State Sen. Jeff Zell says he plans to pursue permanent legislation addressing health insurance eligibility for part-time magistrates after a state budget change left some Clarendon County magistrates facing the loss of coverage and raised questions about the county’s court staffing.
The issue stems from the removal of a longstanding state budget provision that allowed part-time magistrates to receive state health insurance even if they did not work enough hours to otherwise qualify. Without that exception, affected magistrates are set to lose coverage Oct. 1. In Clarendon County, Administrator Walt Ackerman said the county has gone from eight part-time magistrates to two, in addition to its one full-time magistrate, with potentially more departures to come.
Zell told The Manning Times the issue should have been addressed in permanent state law years ago rather than through a budget proviso renewed annually.
“If South Carolina expects part-time magistrates to perform essential judicial functions, health insurance eligibility should be addressed through permanent law rather than an annual budget proviso,” Zell said. “We intend to pursue permanent legislation so this issue can be addressed through statute with transparency, accountability, and a full evaluation of costs, responsibilities, staffing needs, and long-term consequences.”
At the center of the change is Proviso 108.1, which had provided the insurance exception for magistrates in counties participating in the State Health and Dental Insurance Plan.
During Senate consideration of the 2026-27 state budget April 22, Sen. Shane Martin raised a point of order arguing that Proviso 108.1 was not germane to the appropriations bill. The point of order was sustained, and the proviso was ruled out of order. The Senate did not take a separate roll-call vote on whether to eliminate the magistrates’ insurance eligibility.
Zell said he knew at the time that the proviso had been ruled out of order but did not fully understand how many magistrates depended on the benefit or how important the coverage was to their decision to continue serving.
“The full impact, including Clarendon County, became clearer once magistrates began receiving notices and raising concerns,” Zell said.
Zell later voted in favor of the final conference report on the state budget Aug. 11, after the proviso had not been restored. The Senate adopted the report 37-2, with Zell among the 37 senators voting in favor.
Asked whether he understood at that point what the change would mean for currently serving part-time magistrates, Zell said he was “vaguely aware” the proviso had not been restored but had not realized its impact. He said the practical consequences became clearer as the change was implemented and magistrates began receiving insurance notices.
Zell said he is not aware of any separate effort at the time to preserve the insurance benefit after the proviso was ruled out of order.
“The simple answer is that the issue should have been addressed through permanent legislation years ago,” Zell said. “My understanding is that the General Assembly expected the proviso to continue serving as the solution, as it had for many years.”
He said budget provisos are intended to address temporary fiscal and administrative matters and agreed with Martin’s procedural objection that the provision did not belong in the budget. Zell said the larger problem was that a policy affecting judicial personnel had been allowed to operate for years through a temporary mechanism rather than permanent law.
For magistrates affected now, Zell said COBRA continuation coverage is available for up to 18 months and magistrates who work at least 30 hours per week remain eligible for State Health Plan coverage under existing PEBA rules.
Ackerman previously told The Manning Times that Clarendon County had found a way for affected magistrates to maintain health coverage at the current rate through COBRA, but its temporary nature had not been enough to secure commitments from those considering leaving.
Zell said his immediate priority in Clarendon County is determining which magistrates intend to continue serving and which positions may become vacant. He said he recently reappointed nearly every magistrate in the county, and those individuals accepted their appointments and took an oath to serve.
“As vacancies become known, we will evaluate appointments, possible restructuring options, and coordination with Court Administration to ensure court operations continue without interruption,” Zell said.
Questions remain about how quickly new magistrates could be appointed and trained if additional vacancies occur. Zell said he has spoken with Chief Justice John Kittredge, Court Administration and others about available options while staffing, appointment, training and certification issues are addressed.
“I do not believe the citizens of Clarendon County will lose access to constitutionally required judicial services,” Zell said.
Zell said concerns have surfaced in other counties, particularly smaller and rural counties that rely heavily on part-time magistrates, but he said Clarendon’s situation appears more severe than what most counties are experiencing.
He pointed to neighboring Sumter County as an example. Zell said Sumter currently has four full-time magistrates and two part-time magistrates and has not experienced the same staffing concerns. He said the contrast has prompted questions about how counties structure their magistrate staffs and how heavily some rely on part-time positions.
Zell said he wants the response to the current insurance issue to include a wider review of the magistrate court system, including how judges are recruited, appointed and supported and whether staffing reflects the workload and needs of individual communities.
“Restoring health insurance is important, but it does not resolve the broader challenges involving recruitment, retention, compensation, staffing, appointments, and court structure that this situation has exposed,” Zell said.
