South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 714 — Judicial Seat, Sixth Judicial Circuit Court

Last action — Referred to Committee on Judiciary

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

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

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

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

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

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 14-5-610, RELATING TO DIVISION OF STATE INTO SIXTEEN JUDICIAL CIRCUITS; NUMBER OF JUDGES TO BE ELECTED FROM EACH CIRCUIT; ELECTION OF ADDITIONAL JUDGES WITHOUT REGARD TO COUNTY OR CIRCUIT OF RESIDENCE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT TWO RESIDENT JUDGES ARE ELECTED FROM THE SIXTH CIRCUIT.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

69 added · 11 removed

Plain-language change summary

In the latest version of Bill S 714, the amendment now specifies that two judges will be elected from the Sixth Circuit, which was not clearly defined in the previous version. This change helps clarify the representation for judicial roles in this circuit, ensuring local perspectives are included in the legal system. It matters because it can improve access to justice and enhance the functioning of courts in that area by establishing a stronger, local judicial presence.

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2025-2026 Bill 714 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
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10, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 714Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 14-5-610, RELATING TO DIVISION OF STATE INTO SIXTEEN JUDICIAL CIRCUITS;  NUMBER OF JUDGES TO BE ELECTED FROM EACH CIRCUIT;  ELECTION OF ADDITIONAL JUDGES WITHOUT REGARD TO COUNTY OR CIRCUIT OF RESIDENCE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT TWO RESIDENT JUDGES ARE ELECTED FROM THE SIXTH CIRCUIT.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 14-5-610 of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      Section 14-5-610.  (A) The State is divided into sixteen judicial circuits as follows:
       (1) The first circuit is composed of the counties of Calhoun, Dorchester, and Orangeburg.
       (2) The second circuit is composed of the counties of Aiken, Bamberg, and Barnwell.
       (3) The third circuit is composed of the counties of Clarendon, Lee, Sumter, and Williamsburg.
       (4) The fourth circuit is composed of the counties of Chesterfield, Darlington, Marlboro, and Dillon.
       (5) The fifth circuit is composed of the counties of Kershaw and Richland.
       (6) The sixth circuit is composed of the counties of Chester, Lancaster, and Fairfield.
       (7) The seventh circuit is composed of the counties of Cherokee and Spartanburg.
       (8) The eighth circuit is composed of the counties of Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens, and Newberry.
       (9) The ninth circuit is composed of the counties of Charleston and Berkeley.
       (10) The tenth circuit is composed of the counties of Anderson and Oconee.
       (11) The eleventh circuit is composed of the counties of Lexington, McCormick, Saluda, and Edgefield.
       (12) The twelfth circuit is composed of the counties of Florence and Marion.
       (13) The thirteenth circuit is composed of the counties of Greenville and Pickens.
       (14) The fourteenth circuit is composed of the counties of Allendale, Hampton, Colleton, Jasper, and Beaufort.
       (15) The fifteenth circuit is composed of the counties of Georgetown and Horry.
       (16) The sixteenth circuit is composed of the counties of York and Union.
    (B) One judge must be elected from the sixth circuit.  Two judges must be elected from the first, second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, and sixteenth circuits.  Three judges must be elected from the third, seventh, eleventh, twelfth, fourteenth, and fifteenth circuits.  Five judges must be elected from the fifth, ninth, and thirteenth circuits.
    (C) In addition to the above judges authorized by this section, there must be seven additional circuit judges elected by the General Assembly from the State at large for terms of office of six years.  These additional judges must be elected without regard to county or circuit of residence.  Each office of the at-large judges is a separate office and is assigned numerical designations of Seat No.
1 through Seat No.
7, respectively.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect on July 1, 2027.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 10, 2025 at 02:20 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  2. Introduced and read first time

  3. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  4. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 168 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (168)

168 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

elections
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Frequently asked questions

What does S 714 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 14-5-610, RELATING TO DIVISION OF STATE INTO SIXTEEN JUDICIAL CIRCUITS; NUMBER OF JUDGES TO BE ELECTED FROM EACH CIRCUIT; ELECTION OF ADDITIONAL JUDGES WITHOUT REGARD TO COUNTY OR CIRCUIT OF RESIDENCE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT TWO RESIDENT JUDGES ARE ELECTED FROM THE SIXTH CIRCUIT.
Who sponsors S 714?
S 714 is sponsored by Senator Everett Stubbs and Senator Allen Blackmon.
What is the current status of S 714?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 714?
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