South Carolina Governor: Powers, Succession, and Impeachment

The South Carolina governor’s powers, terms, and qualifications are set primarily by Article IV of the state constitution: the governor serves a four-year term with a two-consecutive-term cap, must be at least thirty years old, a U.S. citizen, and a South Carolina resident for five years, and holds the veto, appointment, and commander-in-chief powers common to most governors, along with unusually narrow clemency authority.

Who Can Serve as Governor

Article IV, Section 2 sets three eligibility requirements. A candidate must be at least thirty years old by election day, a United States citizen, and a citizen and resident of South Carolina for at least five years before the election.¹

Section 2 also bars the governor from holding any other state office or commission during the term, except a militia role.

One clause in Section 2 technically disqualifies anyone “who denies the existence of the Supreme Being.” It is unenforceable. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Torcaso v. Watkins (1961) that religious tests for public office violate the First Amendment, and the South Carolina Supreme Court confirmed the point in 1997 when a candidate challenged the provision directly.¹ The words remain in the constitution but carry no legal weight.

Term Length and Term Limits

A term runs four years, beginning at noon on the first Wednesday after the second Tuesday in January following the election. Gubernatorial elections fall in even-numbered midterm years, a schedule that started in 1974.¹

No one may be elected governor for more than two consecutive terms. The limit is on consecutive service, not a lifetime cap, so a former two-term governor could run again after sitting out at least one full term.

What the Governor Can Do

Executive authority in South Carolina is spread across several sections of Article IV, and the office operates with tighter limits than governorships in many other states, particularly on clemency and appointments.

Veto and Line-Item Veto

Section 21 lets the governor reject any bill or joint resolution passed by the General Assembly. A vetoed bill returns to the chamber where it started, with written objections. Either chamber can override, but each must pass the bill again by a two-thirds vote.¹

On appropriation bills, the governor holds a line-item veto and can strike individual spending items while signing the rest. Struck items return to the General Assembly under the same two-thirds override threshold. If the governor does nothing within five days (excluding Sundays), the bill becomes law automatically, unless the General Assembly has adjourned in a way that prevents the bill’s return.¹

Appointments and Removals

The governor appoints leaders of various state agencies and boards. Many of those appointments require the advice and consent of the South Carolina Senate. When the Senate is not in session, the governor can make interim appointments but must submit formal nominations once the Senate reconvenes.²

Removal authority depends on the seat. Most governor-appointed state officers can be removed at will by executive order. Members of certain boards and commissions, including the Election Commission, Ethics Commission, Workers’ Compensation Commission, and the Board of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, may only be removed for cause such as misconduct, incompetence, or neglect of duty. The governor must provide written notice of the charges and give the official an opportunity to be heard before removal.²

Commander-in-Chief

Section 13 makes the governor Commander-in-Chief of the state’s organized and unorganized militia, including the South Carolina National Guard when it is under state authority.³ Once the Guard is called into federal service, command passes to the President.

Clemency: A Narrow Power

This is where South Carolina’s governor is far weaker than most. Section 14 allows only two things: granting reprieves and commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.¹ Pardons and paroles are handled by the state’s Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. The governor cannot independently pardon someone convicted of a crime.

Convening the General Assembly

Section 19 lets the governor call the General Assembly into special session when extraordinary circumstances require it. If the two chambers cannot agree on an adjournment date, or if either house lacks a quorum for five consecutive days, the governor may adjourn them to a date of the governor’s choosing, provided that date falls before the next regular session.¹

Executive Orders and Emergency Authority

The governor can issue executive orders to direct state agencies, manage emergencies, and carry out policy within the limits of existing law. Orders do not create new legal authority; they operate inside what the constitution and statutes already allow. Emergency declarations are the most visible use, letting the governor mobilize resources, activate the National Guard, and coordinate disaster response.

The legislature retains checks on emergency power. Legislatures generally can nullify emergency proclamations by resolution, require legislative approval for emergencies to continue past a set period, or impose statutory limits on emergency executive power that no executive order can override.⁴ The power to call a special session under Section 19 matters most during prolonged emergencies that need new legislation or additional appropriations.

Succession If the Governor Cannot Serve

Sections 6 and 7 of Article IV set the line of succession. If the governor is removed, dies, resigns, becomes disabled, or leaves the state, the Lieutenant Governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term.¹ This is not an acting role; the Lieutenant Governor fully assumes the office.

If both the governor and lieutenant governor cannot serve, state law fills the gap. The President of the Senate steps in next, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Those successors hold the office until the disability ends or the next general election produces a new governor.²

Section 7 also addresses the rare case where neither a governor-elect nor a lieutenant governor-elect can qualify after an election. Succession then follows whatever order the General Assembly has set by law, and anyone exercising the governor’s powers under this provision is exempt from the state’s ban on holding two offices at once.¹

Impeachment

Article XV governs impeachment of the governor and other statewide officials. The House of Representatives holds the sole power to bring charges for serious crimes or serious misconduct in office.⁵

The threshold is high. Impeachment requires two-thirds of all elected House members, not a simple majority. The Senate then holds the trial, and conviction requires two-thirds of all elected senators, not just those present.⁵

Conviction results in removal. The South Carolina Constitution stops there: unlike the federal framework, it does not authorize disqualification from future office as part of the impeachment penalty.⁵ Impeachment does not block separate criminal prosecution, so a removed governor can still face charges in state courts.

Salary and Official Residence

The governor’s annual salary is approximately $106,078, in the lower half of gubernatorial pay nationwide, where salaries range from roughly $70,000 to $250,000.

The official residence sits at 800 Richland Street in Columbia. It was designated the Governor’s Mansion in 1868 and has served that function continuously since.⁶ The state covers maintenance and operating costs, and the home also functions as a venue for official state events.

1
Justia. South Carolina Constitution Article IV Executive Department
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 1 Chapter 3
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Constitution Article IV Executive Department
4
National Conference of State Legislatures. Legislative Oversight of Emergency Executive Powers
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Constitution Article XV Impeachment
6
S.C. Governor Henry McMaster. Governor’s Mansion