FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 18, 2017

Contact: Reagan Kelley

ReaganKelley@scsenate.gov

803-212-6332

SENATE MAJORITY ISSUES RESPONSE TO SUPREME COURT OPINION

Court Gets It Right on Lieutenant Governor Vacancy

COLUMBIA, S.C. — In a unanimous decision, the South Carolina Supreme Court today settled the Lieutenant Governor vacancy question definitively. Act 289 and Act 214 as passed and ratified by the General Assembly would follow the election of 2018.

“The Court got it right. This is exactly what we expected the outcome to be because this is the only reasonable interpretation of what the General Assembly passed and what the voters approved,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey says.

The ruling resolves any question on succession given a vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor position. For full text of Supreme Court opinion see: http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/opinions/HTMLFiles/SC/27699.pdf

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