SC H 3530
in committeeMagistrates' Reform Act
South Carolina · 2026 Regular Session · lower
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Quick answers
Did SC H 3530 pass?
Not yet. SC H 3530 is in committee and has not come to a final vote. Latest recorded action (2026-03-25): Recommitted to Committee on Judiciary
What is SC H 3530 about?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 2-19-115 SO AS TO REQUIRE CANDIDATES FOR MAGISTRATE POSITIONS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION IN THE SAME MANNER AS OTHER JUDICIAL CANDIDATES UPON VACANCIES, AND TO DEFINE WHEN VACANCIES OCCUR; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-1-10, RELATING TO APPOINTMENT, TERM AND TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION, TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, OR RECERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS OF MAGISTRATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES AND LIMITATIONS ON MAGISTRATES' HOLDOVER STATUS AND TO REQUIRE MAGISTRATES GOING FORWARD TO HOLD A JURIS DOCTOR DEGREE AND BE A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-1-15, RELATING TO MAGISTRATES PRESENTLY SERVING, SO AS TO GRANDFATHER MAGISTRATES SERVING IN OFFICE ON JUNE 30, 2025; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-3-10, RELATING TO CIVIL JURISDICTION IN MAGISTRATES COURT, SO AS TO INCREASE THE CIVIL JURISDICTION OF MAGISTRATES COURT; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-3-550, RELATING TO CRIMINAL JURISDICTION IN MAGISTRATES COURT, SO AS TO INCREASE THE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION OF MAGISTRATES COURT; AND BY REPEALING SECTIONS 22-2-10 AND 22-2-15 RELATING TO A SCREENING COMMITTEE TO ASSIST IN THE SELECTION OF MAGISTRATES AND THE SPECIAL ELECTION FOR NONPARTISAN SELECTION OF MAGISTRATES, RESPECTIVELY.
Who sponsors SC H 3530?
W. Newton, Pope, Spann-Wilder and 9 others are the primary sponsors of SC H 3530.
Description
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 2-19-115 SO AS TO REQUIRE CANDIDATES FOR MAGISTRATE POSITIONS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION IN THE SAME MANNER AS OTHER JUDICIAL CANDIDATES UPON VACANCIES, AND TO DEFINE WHEN VACANCIES OCCUR; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-1-10, RELATING TO APPOINTMENT, TERM AND TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION, TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, OR RECERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS OF MAGISTRATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES AND LIMITATIONS ON MAGISTRATES' HOLDOVER STATUS AND TO REQUIRE MAGISTRATES GOING FORWARD TO HOLD A JURIS DOCTOR DEGREE AND BE A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-1-15, RELATING TO MAGISTRATES PRESENTLY SERVING, SO AS TO GRANDFATHER MAGISTRATES SERVING IN OFFICE ON JUNE 30, 2025; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-3-10, RELATING TO CIVIL JURISDICTION IN MAGISTRATES COURT, SO AS TO INCREASE THE CIVIL JURISDICTION OF MAGISTRATES COURT; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-3-550, RELATING TO CRIMINAL JURISDICTION IN MAGISTRATES COURT, SO AS TO INCREASE THE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION OF MAGISTRATES COURT; AND BY REPEALING SECTIONS 22-2-10 AND 22-2-15 RELATING TO A SCREENING COMMITTEE TO ASSIST IN THE SELECTION OF MAGISTRATES AND THE SPECIAL ELECTION FOR NONPARTISAN SELECTION OF MAGISTRATES, RESPECTIVELY.
- Introduced
- 2025-01-14
- Latest action
- 2026-03-25 — Recommitted to Committee on Judiciary
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Sponsors
- W. Newtonprimary
- Popeprimary
- Spann-Wilderprimary
- Cobb-Hunterprimary
- Bernsteinprimary
- Vaughanprimary
- C. Mitchellprimary
- Robbinsprimary
- T. Mooreprimary
- Henderson-Myersprimary
- Gilliardprimary
- Williamsprimary
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-03-25
Recommitted to Committee on Judiciary
referral-committee
2026-03-24
Debate adjourned
2026-03-03
Debate adjourned until Tuesday, March 24.
2026-02-26
Debate adjourned
2026-02-25
Debate adjourned
2026-02-25
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Williams
2026-02-24
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Gilliard
2026-02-24
Debate adjourned until Wed., 2-25-26
2026-02-19
Debate adjourned
2026-02-18
Debate adjourned
2026-02-17
Debate adjourned
2026-02-17
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Henderson-Myers
2026-02-12
Debate adjourned until Tues., 2-17-26
2026-02-11
Debate adjourned until Thur., 2-12-26
2026-02-10
Scrivener's error corrected
2026-02-05
Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary
committee-passage-favorable
2026-02-04
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: C.Mitchell, Robbins, T.Moore
2026-01-29
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Vaughan
2025-01-29
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bernstein
2025-01-28
Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Pedalino
2025-01-14
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
referral-committee
2025-01-14
Introduced and read first time
introduction,reading-1
2024-12-05
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
referral-committee
2024-12-05
Prefiled
filing
Versions
Documents
Votes
Not provided by source.
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:32:06.227230Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
Session-wide evidence can include changes to other bills:
Use this data
Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=SC&identifier=H 3530. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.
Known limitations
- Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
- Committee referrals are not yet captured.
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