Category: Legislation

MULTIPLE BILLS ATTACK SOUTH CAROLINIANS’ RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS A growing number of bills filed by lawmakers would erode South Carolinians’ Second Amendment rights. In recent weeks, five…

Spending  H.4823 – Orders that 5% of DOT contracts or consulting expenditure are contracted or subcontracted to businesses owned by minorities and 5% is to women owned businesses  H.4824 –…

January 14 – 16, 2020 . What they did: The 2020 legislative session started this week, and since it is the second year in the two-year session, lawmakers were able…

Individual rights H.4991 – Seizure of weapons without due process or notice, commonly known as a “red flag law” S.1039 – Permanent loss of gun rights for low-level crimes (crimes…

It’s a new year in the Palmetto State, and that means South Carolina’s legislative session is about to begin – on January 14 to be exact. While it’s impossible to…

It’s nearly the end of the year and South Carolina’s legislative session is rapidly approaching! The first day of session begins on January 14, 2020. Since 2019 was the first…

Update as of 3/2/20: The Senate version of this bill has received a high volume of amendments. As such, specific details contained in this summary may be out of date.…

What they did: The legislative session ended last week with several bills in conference committees (three lawmakers from each chamber assigned to work out the differences between the House and…

What they did: Lawmakers adjourned sine die this week, ending the 2019 legislative session – except for at least one special session later this month. Lawmakers have still not passed the budget,…

Individual Rights S.841 – Expands gun ban that currently applies to drug users, those with an outstanding restraining order, and persons identified as “mentally defective” to include all firearms (including…

  What they did: Despite next week being the last week of the legislative session, lawmakers did not send the budget to conference committee. Next week, the House will get…

What they did: This week, the House passed H.4332, a bill which would allow economic development bonds to be issued for freight projects. The bill also creates a special class of economic development…

Taxing and Spending H.4532 – Revises sales tax policy, sets sales tax at 3%, subjects a number of services to taxation, eliminates certain exemptions, creates new tax reserve fund S.819…

What they did: This week the House was on spring break, and the Senate debated the $29.6 billion budget adopted by the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate budget is largely…

Government Structure and Reform S.780 – DOT shall examine feasibility of funding bridge and highway projects with tolls, tolls could operate indefinitely, federal match requirement is removed S.785 – Sine…

What they did: Lawmakers in both chambers passed a flurry of bills this week in advance of the Wednesday crossover deadline. According to legislative rules, any bill that passes one…

What lawmakers did: It has been a busy week at the State House, as any bills that do not cross over to the opposite chamber by next Wednesday (April 10)…

Criminal Law S.747 – allowing use of cameras for civil enforcement of traffic laws H.4445 – endangering emergency services on an accident scene comes with a  higher fine, now it…

Criminal Law H.4383 – Additional fine if driver is holding cell phone during traffic violation, revenue goes to Dept. of Public Safety to fund distracted driving campaign H.4386 – Impersonating…

Criminal Law S.723 – Illegal to use a phone while driving 1st offense $100 2nd is $300 and 2 points H.4297 – Additional punishment for committing crimes while on bail,…

Government Structure and Reform: H.4258 – Creates a new state retirement plan for private businesses H.4259 – Public officials DUI records subject to FOIA H.4260 – Regulates Santee Cooper through…

Government structure and reform S.636 – Workers’ compensation can be based on medical records, instead of medical advice. Both are admissible in appeals process. S.637 – Public employees’ drug test…

Government structure and reform H.4213–  Creates interim appointment process for county board of voter registration H.4191  – Amends ethics laws, disclosure must include consultant jobs, changes definition of “committee” to…

S.323 would allow the Department of Revenue (DOR) to get bank account information of tax debtors from the banks, rather than requiring DOR to get it from the debtor. Current…

S.203 would create a new series of criteria for school district consolidation. Specifically, if any school district met two of the following conditions, it would be consolidated: The district has…

A concerning new bill filed this week – H.3934 – would allow committees created by county legislative delegations to subpoena any state or local government agency, board, commission, etc. and/or…

S.61 would allow the governor to remove members from the Workers’ Compensation Commission at will, and would reinstate term limits for the chairman position, at a maximum of two. Currently,…

Download as a pdf » UPDATE: This bill passed the House 92-8, with an amendment slightly tweaking some of the language, amending the membership of the WEDOC, and combining the…

S.290 would allow retailers to offer curbside pickup of beer and wine. Customers under this bill may pre-purchase beer and wine online from a retailer, but must follow rules on…

S.379 – would create a regulatory loophole for the manufacturers of electric. The bill would allow electric vehicle producers to sell directly to the individual customers, while the manufacturers of…