Friday Reports
The Friday Report, is prepared and distributed every Friday of the legislative session. The most recent Friday Report will always appear on the home page.
The Senate spent this week debating a bill to limit the amount of property that a foreign adversary or corporations controlled by a foreign adversary can purchase in South Carolina (S. 576). The Senate also spent time in subcommittees, moving legislation forward in advance of the April 10 crossover deadline, and hearing budget requests in preparation of the Senate Finance Committee’s budget debate which begins on April 4. Meanwhile, the House was on furlough this week and will return Tuesday. Bills of interest are discussed below:
Revenue, Finance, and Economic Development
Local Sales Tax Workforce Housing – S. 284. This bill would allow local accommodations and hospitality tax proceeds, as well as a special fund for tourism, to be used for workforce housing. It would also allow local governments to issue bonds to finance workforce housing projects. The Senate Finance Committee gave the bill a favorable report and S. 284 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.
Craft Beer Economic Development Act – S. 566. This bill would allow a craft brewery to sell beer wholesale and retail to licensed retailers in the state. It would also allow the brewery to apply for the special permit for events pursuant to Section 61-4-550 and to transfer beer created at its brewery to other facilities owned, leased, or rented by the brewery without being subjectRead Full Report
The House passed the budget bill (H. 4300) after two days of robust debate and more than 90 amendments considered. The House increased funding to the Local Government Fund (LGF) representing full funding under the statutory formula. After giving the budget third reading on Wednesday, the House adjourned and will return March 28 following next week’s furlough.
The Senate spent most of Tuesday debating the merits of the $1.2 billion incentive package (H. 3604) South Carolina offered to Scout Motors, Inc. to build a plant in Richland County. The incentive package has now been ratified and sent to Gov. Henry McMaster for his signature. On Wednesday, the Senate began debating a bill that would provide an income tax credit for parents of students that attend certain independent or home schools (S. 285). The Senate also confirmed the appointment of Todd McCaffrey as the Secretary for the South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs.
Bills of interest are discussed below:
Revenue, Finance, and Economic Development
Budget – H. 4300. The House debated and passed the budget bill (H. 4300) this week. The House increased funding to the Local Government Fund (LGF) by $13,212,234 statewide. This represents full funding to the LGF under the statutory formula. The House also allocated $250 million in additional funds to County
Read Full ReportThis week in the General Assembly, the House spent time on the floor debating and passing the Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act (H. 3014). The House will begin debate on the budget bill (H. 4300) on Monday. The Senate debated another education bill (S. 285) that would give tax credits to scholarship funding organizations that provide grants for students to attend independent schools to include religious and private schools. Bills of interest are discussed below:
Revenue, Finance and Economic Development
License and Registration Fees for New SC Residents – S. 208. This legislation would allow a county to impose, upon conducting a successful referendum, an additional driver's license fee of $250 and an additional motor vehicle licensing and registration fee of $250 on
This week in the General Assembly, the House spent time on the floor debating and passing the Bond Reform bill (H. 3532) and a joint resolution to amend the South Carolina Constitution to repeal the prohibition against the state or its political subdivisions providing direct aid to the religious or other private educational institutions (H. 3591). The Senate continued working through its calendar and passed several bills relevant to county government. Bills of interest are discussed below:
Revenue, Finance and Economic Development
Thanks to the more than 200 county officials who came to Columbia this week to take part in SCAC’s Counties Connect: A Legislative Action Day. The event was very successful, and members of the General Assembly were grateful for the time spent with their county officials! You all truly demonstrated the #statewideimpact of #localleaders. Check out our Facebook album for more photos of Counties Connect, the Institute of Government and Council Chairperson’s Workshop.
This week in the General Assembly, the House spent time on the floor debating and passing the “Open Carry Without Training Act” (H. 3594) and the Ways and Means Committee passed its version of the budget (H. 4300). The Senate debated and passed two bills in an effort to combat the effects that fentanyl is having in South Carolina (S. 1 and S. 153) as well as a bill to shield the manufacturer of drugs used to administer death by lethal injection (S.Read Full Report
Revenue, Finance, and Economic Development
This week in the General Assembly, the Senate completed its debate and passed the Certificate of Need bill, S. 164, and debated and passed a fetal heartbeat bill, S. 474. The House debated and passed an education bill, H. 3728, that would prohibit certain concepts from being taught in public schools and professional development. Bills of interest are discussed below:
Public Safety, Corrections, and Judicial
SCAC Director of Governmental Affairs Kent Lesesne testifies before a House Judiciary subcommittee.
H. 3532 would provide for a five-year sentencing enhancement for persons who commit certain additional crimes while they are out on bond, and it prohibits bond for certain crimes. It would also require a full cash bond for
Read Full ReportThis week in the General Assembly, the Senate debated and passed S. 39, an educational scholarship bill that would allow public funds to be used for students to attend private and religious schools. The Senate also debated S. 164, a bill that would repeal the Certificate of Need requirement for certain health care facilities. The House spent the week debating and passing H. 3503, a bill creating the criminal offense of trafficking in fentanyl, while also taking testimony from state agencies in budget subcommittees. Bills of interest are discussed below:
Revenue, Finance and Economic Development
Trafficking Fentanyl – H. 3503/S.153. H. 3503 would create the criminal offense of trafficking in fentanyl and would provide substantial penalties for such offenses. The House debated the bill for several hours and adopted several amendments on the floor. The House gave H. 3503 a second and third reading and the bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
S. 153 would add fentanyl-related substances to the list of Schedule I controlled substances and would create the felonyRead Full Report
This week in the General Assembly, the Senate continued to debate an education scholarship bill that would allow public funds to be used for students to attend private and religious schools. The House did very little on the floor, continuing to work mostly in subcommittees taking up budget requests and other bills. Governor Henry McMaster also gave his State of the State before the General Assembly on Wednesday evening. Bills of interest are discussed below:
Revenue, Finance and Economic Development
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – H. 3604. This legislation would provide for the expenditure of funds from the Contingency Reserve Fund for economic development projects and for the expenditure of federal ARPA funds that were disbursed to the State under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. H. 3604 also clarifies that funds previously distributed to the ARPA Resilience Account under Act 244 of 2022 may be used for the acquisition of property throughout the state in an effort to increase resilience.
Under the current House proposal, $500 million would be appropriated from the Contingency Reserve Fund to the Department of Commerce for infrastructure funding for qualifying economic development projects that were authorized by the Joint Bond ReviewRead Full Report
This is the second week of the 2023 Legislative Session of the General Assembly. The Senate spent the week debating an education scholarship bill that would allow public funds to be used for students to attend private and religious schools. The House debated a bill allocating funds distributed to South Carolina in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and continued to work in subcommittees taking budget requests. Bills of interest will be discussed below in this week’s Friday Report.
The South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC) will host Counties Connect: A Legislative Action Day on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at the USC Alumni Center in downtown Columbia. Formerly known as the Association’s Mid-Year Conference, this is an excellent opportunity to meet with your legislators and discuss issues important to your county. See the detailed information regarding Counties Connect as well as Institute classes that follow the legislative items in this week’s Friday Report.
Revenue, Finance, and Economic Development
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – H. 3604. This legislation would provide for the expenditure of funds from the Contingency Reserve Fund for economic development projects and for the expenditure of federal ARPA funds that were disbursed to the state under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. H. 3604 also clarifies that funds previouslyRead Full Report