The proposal would turn total control of the panel that screens them over to the governor.

Only one organization, the state chapter of the League of Women Voters, testified on the bill.

Lynn Teague, who represents the league at the Statehouse, said the organization supports keeping legislators off the panel as a way to balance power between the branches of government. But the league would still like to see the General Assembly have some voice in who sits on that panel.

Teague said the league also is opposed to the new anti-DEI language.

“I know this a very hot-button cultural issue right now, but I’ve also heard the chief justice of our state Supreme Court comment that we need a judiciary that looks more like South Carolina,” she said.