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by WILL FOLKS
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One of the most sweeping, substantive judicial reform bills ever proposed in South Carolina cleared the Palmetto State’s House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon (February 11, 2026) – marking a major victory for those hoping to limit undue legislative influence over the judicial branch of government.
The legislation – pushed by Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy (founder of the DOGE SC movement) – directly targets the current composition of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC), a constitutionally mandated, legislatively controlled panel which screens judicial candidates and advances those it deems to be “qualified.”
This panel has been the focus of extensive scrutiny in recent years, with influential lawyer-legislators dominating it – thus dictating the judges they sit before (and from whom they often receive favorable treatment or reap massive windfalls).
The rules of this notoriously secretive committee were modestly tweaked in June of 2024, but reformers have demanded more – citing the ongoing pernicious influence of the legislative branch over the Palmetto State’s ostensibly independent judiciary.
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Enter H. 4755 – the DOGE-backed bill.
This legislation would compel South Carolina lawmakers to choose from judicial nominees put forward by the executive branch. Specifically, by the governor.
On Wednesday, this legislation overwhelmingly cleared the House by an 86-25 margin – with all factions of the badly divided GOP majority backing it.
Reddy hailed the legislation as “ending insider control of the judicial selection process.”
“The judiciary must be an independent branch of government,” Reddy said in a statement. “Our founders established the separation of powers to protect our freedoms but here in South Carolina the legislature controls everything with no checks and balances.”
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? By a vote of 86-25, the @OfficialDOGESC-endorsed judicial selection reform bill has cleared the S.C. House of Representatives… now we will find out whether the @SCSenateGOP intends to pass it or play games with it. Senators are NOT up for reelection this spring… ????? pic.twitter.com/Tq4QuA5lKj
— FITSNews (@fitsnews) February 11, 2026
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“Today marks a major victory for constitutional government in South Carolina,” Reddy added. “This legislation represents one of the most significant structural reforms to South Carolina’s judicial system in decades.”
Reddy praised the broad spectrum of Republicans who backed the bill – including speaker of the House Murrell Smith, lead sponsor Gil Gatch and Freedom Caucus chairman Jordan Pace, to name a few.
For those of you keeping score at home, the tally of lawmakers supporting this bill was well above the two-thirds majority required to effectuate constitutional change in South Carolina – where amendments to the constitution require a two-thirds vote of both the S.C. House and the State Senate (and the governor’s signature) in order to advance to a public referendum.
The specific judicial reforms proposed in the past by FITSNews would require such a constitutional change.
Republicans enjoy two-thirds majorities in both chambers of the legislature – and control the governor’s office. Unfortunately, these super-majorities have failed to advance policies consistent with stated GOP principles of individual liberty and limited government.
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A big part of the problem? The S.C. Senate – which is effectively controlled by lawyer-legislators.
In fact, many believe the House’s swift passage of such a substantive judicial reform bill – with the enthusiastic backing of lawyer-legislators historically loyal to the trial lawyer lobby – is a “wink and nod” situation.
“House leadership is confident this bill will die in the Senate,” one source tracking the legislation told us.
House members are up for reelection in 2026 and need to avoid angering Reddy and his DOGE SC legions ahead of this spring’s partisan primary elections. Voting en masse in support of this bill is one sure-fire way to endear themselves to the Isle of Palms mogul – and hopefully evade his wrath come election time.
Senators are not up for reelection in 2026. Accordingly, they face less immediate pressure to act on judicial reform – or any issue near and dear to the hearts of GOP primary voters.
Hopefully, Senators take this bill up without delay and put it on the desk of governor Henry McMaster (who has asked for such reform in the past).
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we continue to keep tabs on this issue as it makes its way through the legislature…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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4 comments
Eventually judges will be replaced by Rum Ready’s “proprietary AI”. I imagine Rum’s had many wet dreams about it.
The Current Method is Corrupt! This is Better than the Current Method!! The Best for ALL Judges to be Elected as are Probate Judges!!
The house members just voted on it to look good to their constituents at home. We all know the system is corrupt as hell. This is a step in the right direction but it is clear they knew it would die in the senate. ? We don’t need judges campaigning year long and then owing their donors. Our county has a Probate judge that is not even an attorney. Many counties in S.C. have corrupt Probate judges. This is not the answer for judge selection.
Your comment reminds me of a once long time SC magistrate judge who had absolutely no legal degrees or training.
He retired from the Magistrate bench, then was placed on another as a probate judge in Charleston County. Media always portrait him as some kind of Saint. However, the hidden truths had him pegged as ignorant. At times he acted without any jurisdiction whatsoever. Those who filed complaints against were subjected to vindictive retaliation by attorneys who played golf with him.