South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 590 — Term Limits Constitutional Amendment

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 April 22, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 24% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 9 sponsors

    9 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 7, ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE QUALIFICATIONS OF SENATORS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SO AS TO LIMIT SENATORS TO SERVING NO MORE THAN THREE TERMS IN OFFICE AND TO LIMIT MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO SERVING NO MORE THAN SIX TERMS IN OFFICE.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

41 added · 5 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent amendment to Bill S 590 proposes to limit the number of terms that senators and House representatives can serve in South Carolina—specifically, no more than three terms for senators and six terms for House members. It clarifies that any terms served prior to January 1, 2026, will not count towards these limits. This change aims to promote fresh ideas in the legislature and prevent career politicians from holding office for extended periods, potentially leading to a more dynamic and representative government.

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2025-2026 Bill 590 Text of Previous Version (Apr.
22, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 590Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A joint Resolution   PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 7, ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE QUALIFICATIONS OF SENATORS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SO AS TO LIMIT SENATORS TO SERVING NO MORE THAN THREE TERMS IN OFFICE AND TO LIMIT MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO SERVING NO MORE THAN SIX TERMS IN OFFICE.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  It is proposed that Section 7, Article III of the Constitution of this State be amended by adding a new paragraph at the end to read:
      "No person shall be eligible for election to the House of Representatives if that person has served six terms in the same body, regardless of the district represented.
No person shall be eligible for election to the Senate if that person has served three terms in the same body, regardless of the district represented.
For the purposes of the number of terms served in the General Assembly, any term served, for which the election was held prior to January 1, 2026, shall not be counted as a term served.
For the purposes of this section, service in office for more than one half of a term shall be deemed service for a term."   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 7, Article III of the Constitution of this State, relating to the qualifications of members of the Senate and House of representatives, be amended so as to impose term limits on members of the Senate and members of the House of Representatives, so that a member of the Senate may serve no more than three terms in office and a member of the House of Representatives may serve no more than six terms in office?   Yes     o No      o   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'." ----XX---- This web page was last updated on April 22, 2025 at 11:42 AM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  2. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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9 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 161 not signed on

Sponsors (9)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (161)

161 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 161 →

"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
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 S 590 do?
A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 7, ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE QUALIFICATIONS OF SENATORS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SO AS TO LIMIT SENATORS TO SERVING NO MORE THAN THREE TERMS IN OFFICE AND TO LIMIT MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO SERVING NO MORE THAN SIX TERMS IN OFFICE.
Who sponsors S 590?
S 590 is sponsored by Senator Mike Reichenbach, Senator Tom Fernandez, Senator Rex F. Rice, Senator Billy Garrett, Senator JD Chaplin, Senator Jason Elliott, Senator Everett Stubbs, Senator Jeff Zell, and Senator Wes Climer.
What is the current status of S 590?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced April 22, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 590?
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