The following bills have been sent to Gov. McMaster for approval or veto:
R. 131 (S. 163) – Would prohibit any governing authority, including a political subdivision, from accepting or requiring a payment using central bank digital currency issued by the Federal Reserve or another federal agency. The bill would prohibit a political subdivision from placing certain restrictions in areas zoned for industrial use.
R. 137 (S. 439) would increase the reimbursement cap for the 42.8571% manufacturing property tax exemption from $170 million to $300 million. The reimbursements will continue to come from the Trust Fund for Tax Relief, and the increase in reimbursements will come from the General Fund.
R. 162 (S. 895) would include within the definition of “hospital” all hospitals that convert to rural emergency hospitals for purposes of the State Health Facility Licensure Act and Medicare reimbursement. These hospitals provide outpatient/emergency services but do not maintain inpatient units.
R. 169 (H. 3034) would increase penalties for harassing, injuring or killing police dogs or horses and require restitution to the law enforcement agency.
R. 171 (H. 3163) would revise the list of existing occupational diseases that are currently compensable under the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law to include the occurrence of a stroke as one of the conditions that are presumed to have “arisen out of and in the course of employment” for firefighters. This applies only if the condition or conditions develop while a firefighter is actively engaged in fighting a fire, participating in a technical rescue incident, or training exercise that involves stressful or strenuous physical activity, or within 24 hours thereof. The presumption does not apply to clerical, administrative, or sedentary activities.
R. 175 ( H. 3474) would amend the “Transportation Network Company Act” to revise the definition of "personal vehicle" to include a personal vehicle that may be registered or licensed as a charter limousine with the South Carolina Public Service Commission or as a limousine or other for-hire vehicle by the governing body of a county or city.
R. 177 (H. 3556) would authorize the state executive committee to hear protests for partisan county officers, partisan less than county officers (for example, a partisan-elected school board member), and partisan municipal officers. The bill would also establish dates for municipal elections.
R. 178 (H. 3557) would shorten the candidate filing period from March 30 to March 25, provide several dates for special elections, and provide a procedure to reopen the filing period for additional candidates if there are less than three candidates for any office or one or more of the candidates dies or withdraws.
R. 181 (H. 3650) would make it a violent crime for anyone to knowingly and intentionally discharge a firearm at or into a dwelling, house, other building, structure, enclosure, vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other conveyance, device, or equipment.
R. 195 (H. 4292) would make it unlawful to organize or participate in a deliberate and coordinated blocking of a public street, highway, or parking lot for racing, burnouts, or any other such reckless behavior with vehicles.
R. 199 (H. 4720) would allow a person to participate in a pretrial intervention program more than once if 20 years have passed since the date of the last successful program completion.
R. 203 (H. 4799) would exempt veterans homes, hospitals, and nursing homes owned and operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) from the certificate of need requirements.
R. 206 (H. 4813) would increase the fines, fees, and assessments on several filings collected in magistrate courts. The revenue produced from the fee increases may not be used to replace existing county funding.
R. 210 (H. 5097) would allow a roadside market where a farmer sells products produced on their farm to the public to be exempt from local government stormwater regulations, stormwater permitting requirements, and local building codes. It limits the exemption to farmers that operate the roadside market on property that they own or lease and provides immunity to counties and cities in the event an injury to person or property occurs at a market that is exempt from inspection or permitting.
R. 211 (H. 5111) would prohibit counties and municipalities from mandating connection to municipal water systems unless there is a public health threat documented through fines, fees, assessments, and penalties. It also would prohibit a county or municipality from denying building permits, certificates of occupancy, zoning approvals, subdivision approvals, or other land-use or development approvals solely because a property owner elects to use a private water well. Political subdivisions that knowingly violate these provisions would be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per day for each day the violation continues. The legislation allows local governments to still charge fees, require well registration, and mandate continued connection to public water systems unless the system is unable to provide service to a property.