Major legislation passed the Senate this week on government restructuring, while the House passed school choice. Tort reform, another major issue, cleared its first major hurdle, passing out of committee in the Senate. Week seven of the 18-week legislative session is now complete.
This week, the Senate adopted S. 264 (Senators Peeler, Climer, Ott, Johnson and Kimbrell), providing certain agricultural property may not be annexed by a municipality without express written agreement by the owner. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.
Yesterday, the Senate unanimously confirmed the governor’s appointment of Eunice Medina as director of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Medina was previously the chief of staff and deputy director of programs for DHHS and will succeed former Director Robert Kerr, who retired late last year. For more information, click here.
That same day, the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee confirmed the appointment of Ms. Kendall Bak to the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners to an at-large seat. The appointment now goes to the full Senate for Confirmation
Yesterday, the Senate Medical Affairs Committee approved the governor’s appointment of Eunice Medina as director of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Medina was previously the chief of staff and deputy director of programs for DHHS and will succeed former Director Robert Kerr, who retired late last year. Medina brings more than 20 years of experience in Medicaid policy and operations. Before joining DHHS, she served as a bureau chief with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, where she managed a team of over 60, overseeing Florida’s 18 Medicaid-managed care plans, and worked with the state’s home and community-based services waiver programs. The appointment now goes to the full Senate. For more information, click here.
This week, Governor Henry McMaster announced his appointment of Brigadier General Robin B. Stilwell as South Carolina’s next Adjutant General. Stilwell, who currently serves as Director of the Joint Staff for the South Carolina National Guard, will succeed the current Adjutant General, Major General Van McCarty, who plans to retire after serving in the position since 2019. The appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. Major General McCarty will continue serving as Adjutant General until the confirmation process is complete
This week, the Senate adopted S. 275 (Senator Grooms), which concerns fees charged by electric utilities for electric vehicles and charging stations. The bill now goes to the House for consideration
After passing the House last week, the FY24-25 General Appropriations Act H. 4025 (Ways and Means Committee) and the Capital Reserve Fund H. 4026 (Ways and Means Committee) have been printed and placed on member’s desks prior to full floor debate. That debate will begin on Monday, March 10. Ways and Means Committee meeting handouts and spreadsheets can be found here.
Meanwhile, state agencies continued appearing before the Senate Finance subcommittees this week with their budget requests, including the Department of Environmental Services, the Department of Insurance, Santee Cooper and the Workers’ Compensation Commission.
On Monday, the Senate adopted S. 291 (Senators Peeler, Alexander and Bennett), a Joint Resolution to continue to pay the expenses of state government if the FY2025-26 fiscal year begins without the budget being enacted. The resolution now goes to the House for consideration.
Individual state agency budget requests can be found here
This week, the House, by a vote of 79-38, adopted one of the top legislative priorities dealing with the issue of school choice. S. 62 (Senators Hembree and Rice), which passed the Senate last month, would provide $6,000 scholarships to low-income families so that parents can select an education option that best fits their child’s needs, public or private. The bill differs from the Senate version as it puts the funds in the hands of a “trustee” instead of a trust fund. The bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence in the House amendments.
This week, the House adopted, as amended, S. 271 (Senators Alexander, Rankin and Hutto), a Joint Resolution relating to elections to the Public Service Commission (PSC). The Joint Resolution now goes back to the Senate for concurrence in the House amendments.
On Tuesday, the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee adopted H. 3021 (Reps. Bradley, G. M. Smith, Herbkersman, Lawson and others), which enacts the “Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act”. The bill would establish a Small Business Regulatory Review committee that will review regulations pending authorization and make recommendations to the General Assembly for removing and reducing the overall regulatory burden and require cost-benefit analysis for new regulations. The bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Jeff Bradley (R-Beaufort), told the committee that South Carolina has over 81,000 “do’s and don’ts” in our state regulations. The goal is to reduce state regulations by 25%. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
By a vote of 42-2, the Senate gave second reading approval to S. 2 (Senators Peeler, Alexander and Davis), which would restructure the state’s behavioral health agencies. The bill creates the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, merging the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs and the Department of Alcohol and other Drug Abuse Services into one agency. The bill remains on the Senate calendar awaiting third and final reading.
On Wednesday, a subcommittee of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee took testimony on S. 54 (Senators Martin and Rice), the “Medical Informed Consent Act”. The bill prohibits vaccine mandates by persons, corporations or public entities and prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against any individual who declines to receive a vaccine. The subcommittee adjourned debate on the bill and will take up amendments at its next meeting
On Tuesday, after weeks of debate, a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee adopted S. 244 (Senators Massey, Alexander, Rice, Turner and others), major tort reform legislation that proponents say will fix a broken system and make South Carolina more competitive. The subcommittee also adopted S. 184 (Senators Johnson, Young and Adams), known as Dram Shop liability. The bill would hold businesses and individuals responsible if alcohol is served to someone who is intoxicated and that person harms another person. The bill, along with other tort reform measures being considered, is aimed at lowering insurance premiums for businesses and individuals. The full Senate is expected to start floor debate on tort reform next week.
On Wednesday, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee adopted H. 3497 (Reps. W. Newton, Wooten, Pope and others), a bill relating to liquor liability insurance. The bill now goes to the full committee for consideration.
This week, the Senate adopted S. 156 (Senators Alexander and Rankin), which creates the offense of fentanyl-induced homicide. The bill now goes to the House for consideration
On Tuesday, the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee Tuesday adopted H. 3756 (Reps. Herbkersman, Gatch and Hager), which would allow an electric utility to include storm recovery costs for Hurricane Helene through the issuance of storm recovery bonds. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
All bills introduced this week can be found here:
The Senate is expected to begin debate on major tort reform legislation.
