Bills filed during 3/9/21 – 3/11/21

Government Structure

• S.647 – To direct the State Division of Aeronautics to sell all state airplanes that are used to transport the governor, legislators, and their invitees
• H.4061 – Amending state retirement and benefit plans, creating a defined contribution plan under the Public Employee Benefit Authority to replace the pension system going forward. Creates an optional retirement system (shared risk defined benefit plan) separate from the current retirement system 
• S.658 – Allowing the SC Public Employee Benefit Authority create regulations about who can purchase insurance through them and when they allow enrollment, allowing members who are not retired to choose beneficiaries to receive the dependent care (currently requires the person to be contributing)  and repeals the “Retirement and Preretirement  Advisory Panel”
• S.649 – Approving Dept. of Labor, Licensing and Regulation promulgated regulation on deleting certain positions within the Board of Registration for Foresters and amending some fees for the same board 
• S.654 – Allowing local governments to adopt ordinances restricting the use of pesticides with certain listed active ingredients 
• H.4037 – Adding a rule (5.21) to the House chamber rules allowing the second reading of a bill to be read aloud if requested by a member
• H.4048 – The state must provide legal defense for and indemnification to a state agency, department or instrumentality against claims arising out of their performance of official duties
• H.4060 – Allowing the SC Building Codes Council to deny proposed codes within a certain time frame, deny a committee’s report with a 2/3 vote, and must provide a fiscal impact reports
• H.4063 – Provides regulation and licensing requirements for electronic notary services, gives the secretary of state the power to promulgate regulations for the field 

Taxation/Spending

• H.4062 – Public Service Commission may hire experts and consultants to aid them in their duties that may also serve as an expert witness, they are exempt from the state procurement code for hiring experts ORS/PSC may not hire the same expert for the same proceeding
• H.4064 – Public utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission are not eligible for a manufacturing tax rate on their property even if they are using it for manufacturing 
• H.4074 – Funds for 2019-20 general appropriations act that were continued for 2021 for DHEC, DHHS, and DSS must be used to ease and streamline the adoption process

Elections

• H.4036 – Allows qualified electors to register in person immediately before voting and allows 30 days absentee in person voting prior to the election 

Criminal Justice

• S.665 – A person filling out an application for an alcohol license or permit must do so under oath and the penalty or perjury
• S.653 – Allowing a convict to go to certain sick family members and funerals, and to allow the detention facility to determine the risks involved, make a decision on the action, and recover the cost of providing transport and security 
• H.4046 – To declare all abortions illegal and nullify the Supreme Court precedent on abortion
• H.4047 – Illegal to give a minor a prescription or medical procedure to alter their appearance of gender or delay puberty
• H.4051 – Making it illegal for radio or cable to air fraudulent commercials
• H.4050 – Inmates that participate in the prison industries program and get paid less than federal minimum wage will not have room and board deducted from their wages
• H.4067 – Adding the exploitation or prostitution of a child to the criminal definition of sex trafficking, minors who are trafficked shall not be tried in court or found delinquent, travel agencies may not promote nor sell travel for prostitution  
• H.4068 – Allowing the issuance of wiretapping and electronic surveillance for trafficking people with a warrant issued by an appropriate judge 
• H.4075 – Third degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor that is found to be consensual provided that the offender is 18 or less, or both participants were under the age of 16 the offender does not go on the sex offender registry
• S.659 – Allowing convicts that committed violent sexual crimes to re-enter society on a supervised program if a panel of experts created under this bill finds that they do not meet the probable cause standard to believe they will commit violent sex crimes again

Education

• S.645 – Establishing the Division of Interscholastic Athletics within the Dept. of Education to manage interscholastic sports for all public schools and any private schools that want to compete and it bans schools that participate in this program from having affiliation with the “South Carolina High school League”
• S.648 – Consolidating Clarendon County School District 2 and 4 into one district called the Clarendon County School District and having the local legislative delegation appoint the initial governing board which from then on will be elected by the electorate 
• H.4059 – Establishing the “Office of Interscholastic Athletics” to manage public school sports leagues and to allow private schools and charter schools to enroll or participate in this program under certain conditions 
• H.4073 – Creating a “Student Loan Bill of Rights Act” That will create a new office in the Department of Consumer Affairs that will raise funds from student loan servicers and issuers through fees and licensing and then use those funds to mediate disagreements between students and servicers, as well as educate the public about student loans, and track general data about the industry  
• S.661 – Approving a regulation made by the Commission on Higher Education that regulates the Life Scholarship, to allow students participating in a study abroad or coop to keep it for 30 class hours, to allow the ACT scores to be “superscored” as SAT scores currently are, and more 
• S.662 – Approving a regulation made by the Commission on Higher Education that regulates the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, to change qualification dates, to allow the ACT scores to be “superscored” as SAT scores currently are, and more 
• S.663 – Approving a regulation made  by the Commission on Higher Education that regulates the SC HOPE Scholarship, to change transcript policies, update definitions and more  

Medicine/COVID

• H.4053 – State Board of Pharmacy will update the legislature, governor and SLED every 90 days if they have detected any new synthetic cannabinoids or cathiones not currently illegal under state law and to add it to the illegal list of drugs for one year, at which point the legislature decides if it should be added to the schedule of controlled substances through code
• S.646 – For-profit institutions shall not engage in the procurement or transfer of a human eye or any portion of it 
• S.652 – Exempting surgically implanted drug delivery systems from the 31 day limit on prescribed drugs
• H.4052 – Making all health insurance policies cover maternity care (prenatal, birth, and postpartum)

Resolutions (Highlights) (27 Total)

• H.4056 – Resolution urging the USC Board of Trustees to name the basketball court in the Colonial Arena after Dawn Staley
• H.4070 – Resolution asking the federal government to grant recognition to the Pee Dee Indian Tribe
• H.4072 – Resolution to affirm the SC House’s commitment to protect children from mental and physical harms that occurred as result of the covid pandemic
• S.660 – Resolution urging the Attorney General to take action to stop H.R.1, a piece of federal legislation

Road Naming Resolutions

• S.655 – DOT shall name a road “Judge Taft Guile, Jr. Road” 
• H.4041 – DOT shall name a road “William ‘Toon’ and Mary ‘Boy’ Cooper Memorial Highway”
• H.4042 – DOT shall name a road “Colonel Christopher N. Williamson Road”
• H.4043 – DOT shall name a road “Terrence Carraway Memorial Highway”

Previous bills:

• Filed during 3/2/21 – 3/4/21
• Filed during 2/23/21 – 2/25/21
• Filed during 2/16/21 – 2/18/21
• Filed during 2/9/21 – 2/11/21
• Filed during 2/2/21 – 2/4/21
• Filed during 1/25/21 – 1/28/21
• Filed during 1/12/21 – 1/21/21