Key lawmakers to push new way for S.C. to pick judges

State lawmakers who saw last year’s judicial reform bill as only a small first step toward fixing a fundamentally broken system will return to Columbia in January with sweeping new legislation and a deep-pocketed businessman’s political operation backing their efforts.

The new bill, which is expected to be prefiled by December in both chambers by a group of powerful sponsors including S.C. House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and Sen. Wes Climer, R-York, was outlined in a press release this week by DOGESC, a conservative political action committee founded by Lowcountry entrepreneur Rom Reddy.

Reddy, who’s best-known for his bitter and long-running legal battle with state environmental regulators over a seawall behind his Isle of Palms home, pledged to “partner openly with legislators,