South Carolina legislators are considering a constitutional amendment to make the state comptroller appointed by the governor rather than elected. If passed by both chambers of the legislature, it would appear on the 2024 ballot for voter approval.
The amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 95 on Jan. 10, 2023. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee unanimously sent the amendment to the full committee on March 21, 2023. To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the South Carolina State Senate and the South Carolina House of Representatives.
A comptroller, also known as a controller, is a state-level position in 19 states. Most controllers and comptrollers share duties similar to state treasurers, exercising varying powers related to budgetary and management matters. The controller is popularly elected in nine states and appointed by the governor in seven. The controller is appointed by the state legislature in Tennessee, by the state finance director in Alabama, and by the executive director of the Department of Personnel and Administration in Colorado.
