South Carolina's Policymaking Process

Policymaking in South Carolina

The policymaking process is usually a relatively complex process that involves a series of steps and stakeholders with different responsibilities. In South Carolina, the policymaking process is the responsibility of the state’s legislature, which is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate. Any member of the two houses can provide policy proposals or suggestions based on issues affecting South Carolina’s residents. The suggestions are commonly known as bills, which are first presented to the respective house where they are read for every member to hear. After reading, the bill is sent to a relevant Committee to study it and examine the issue it seeks to address. The Committee has the liberty to amend the bill, accept it or reject it. If amended or accepted, the bill is forwarded to the whole house for further discussions where it’s either accepted as it is, amended or rejected. Upon acceptance, the policy proposal is considered passed before being sent to the other house where it undergoes similar processes. If it’s passed, the policy is sent to South Carolina’s Governor for signature and becomes law.

Policymaking in South Carolina is sometimes affected by policy conflicts that generate significant challenges when attempting to pass a bill. One of the most common policy conflicts in the state’s legislature is gerrymandering in which lawmakers tend to favor their political party when discussing policy proposals (Tyer & Young, n.d.). Political affiliation dominates positions taken by lawmakers in South Carolina’s Legislature as different parties seek to establish their control in the House and Senate. During this process, members of the state’s legislature tend to draw district lines for the benefit of an office holder or party. Unified partisan control is used to resolve these conflicts through formation of party coalitions or district line coalitions. These coalitions are geared towards providing a bi-partisan or non-partisan approach toward examining the policy proposals and their underlying issues. The Governor also utilizes his/her power to influence unified partisanship for policy proposals. Gubernatorial power helps to resolve these policy conflicts through mobilization of members to support their proposals over their party or district lines.