2019-2020

This week’s Friday Report is being distributed by email only. If you have council or staff members who receive a mailed version of the Friday Report, please share this information with them.

This week's Friday Report is being distributed by email only. If you have council or staff members who receive a mailed version of the Friday Report, please share this information with them.

Revenue, Finance, and Economic Development

The Senate and House met on Tuesday and Wednesday pursuant to the Sine Die Resolution. They both held perfunctory sessions on Thursday, but will return next Tuesday. The items of interest to county governments are discussed below.

This week's Friday Report is being distributed by email and online only. If you have council or staff members who receive a mailed version of the Friday Report, please share this information with them.

 Members of the General Assembly returned to Columbia on Tuesday for an emergency session to fund the ordinary expenses of state government at current levels in the event the 2020-2021 fiscal year begins without the passage of the annual general appropriations act. While they were scheduled to meet through Thursday if necessary, they were able to wrap up most of their work on Tuesday. The Senate will meet in perfunctory session for the rest of the week. Legislation that passed or moved will be outlined in this Legislative Alert.

This week's Friday Report is being distributed by email only. If you have council or staff members who receive a mailed version of the Friday Report, please share this information with them.

The House passed the budget on Wednesday and did not meet on Thursday. They will be on furlough until the week of March 23rd. The Senate spent the week working through the calendar while on the floor and debating Santee Cooper in the Senate Finance Committee before reporting their findings to the Senate floor. The Finance Committee voted unanimously to reject the three options (sale, management, or restructuring). The Finance subcommittee tasked with renegotiating the three options met this week but has not made a recommendation.

Things finally began to move in the General Assembly this week as the Senate ended debate on the education reform bill (S. 419) and sent it to the House. In the ongoing debate in both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Ad Hoc Committee regarding Santee Cooper, the House Ways and Means Ad Hoc Committee voted unanimously to reject the three options presented (sale, management, or restructuring).

There was not a lot of legislative activity as the General Assembly continues to be bogged down with the education reform bill (S. 419) and Santee Cooper. One hundred of the more than 200 amendments to S. 419 were withdrawn. Hopefully since cloture has been invoked on the bill and no more amendments can be added, this will allow the Senate to finish up the bill soon. The House Ways and Means Ad Hoc Committee and the Senate Finance Committee both heard testimony on Santee Cooper.