Governor of South Carolina

The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the state of
Governor of South Carolina
South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the governor is also the
head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina
executive branch. The governor is the ex officio commander-in-chief of the
National Guard when not called into federal use. The governor's responsibilities
include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the South Carolina
General Assembly, submitting an executive budget and ensuring that state laws
are enforced.

The 117th and current Governor of South Carolina is Henry McMaster, who is Seal of the Governor
serving the remainder ofNikki Haley's second term after she resigned as governor
on January 24, 2017 to assume office as United States Ambassador to the United
Nations.[2]

Contents
Requirements to hold office
Term(s) of office
Powers, duties, and responsibilities
Succession
Oath of office
Official residence
History
Notes
See also Incumbent
References Henry McMaster
External links since January 24, 2017

Style His Excellency

Residence South Carolina
Requirements to hold office Governor's Mansion
There are three legal requirements set forth in Section 2 of Article IV of the South Term Four years, renewable
Carolina Constitution. (1) Be at least 30 years of age. (2) Citizen of the United length once consecutively;
States and a resident of South Carolina for 5 years preceding the day of afterwards, the
election.[3][4] The final requirement, (3) "No person shall be eligible to the office officeholder must sit out
of Governor who denies the existence of the Supreme Being," is of extremely for one term before being
doubtful validity in light of the 1961 Supreme Court decision Torcaso v. Watkins, eligible again
which reaffirmed that religious tests for public offices violated the Fourteenth
Inaugural John Rutledge,
Amendment to the United States Constitution. This requirement, however, has
holder (as State, 1776)
still not been removed from theConstitution of South Carolina.[5]

William Sayle
Term(s) of office (as Colony, 1670)

Formation Constitution of South

Under Section 4 in Article IV of the South Carolina Constitution, the governor Carolina
serves a four-year term in office beginning at noon on the first Wednesday Salary $106,078 (2013)[1]
following the second Tuesday in January following his election and ending at
Website www.governor.sc.gov
noon on the first Wednesday following the second Tuesday in January four years
later. Section 3 of Article IV states that no person shall be elected governor for more
than two successive terms. For clarification, a person can hold an unlimited amount
of terms as governor as long as such person does not serve more than two
consecutive terms.[6] Since Henry McMaster assumed the office of governor after
Nikki Haley resigned, he is eligible to serve the remainder of Haley's term and two
consecutive four-year terms of his own.

Powers, duties, and responsibilities

Outer part of the governor's office in
According to the South Carolina Constitution, the Governor:
the South Carolina State Housein
Columbia
Exercises "supreme executive authority."[7]
Appoints directors to 14 cabinet agencies, but most appointments are
shared with the General Assembly.
Serves as the Commander-in-Chief of theSouth Carolina National Guard.
Serves as the Commander-in-Chief of theSouth Carolina State Guard, which is an auxiliary of the National Guard
organized for in-state homeland defense.
Commutes death sentences to life imprisonment.[8] [note 1]
Calls the General Assembly to an extra session in "extraordinary circumstances."
Adjourns the General Assembly as he shall think proper .
Exercises veto and a Line-item veto power on bills.
Declares a state of emergency and oversees relief in the event of a disaster
.

Declares public schools and government offices closed during civil or weather emergencies.
Oversees all state departments.
Serves as the ex officio chair of the board oftrustees of all state universities.[9]
. [7]
Submits a budget proposal to the General Assembly every January
. [7]
Delivers a state of the state address, "from time to time," to the General Assembly; this is usually done in January
Appoints United States Senators in cases of vacancy to serve until the next election.
Appoints (or suspends) county Sheriffs in cases of vacancy to serve until the next election.[10]

Succession
If the incumbent governor is no longer able or permitted to fulfill the duties of the office of governor, the following line of succession
will be followed:
 # Position Current office holder Party

1 Lieutenant governor Kevin L. Bryant[11] Republican

2 President pro tempore of the State Senate Hugh Leatherman Republican

3 Speaker of the State House of Representatives James H. Lucas Republican

Beginning January 9, 2018, the following line of succession will be followed:

Position
1 Lieutenant governor
2 Speaker of the State House of Representatives
3 President of the South Carolina Senate
4 Secretary of State
5 State Treasurer
6 Attorney General

If all three are unable to be governor, then the General Assembly will elect a new governor.

During impeachment or when the governor is temporarily disabled or absent from office, the lieutenant governor will have the
powers of the governor. If the governor-elect is unable to fulfill the duties of the office of the governor, the lieutenant governor will
become governor when the incumbent governor's term expires. If there is an incumbent governor beginning a new term, but a
lieutenant governor-elect, and if the incumbent governor is unable to fulfill the duties of the office of the governor, the incumbent
lieutenant governor shall become governor until the inauguration date, and the lieutenant governor-elect shall become governor on
that date.[6]

Should the Lieutenant Governorship become vacant, the President Pro empore
T will immediately become Lieutenant Governor. [12]

Should the Governor be unable to fulfill his duties, the Lieutenant Governor must become Governor. If he refuses, he must resign as
Lieutenant Governor. Likewise, this applies to the President Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House. In January 2017, Hugh K.
Leatherman Sr., the President Pro Tempore, refused to ascend to the Lieutenant Governorship. Leatherman resigned as President Pro
. [12] [13]
Tempore to avoid becoming Lieutenant Governor but won his seat back the following day

Oath of office
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the Constitution of this State, to exercise the duties of the
office to which I have been elected, (or appointed), and that I will, to the best of my ability,discharge the duties thereof, and preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of this State and of the United States. So help me God."
Official residence
The Governor's Mansion, located at 800 Richland Street in Columbia, on Arsenal Hill, is the official residence of the Governor of
South Carolina. It was built in 1855 and originally served as faculty quarters for The Arsenal Academy which together with the
Citadel Academy in Charleston formed The South Carolina Military Academy (now The Citadel); The Arsenal was burned by
Sherman's forces in February 1865 and never reopened; the faculty quarters building was the only structure to survive and became the
official residence of the governor in 1868.[14] The South Carolina Constitution in Section 20 of Article IV requires that the governor
is to reside where the General Assembly convenes.

History
The South Carolina Constitution of 1776 specified for the governor (known as the president) to be chosen by the General Assembly.
In 1778, the constitution was amended to change the title for the chief of the executive branch from president to governor
.

A new constitution was promulgated in 1865 following the capture of the state by the Union Army in the Civil War. It called for the
direct election of the governor, but continued to limit the vote towhite males. On October 18, 1865,James Lawrence Orr was the first
Governor of South Carolina to be elected by popular vote.

Following the state's failure to adopt the14th Amendment to the United States Constitution
, the US Congress eliminated all offices of
state government. A temporary military government headed by Edward Canby was set up until new elections were held after the
writing of the Constitution of 1868. All male citizens above the age of 21, regardless of race, were given the right to vote and the
governor was allowed to be elected to two consecutive terms.

The election of Ben Tillman in 1890 to governor by the support of agrarian reformers forced a new constitutional convention to be
held. The constitution of 1895 instituted a poll tax and also required voters to pass a literacy test. These provisions were used to
effectively deny the vote to blacks. The convention also increased the governor's powers by granting a line-item veto on the budget.
Initially, the United States Supreme Court upheld the validity of legislation requiring voters to pay a poll tax,[15] , and ruled that
literacy tests were not necessarily unconstitutional.[16] In 1964, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
made it unlawful for a state to require payment of a poll tax in a federal election, and the Supreme Court, reversing the Breedlove
decision, then held that requiring the payment of a poll tax in any election was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[17] Elimination of the literacy test required federal legislation, the validity
of which was upheld by the Supreme Court.[18]

Originally, governors served two-year terms, with no restrictions on reelection. In 1926, the constitution was amended to lengthen the
governor's term to four years, but prevented consecutive terms. Governor Richard Riley pushed for an amendment to allow for two
consecutive terms and it was passed by the voters in 1980.

Notes
1. Unlike most states, the power to grant reprieves and pardons resides in a seven-member board, not the Governor
.

See also
Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
List of Governors of South Carolina
South Carolina gubernatorial elections

References
1. "CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries"(http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/csg-releases-2013-governor-sal
aries). The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013
. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
 2. "Gov. Nikki Haley Resigns, McMaster Takes Over" (http://www.wltx.com/news/local/gov-nikki-haleys-nomination-appr
oved-by-full-us-senate/392202355). Retrieved June 15, 2018.
3. "The South Carolina Governor"(http://www.ipspr.sc.edu/grs/SCCEP/Articles/governor.htm). www.ipspr.sc.edu.
Retrieved June 15, 2018.
4. South Carolina Constitution Article IV(http://www.scstatehouse.net/scconstitution/a04.htm)
5. Torcaso v. Watkins
6. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120427211547/http://www .scstatehouse.gov/scconstitution/a04.php).
Archived from the original (http://www.scstatehouse.gov/scconstitution/a04.php) on April 27, 2012. Retrieved April 2,
2012.
7. "Article IV, South Carolina Constitution - Ballotpedia" (https://ballotpedia.org/Article_IV,_South_Carolina_Constitutio
n). Retrieved June 15, 2018.
8. "South Carolina Pardon Information - Pardon411"(http://www.pardon411.com/wiki/South_Carolina_Pardon_Informat
ion). www.pardon411.com. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
9. "Members - Board of Trustees - University of South Carolina" (http://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/board_of_tru
stees/members/index.php). sc.edu. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
10. "Code of Laws - Title 23 - Chapter 11 - Sheriffs-election, Qualifications And Vacancies In Office" (http://www.scstateh
ouse.gov/code/t23c011.php). www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
11. "Who is Kevin Bryant, SC's next lieutenant governor?"(http://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article128
513744.html). Retrieved June 15, 2018.
12. http://www.scstatehouse.gov/scconstitution/A04.pdf
13. "Hugh Leatherman will not take lieutenant governor job"(http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2016/11/28/hug
h-leatherman-not-take-lieutenant-governor-job/94559024/) . Retrieved June 15, 2018.
14. "History of the South Carolina Military Academy", Col. J.P
. Thomas
15. Breedlove v. Suttles, 302 U.S. 277 (1937)
16. Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections, 360 U.S. 45 (1959).
17. Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966)
18. Katzenbach v. Morgan, 384 U.S. 641 (1966).

External links
Official website
South Carolina Constitution Article IV
List of South Carolina Governors in Chronological Order
The Governor: Powers, Practices, Roles and the South Carolina Experience

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