Bills filed during 2/23/21 – 2/25/21

Government Structure

• S.592 – Once a a judge retires, he or she cannot return to work as a judge again
• S.594 – Increasing the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) membership to 15, legislative delegations would appoint 14 and the governor 1; legislators cannot serve on the JMSC
• H.3977 – Local governments may not decrease funding for police by more than 5% in a single year 
• H.3937 – Creates a High Speed Rail Commission to look at ways the state could construct a high speed rail system
• H.3968 – Speaker of the House or President of the Senate may only ratify bills or joint resolutions when their legislative body is adjourned 
• S.614 – Allowing the governor to call the “South Carolina unorganized militia” to active duty (defined as any able bodied person of the age 17 or older that can legally purchase a firearm) and that a member of the militia is not subject to the jurisdiction of anything outside the state
• S.595 – Allowing the Secretary of Transportation and Commerce to attend executive sessions of the State Ports Authority 
• H.3932 – To have the director of the Department of Insurance be elected by the public 
• H.3938 – Local governments are authorized to use voluntary inclusionary housing strategies to make affordable housing more available
• H.3956 – Creates a SC Rare Disease Advisory Council within Dept. of Health and Environmental Control with the power to solicit donations/funds, hold hearings, and make recommendations 
• H.3960 – Amending the membership of the State Advisory Committee on the Regulation of Childcare Facilities to require that two members must be from registered faith based or church based childcare centers

Regulations

• S.619 – Dealing with state-based alcohol production companies (breweries, wineries, distilleries): Allowing them to sell drinks that are not produced on site if they are the primary American source for the alcohol sold; allowing four satellite tasting facilities (that allow imported alcohol) if a company: invests $400,000,000 in the state and creates 300 jobs, pays a $5,000 license fee for each location, only sells products at comparable prices to similar products in the county, requires the locations to buy all product through the state regulated wholesale market, limits how much may be sold to each customer and puts a myriad of regulations on serving liquor at distilleries 
• H.3935 – Bans infrastructure that would be used for offshore oil discovery and drilling 
• S.590 – Metal recyclers are not allowed to purchase catalytic converters unless it is from a business that would produce a lot of scarp converters or if a person can prove with documentation that they are replacing their own converter
• S.591 – Raising the legally required age for marriage to 18 
• S.596 – Allowing DHEC to regulate companies that use pre-production plastic, to require a permit and to state that any plastic waste found within three hundred yards of the company’s property will be assumed to be their fault
• S.603 – Mandating that a company, individual, or government must clean up any hazardous waste they introduce in to the environment to site specific standards unless it caused by an act of war, god, or a third party
• S.605 – Approving Department of Natural Resources promulgated regulations of licensing and restrictions on the possession and barter of the Spotted Turtle
• S.606 – Approving Dept. Health and Environmental Control promulgated regulations of standards and regulation on the creation and use of “living shorelines” as an erosion mitigation tool instead of hardened shore mitigation tools 
• S.620 – Resolution requiring electric utilities and co-ops to participate in an ORS/PSC evaluation of the SC electric grid
• H.3934 – Allowing the issuance of temporary permits to sell beer and wine at festivals, which may occur over multiple days
• H.3940 – A secondary metals recycler cannot purchase a catalytic converter purchased as part of a vehicle
• H.3943 – A pickup with fifth wheel assembly cannot tow more than one separate trailing vehicle
• H.3949 – Regulating the establishment procedure and rules of limited liability corporations 
• H.3957 – Reducing the number of flounder that can legally be caught 
• H.3966 – Allowing nonresident driver license holders to drive vehicles in this state if they have an active military ID or college ID and must present them to officers if requested 
• H.3978 – Allowing S Corporations, LLC, and partnerships to make pass through corporations at the entity level and to allow them to apply a credit for income taxes paid in a another state to this pass through corporation
• H.3979 – Homeowners’ associations, covenants and other land use restrictions cannot prevent the installation of solar power generating assets
• H.3981 – All insurers of residential property must offer earthquake insurance in all new or renewed policies and must get a signed refusal of the earthquake insurance from the policy holder to not include it in the policy
• H.3982 – Removing the commission cap on title insurance sales 

Criminal Justice

• H.3983 – Eliminating the misdemeanor penalty for: speeding, performing auto window tinting services to a shade darker than allowed by law, and numerous other driving offenses  

Constitution

• S.597 – State constitutional amendment requiring judges to be appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the senate, instead of being elected by the General Assembly; also repeals the Judicial Merit Selection Committee
• S.588 – State constitutional amendment giving stronger language to the right to bear arms and stating that international law and treaties shall not infringe on the second amendment 

Guns

• S.589 – Allowing concealed weapons permit holders to open carry handguns
• H.3936 – Bans firearm accessories that accelerate the rate of fire of semiautomatic weapons, including bump stocks and trigger cranks; carries a prison sentence of up to five years
• H.3959 – Allowing the attorney general and AG assistants to carry concealed weapons while on duty 

Legal

• S.610 – Creating a “social media bill of rights” that regulates how much a social media company may charge a political candidate for its services, allows individuals to sue social media companies over censored speech, defines what is censoring, and allows the State Attorney General to bring actions against companies that have discriminated against individuals in the state for religious or political beliefs
• S.602 – Making rules for how a person may offer to settle a vehicle damage suit before going to court and requiring them to hire an attorney to assist in the process
• H.3965 – Allowing courts to award retroactive child support in certain designated circumstances 

Education

• H.3967 – Schools that hire lobbyists must notify all parent in their district via mail and disclose the lobbying primary report expenditures 
• H.3976 – Creates Education Scholarship Accounts for students within 200% of the federal poverty level administered by the Department of Education funded by state appropriations of tax revenue and to be used by recipient families on things like school supplies, tutoring, and secondary school tuition 
• S.607 – Appears to give the governor more discretion in removing charter school board members for cause (misconduct, incompetence, malfeasance, conflicts of interest, etc.)
• S.611 – Approving Commission of Higher Education regulations on the SC National Guard Tuition program to define maximum benefits and availability 
• S.615 – Allowing private school students to participate on public school sports teams under certain conditions
• S.617 – Approving a State Board of Education proposed regulation making “sexting” a level two disciplinary infraction 
• S.618 – Approving a State Board of Education proposed regulation making teachers holding master’s degrees and 60+ hours of coursework qualified for the masters 30+ qualification 
• H.3941 – Directing schools to develop an emergency sick leave plan using federal coronavirus dollars
• H.3961 – Requiring elective advanced manufacturing training in public schools grades 6-12
• S.593 – Replacing the petition requirement for candidates to the Newberry County Board of Education with a statement of intention of candidacy
• S.604 – School buildings constructed going forward must meet local building code standards instead of being only subject to the standards and specifications of the State Department of Education 

Taxation/ Spending

• H.3948 – Allows a county that has already implemented a one percent sales tax to enact an additional one percent sales tax
• S.587 – Creating more exemptions that allow state agencies/local governments to skip repaying proceeds from economic development bonds 
• S.608 – County Election Commissions must notify the Dept. of Revenue of new local sales taxes 90 days before the referendum, allow issuance of temporary alcohol permits 120 days before the vote, and referendums on ordinance of alcohol licensing 60 days before the referendum  
• S.609 – State employees that have access to individual’s tax information must undergo a federal background check
• S.616 – Employers in the state retirement system or police retirement system may elect to pay all of an employer’s contributions towards the pension fund for an individual in a year
• H.3933 – Limits the fine that may be imposed for late payment of hospitality tax to 5% of the delinquent tax 
• H.3939 – Law enforcement may claim mental illness or injury to obtain workers’ compensation benefits
• H.3942 – Allowing counties to impose an education tax even if they don’t collect $7 million in state accommodations tax (currently required by law) so long as they meet other requirements
• H.3950 – Regulating paperwork and mandating fees for transfer of titles upon death for watercraft and other property titled by the DMV

Medicine/COVID

• S.613 – Allowing more tasks to be delegated by doctors to certified medical assistants 
• H.3958 – Defining coroners as first responders and enabling them to administer opioid reversal drugs 

Resolutions (Highlights) (27 Total)

• H.3953 – Resolution for Dave Chappelle 
• H.3930 – Resolution celebrating the 200th anniversary of Greek Independence
• H.3951 – Resolution for an executive and Nickelodeon

Previous bills:

• 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