South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 4930 — Constitution, Governor to appoint Judicial Merit Selection Commission

Last action — Referred to Committee on Judiciary

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

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 14, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · 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.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 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 27, ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, RELATING TO THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION MUST BE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

50 added · 7 removed

Plain-language change summary

The latest version of Bill H 4930 proposes an amendment that shifts the responsibility for appointing members of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission to the Governor, instead of the current process. This change is significant because it centralizes the appointment power in the executive branch, which could influence the selection of judges and justices across the state. The amendment aims to streamline the process for selecting judicial nominees and ensure that individuals appointed to the commission are aligned with the Governor's perspectives on judicial qualifications.

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2025-2026 Bill 4930 Text of Previous Version (Jan.
14, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 4930Indicates 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 27, ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, RELATING TO THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION MUST BE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  It is proposed that Section 27, Article V of the Constitution of this State be amended to read:
      Section 27.
In addition to the qualifications for circuit court and court of appeals judges and Supreme Court justices contained in this article, the General Assembly by law shall establish a Judicial Merit Selection Commission to consider the qualifications and fitness of candidates for all judicial positions on these courts and on other courts of this State which are filled by election of the General Assembly.
The General Assembly must elect the judges and justices from among the nominees of the commission to fill a vacancy on these courts.
    No person may be elected to these judicial positions unless he or she has been found qualified by the commission.
Before a sitting member of the General Assembly may submit an application with the commission for his nomination to a judicial office, and before the commission may accept or consider such an application, the member of the General Assembly must first resign his office and have been out of office for a period established by law.
Before a member of the commission may submit an application with the commission for his nomination to a judicial office, and before the commission may accept or consider such an application, the member of the commission must not have been a member of the commission for a period to be established by law.
    The Governor shall appoint all members of the commission to serve terms established by law.
  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 27, Article V of the Constitution of this State, relating to the Judicial Merit Selection Commission, be amended so as to provide for appointment by the Governor of all members of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission for terms established by law?   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 January 14, 2026 at 03:44 PM
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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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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 169 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (169)

169 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 169 →

"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

civil-rights 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 H 4930 do?
A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 27, ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, RELATING TO THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT MEMBERS OF THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION MUST BE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR.
Who sponsors H 4930?
H 4930 is sponsored by Representative Cody T. Mitchell.
What is the current status of H 4930?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 14, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 4930?
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