Senate Bills and Ratifications - March 14, 2025
S. 436 (Sen. Grooms) — Adds an exemption for a portion of the value of an airline company's aircraft and clarifies how time on the ground is calculated. In South Carolina, each landing counts as 30 minutes, while each overnight stay or maintenance day is considered as two hours.
S. 437 (Sen. Leber) — Exempts certain employees, including employees who report directly to a constitutional officer and management employees who report directly to certain agency heads, from the provisions of the state employee grievance procedure.
S. 438 (Sens. Peeler, Alexander, Jackson and Cromer) — Outlines the roles of the Joint Bond Review Committee, State Fiscal Accountability Authority, and Department of Administration in managing permanent improvement projects. It states that only gifts-in-kind are exempt from the procurement code, removes certain approval requirements, mandates compliance with national codes for specific projects, and eliminates the need for approval of specific permanent improvement projects.
S. 439 (Sens. Peeler, Turner, Davis, Bennett, Verdin, Alexander, Grooms, Kimbrell, Johnson, Jackson, and Corbin) — Increases the maximum reimbursement amount for the exemption on certain manufacturing property. However, this exemption does not apply to property owned or leased by public utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission, regardless of its manufacturing use. The revenue loss from this exemption must be reimbursed to political subdivisions, including school districts.
S. 442 (Sen. Adams) — Allows municipalities and counties to regulate, by ordinance, short-term rentals of residential dwellings. This includes the ability to require the registration or permitting of short-term rentals. It also allows municipalities and counties to charge a user fee on short-term rentals and removes the accommodations tax exemption for properties with fewer than six sleeping rooms.
S. 443 (Sen. Sabb) — Requires a licensed physician to supervise and review healthcare coverage decisions derived from the use of artificial intelligence.
S. 444 (Sen. Davis) — The "South Carolina Sports Wagering Act" legalizes sports wagering and related activities under certain conditions. It establishes the South Carolina Sports Wagering Commission, introduces a privilege tax, and outlines licensing procedures. The act also defines ineligible participants, mandates regulation creation and enforcement, and states that engaging in sports wagering does not violate gambling laws.
S. 445 (Sen. Verdin) — Requires notice and that all written and oral submissions be given to the Small Business Regulatory Review Committee. It outlines methods for repealing or automatically approving regulations, states that regulations cannot include verbatim statutory text, and adds agribusiness representation in the committee's membership.
S. 446 (Sens. Young and Elliott) — The "Electric Rate Stabilization Act" enables electric utilities to request annual rate adjustments from the Public Service Commission. It establishes baseline rates, sets adjustment requirements, and ensures customer protections while adding a position for the Office of Regulatory Staff.
S. 447 (Sen. Adams) — Defines terms for automatic license plate reader systems, allowing only certain governmental entities, like counties, to use them. It outlines guidelines for law enforcement's use of the data and permits the South Carolina Department of Transportation to allow specific cameras on non-interstate highway rights-of-way.
S. 448 (Sens. Tedder, Kimbrell and Stubbs) — Enables the Department of Motor Vehicles to create an "electronic driver's license system" that allows people to present or submit proof of valid driver's licenses in optional electronic formats instead of physical licenses.
S. 452 (Reps. Alexander and Elliott) — Authorizes the extension of the High Growth Small Business Job Creation Act for an additional 10 years and renames the act to "High Growth Small Business Job Creation Act of 2013 - Angel Investor Tax Credit Act."
The following bill has been sent to the Gov. Henry McMaster for approval or veto:
R7, S. 157. Allows electrical utilities—due to the widespread destruction of electrical utility infrastructure caused by Hurricane Helene and the extraordinary expenses incurred to repair, restore, and rebuild that infrastructure—to include the cost of capital from the date of the storm through the issuance of storm recovery bonds for cost recovery.