South Carolina Senate

{{Short description|Upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly}}

{{Infobox legislature

| background_color = {{party color|Republican Party (US)}}

| name = South Carolina State Senate

| legislature = South Carolina General Assembly

| coa_pic = Seal of the South Carolina Senate.png

| coa_caption = Seal of the South Carolina Senate

| session_room = South Carolina State Senate chamber IMG_4757.JPG

| house_type = Upper House

| term_limits = None

| new_session = January 9, 2024

| leader1_type = President

| leader1 = Thomas Alexander (R)

| election1 = December 6, 2021

| leader3_type = Majority Leader

| leader3 = Shane Massey (R)

| election3 = April 6, 2016

| leader4_type = Minority Leader

| leader4 = Brad Hutto (D)

| election4 = November 17, 2020

| term_length = 4 years

| authority = Article III, South Carolina Constitution

| salary = $10,400/year + per diem

| members = 46

| structure1 = File:SC Senate 2024.svg

| structure1_res = 250px

| structure1_alt = Composition of the South Carolina Senate

| political_groups1 =

Majority

• {{nowrap|{{Color box|#FF0000|border=silver}} Republican (34)}}

Minority

• {{nowrap|{{Color box|#0000FF|border=silver}} Democratic (12)}}

| last_election1 = November 5, 2024
(46 seats)

| next_election1 = November 7, 2028
(46 seats)

| redistricting = Legislative Control

| meeting_place = State Senate Chamber
South Carolina State House
Columbia, South Carolina

| website = [https://www.scstatehouse.gov/senate.php South Carolina Senate]

|rules=[https://www.scstatehouse.gov/senatepage/SRULES2021.pdf Rules of the Senate of South Carolina]}}

File:SC Legislative Manual 1918 (p. 2 & 3).png

The South Carolina State Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the same time as United States presidential elections.

The South Carolina Constitution of 1895 provided for each county to elect one senator for a four-year term. The election of senators was staggered so that half of the state Senate was elected every two years. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1964 for the case Reynolds v. Sims, the state Senate was reapportioned in 1966 as a temporary measure into 27 districts with 50 members for two-year terms. In 1967, the state Senate was again reapportioned, this time into 20 districts with 46 members for four-year terms. The number of districts was reduced to 16 in 1972 and in 1984, they were eliminated with the creation of single member districts.

The annual session of the General Assembly convenes at the State Capitol Building in Columbia on the second Tuesday of January of each year. However, after convening, either the House or the Senate may call for itself a 30-day recess by a majority vote, or a longer recess by a two-thirds vote.{{cite web |url=http://www.scstatehouse.gov/scconstitution/a03.php |title=ARTICLE 3. Legislative Department., SECTION 9. Sessions of General Assembly. |work=2010 South Carolina Constitution – Unannotated |access-date=January 16, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304204700/http://www.scstatehouse.gov/scconstitution/a03.php |archive-date=March 4, 2012 }}