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Senate adopts sine die resolution setting return rules after adjournment
Summary
Senators adopted S.292, a sine die resolution that sets conditions under which the General Assembly may be called back after adjournment and seeks to require conference reports and most work to finish by the May adjournment date.
The South Carolina Senate adopted S.292, a sine die resolution governing return to session after the constitutionally required adjournment date. Senators said the resolution is intended to encourage completion of legislative business during the session and limit the frequency and scope of special post-adjournment sessions.
Sponsor explanation and intent: The sponsor, the senator from Edgefield, urged colleagues to support the resolution as a tool "to ensure that we get our work done during the legislative session and that we not have to be here in June or September or October unless there's something absolute that comes up." He said the resolution is narrower than some past versions and that it includes an exception mechanism allowing the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House to call members back for truly urgent matters.
Questions and concerns: Other senators pressed for details about exceptions and whether conference committee reports would be covered. The sponsor said the resolution would require conference reports to be done by May and acknowledged the rule could be amended in the future if it proved impractical. He also noted that a vacancy in a statewide elected office is a standing ground for reconvening and said it would take a two-thirds vote of the Senate to amend the sine die resolution after adjournment.
Adoption and procedure: The pending question was adoption of S.292 and, after floor remarks and a short series of questions, the Senate approved the resolution by voice vote; the clerk announced "Ayes have it." The resolution, placed in the masthead, will govern procedural authority around the May adjournment.
Ending: Supporters described S.292 as a calendar-management tool to shorten extended post-session work; opponents expressed concern that early adjournment could leave urgent matters unresolved or shift decisions into future sessions. The chamber adopted the resolution and moved on to other business.
