Bills filed during 2/16/21 – 2/18/21

Criminal Justice

• S.581 – Wireless phone companies must provide personal location data upon request by law enforcement if they believe there is risk of serious harm; shields a company from civil or criminal action if they provide such information in accordance with the law 
• S.586 – Current senators may not appear as lawyers in front of a magistrate in a county represented by the senator (this is relevant as Senate delegations, often made of just one senator, nominate magistrates before they are appointed by the governor)
• H.3918 – Police shall not use biometric surveillance (facial recognition and similar tech) in officer’s cameras
• H.3927 – Allowing court cases with three years or less potential imprisonment to be transferred to magistrate or municipal court (currently it is only one year less)
• H.3928 – The courts must inform SLED within 10 days of disposition of a criminal case instead of 30, and within 48 hours if the case involved a crime requiring the convict to lose their gun rights

Government Structure

• S.584 – Any federal law related to the Second Amendment will be evaluated by the attorney general, if found unconstitutional by the AG it shall not be enforced by the state 
• H.3898 – Increasing the membership of the Richland-Lexington Airport Commission by two members who will be appointed by the local legislative delegation
• S.548 – Expanding the Ethics Act to include officials elected or appointed to special purpose districts and mandating that they file economic interest disclosures  
• S.560 & H.3926 – Resolution creating a study committee on inheritance
• S.561 – Constitutional amendment creating a reapportionment committee for redistricting 
• S.578 – Schoolboard members have to go through mediation and provide a report of it to the local legislative delegation before they sue the board or other members 
• H.3919 – Ratifying a proposed amendment to the US constitution about equality of the sexes 
• H.3920 – Requiring additional reporting for lobbyists soliciting the PSC, ORS, or their staff; also making it illegal for public officials to solicit donations from regulated utilities 
• H.3922 – Requiring equal pay for state employees who do the same job regardless of gender (different wages may still be paid based on seniority or merit)

Regulations

• H.3892 – DHEC may not give permits to construct mines or solid waste management facilities within two miles of state parks or greenspace owned by a public entity 
• S.551 – Social media websites must post rules that explain why an account may be suspended; if they suspend an account they have to tell the owner why in 10 days
• S.556 – Allowing trapping for furbearers on public lands, extending trapping seasons to be year round except for public land during deer and turkey hunting seasons 
• S.562 – Approving amendments to Dept. of Labor and Licensing regulations on auctioneers
• S.563 – Approving amendments to Dept. of Labor and Licensing regulations on the Office of Occupational Safety and Health
• S.564 – Approving amendments to Dept. of Labor and Licensing regulations on the State Athletic Commission
• S.565 – Approving amendments to Dept. of Labor and Licensing regulations on the Auctioneers Commission imposed fees
• S.566 – Approving amendments to the deletion of obsolete regulations of the SC Jobs-Economic Development Authority
• S.567 – Approving amendments to the regulations to add a fee schedule for bulk license verification
• S.568 – Approving amendments to the regulations of the fees for various real estate licenses 
• S.570 – Approving the elimination of a regulation under the Attorney General regarding public charities as the responsibility has been moved to the Secretary of State
• S.575 – DMV shall add a notation to a vehicle registration if a person has a disability, the notation is visible to police if they run the license plate
• H.3889 – Operating an airboat during daylight hours in a number of rivers in Georgetown and Horry Counties during duck season is illegal (used to be illegal in all waterfowl seasons)
• H.3893 – Regulating “Unincorporated nonprofit associations” which are groups of 2 or more people bound together as a nonprofit by oral agreement or in a matter implied from conduct. This would in effect spread liability between this group’s members even if there were no written or official bonds, yet makes the debt and obligations of the organization solely on the organization and not the membership 
• H.3908 – Allowing stock brokers or financial advisors to delay or stop a transfer of funds or conversion of stocks if they believe a vulnerable adult is being financially exploited  
• H.3916 – Including pool installers in the definition of as residential specialty contractors, meaning that they do not need a residential builder license, in some cases they must be overseen by a licensed general contractor
• H.3921 – Personal vehicles used by transportation network companies do not need to be registered or licensed with the SC Public Service Commission 

Education

• H.3899 – A public charity “Educational Credit for Exceptional Needs Children’s Fund” which currently receives $12 million in state funds through the Dept. of Education annually, would be allowed to carry forward $5 million, give out higher tax credits to donors, and to eliminate the code establishing direct appointment of the nonprofit’s leadership by the legislative leadership and the governor. 
• H.3909 – College students receiving the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship that are enrolled in the SC Teaching Fellows Program shall receive an additional scholarship if they promise to teach in SC for seven years 
• H.3917 – Removing the scholarship disqualification if a student has a second drug or alcohol conviction 
• H.3890 – Eliminating the mandate and emphasis on teaching abstinence in sex education
• H.3925 – Temporarily waiving the limitations on home school children participation in public school interscholastic activities 

Taxation/ Spending

• S.572 – Excluding “buydowns” (manufacturer pays retailer to decrease retail cost of product) from gross proceeds of sales 
• S.557 – Removing fees for a license tax on corporations for the first $50 million of capital stock or capital surplus if it’s from venture capital 
• S.549 – Making the existing state solar tax credit a refundable tax credit
• S.574 – Feminine hygiene products are exempt from all state and local sales and use taxes
• S.583 – Tax credit for people renovating a home to increase accessibility
• H.3891 – Creates a tax credit for broadband service providers who offered a discount to families with children who needed it for education, the credit can be carried forward for five years
• H.3923 – Machinery and machine tools used in the production of electricity from renewable sources is exempt from sales tax
• H.3924 – Equipment used in the production of electric or hybrid cars is exempt from sales tax

Elections

• S.550 – Transitioning to closed partisan primary elections
• S.559 – Candidates for office may only run under a single party in any given election 

Medicine/COVID

• S.558 & H.3900– Resolution allowing certain podiatrists to administer pre-measured doses of the covid vaccine
• S.571 – Prescribers must offer opioid depression reversal drugs to patients receiving opioids in certain circumstances
• S.577 – Health insurance must cover certain women’s medical exams such as pelvic/breast examination and contraceptive counseling 

Resolutions (Highlights) (26 Total)

• S.580 – Resolution for the Capital City/Lake Murray Country tourism region on its 40th anniversary of working with the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism 
• H.3905 – Resolution for Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System 
• H.3910 – Making the fourth Thursday in March Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day

Road Naming Resolutions 

• S.569 – DOT shall name a road “Robert Anthony ‘Tony’ Way Road”
• H.3906 – DOT shall name a road “Judge Delores Franklin Williams Highway”
• H.3907 – DOT shall name a road “W.B. Wilson ‘The Workhorse’ Highway”

Previous bills:

• 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