL PROVIDE FOR MAGISTRATES' TERMS OF OFFICE AND THEIR CIVIL AND CRIMINAL JURISDICTION; AND TO PROVIDE FOR TERMS OF OFFICE OF MAGISTRATES OF FOUR YEARS AND UNTIL THEIR SUCCESSORS ARE APPOINTED AND QUALIFIED.

Last action — Member(s) request name added as sponsor: White

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced December 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Constitutional Amendment

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read H 4716 on the official South Carolina source →

Action History

  1. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: White

  2. Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 65)

  3. Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 65)

  4. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  5. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 167 not signed on

Not signed on (167)

167 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does H 4716 do?
Constitutional Amendment
Who sponsors H 4716?
H 4716 is sponsored by Representative Joseph S. "Joe" White, Representative Thomas E. "Tommy" Pope, and Representative Melissa Lackey Oremus.
What is the current status of H 4716?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced December 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 4716?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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