The General Assembly had a shortened week, with both chambers meeting only in perfunctory session on Tuesday due to weather conditions. On Wednesday, the Senate resumed floor debate on DUI reform legislation and adopted several amendments before carrying the bill over, keeping its status in the special-order slot on the Senate calendar. Meanwhile, the House considered legislation restricting bathroom access for transgender people in public schools and public institutions of higher education.
On Thursday, a House Ways & Means subcommittee passed a bill to provide business personal property tax relief for small businesses, and a Senate Transportation subcommittee continued its discussion on the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) modernization bill. The House Juvenile Crime Assessment and Strategy Reform Ad Hoc Committee met briefly Thursday afternoon to discuss potential language for several bills that SCAC anticipates being introduced in the coming weeks.
These and other bills of interest are detailed below.
Upcoming Action Item
Department of Juvenile Justice Proviso
The Criminal Justice Budget subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee met Thursday to take up proviso requests from several state agencies, including the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). This included their request to keep Proviso 67.17 in the budget, which requires counties to pay more than three times the amount they paid before the proviso was inserted at the very end of the 2025 legislative year. The full Ways and Means Committee will meet the week of Feb. 16 to decide which provisos will be included in their adopted version of the budget.
If you talk with your House member on the Ways and Means Committee in the next couple weeks, please ask them to remove this proviso from the budget if you have concerns about the $125 per day capital expenditure charge for a total of $175 per day (including the $50 per diem charge).
Background on 67.17. DJJ: Capital Expenditure Charge: This proviso in the current state budget requires local governments using juvenile detention services provided by DJJ to pay a capital expenditure charge of $125 per day per child not to exceed 25 days to DJJ to cover capital expenditures and investments in the facilities that house such juveniles. This charge is in addition to the per diem charge of $50 that offsets operating expenses. If full funding is not received by the local governments, then the remainder of the funds due shall be transferred to DJJ from the Local Government Fund on behalf of local governments. The transfer to DJJ on behalf of the local government shall be deemed to have been distributed to the local government.