We are entering the final week of the two-year regular session. There is a flurry of legislative moves while the House and Senate negotiate the passage of bills, as we face the Thursday, 5:00 pm "Sine Die" deadline to adjourn the 125th Session as required in the State Constitution.

Negotiations between the House and Senate bring changes nearly every hour, making for a very cloudy crystal ball. In the end, there are only three options: a bill must have been passed by both legislative bodies to be sent to the Governor for his approval, assigned to a conference committee to negotiate differences, or the bill dies and needs to start anew next January. With only three legislative days remaining, it is clear that some major legislative initiatives will need to restart in the next session, which begins in January 2025.

The Senate recently completed budget discussions on H.5100 – the General Appropriations Bill, and H.5101 – the Capital Reserve Fund. The Senate made significant progress, and both bills, having been amended, are now returned to the House for further debate. In the coming weeks, we will work diligently to finalize the budget, ensuring it aligns with our state’s fiscal values and priorities. This will likely require returning to Columbia after the Primary Election in June.

 

I proudly voted YES to a constitutional amendment, S.1126, to ensure that only registered citizens can participate in our electoral process. The amendment is titled "The Citizens Only Voting Amendment" and it was passed by the South Carolina House of Representatives 105-0 earlier this week. When you vote in November, this amendment will be on the ballot! 

 

Republican Senators broke a filibuster by Democrats Thursday to ban gender transition health care for minors. The vote was 28-8. The Help Not Harm bill (H.4624) heads back to the House because the Senate made several changes. The House passed it 82-23 in January. I am a cosponsor of the legislation. 

The bill bans doctors from providing gender transition care, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender reassignment surgery, for those under 18.

It exempts the use of puberty blockers for those with sexual development disorders like de la Chapelle syndrome and precocious puberty and their use to prevent imminent death or serious injury.

Prevent the state's Medicaid program from covering gender transition care for both minors and adults. Keep in mind, this is not meant to be unfair to low-income people; rather, it is because many citizens strongly object to having their tax dollars used for these treatments.

Require public school principals and vice principals to inform parents if their children change their pronouns or request to be called by a name that is not their legal name or a derivative, or if they assert that they are a gender different from their sex determined at birth.

The bill is necessary to address growing numbers of children being diagnosed with gender dysphoria and taking drugs to delay puberty to potentially ease medical gender transition once they become adults. When signed into law, SC will be the 25th state to ban.

A central sticking point to moving numerous bills in the final week seems to be the Senate's refusal to debate and vote on the South Carolina Energy Security Act, H. 5118, passed by the House last month 83-21. That critical legislation, which I have cosponsored, aims to tackle the state's growing energy needs due to its expanding economy and population. This comprehensive bill employs an "all of the above" approach to energy generation, incorporating several critical measures, including a new gas generation plant in the Lowcountry.

This week, the House used a parliamentary procedure that was definitely new to me, and voted to amend four Senate bills with the Energy Security Act to get their attention and allow Senators to vote for the energy bill passage. It's called legislative "log rolling" and is a last-ditch effort used by both the House and Senate to get a major bill considered. The move is allowed by an obscure House rule, which, under certain circumstances, enables legislators to circumvent germaneness (one subject only) in attaching any bill to a Senate bill the House has already passed.

The House took steps this week that would provide teachers more flexibility and help tackle the state's teacher shortage. The House passed S.124 and S.305 - both outstanding bills for teachers and those considering teaching. The House also voted to add H.4280, "The Educators Assistance Act," to both the Senate bills. I mentioned these last week as we had reviewed these bills both in the K-12 Subcommittee and the Education and Public Works Committee. It was great to see them progress through the House so they can return to the Senate for final approval. This move allows the Senate another opportunity to remove continuous certification renewal red tape, have time during contract season to get salary rate schedules, and have two dedicated teacher classroom workdays during the preschool start week. Please ask your Senator to pass S.124 and S.305, as amended by the House!

A lot of people have been asking about two bills that either passed last year, H.3728 Transparency and Integrity in Education Act, or were heard in subcommittee this year without a vote being taken, H.4374 Social Studies Curriculum Standards. H.3728 is still in Conference Committee, which consists of members of the Senate and House meeting to negotiate a final version of the bill. I had heard this was going well, but apparently, there is still at least one sticking point preventing its passage. 

Regarding H.4374, we adjourned the debate during the subcommittee meeting because the Chairman was convinced we would not have the votes to pass it and wanted us to be able to get more information. I was pretty certain we did have the votes that day as long as the Chair voted with us. The last speaker to bring testimony, Dr. Kyle Sinisi, a History Professor at the Citadel, was the most compelling of the hearing as to why the standards for many grades are written in an ambiguous, "word salad' manner that often leaves the door open for getting away from people, places and major events that comprise actual history. Unfortunately, despite my continuous efforts to have this bill brought back up in the Subcommittee a second time, we ran out of time. The good news is that Superintendent Ellen Weaver is in favor of this bill, and would like to incorporate a stronger civics component. She stated to me directly, "I will be utilizing all of the requirements of your bill, but it will be great to have it codified for future Superintendents." She also informed me that the Social Studies Standards review comes up next in 2025, and she will be appointing highly qualified historians and experts in the related subject matter such as civics and geography for the committee while avoiding partisan individuals. In the 126th Session, I will pre-file this bill again, working with Ellen's department to ensure that it has strong support from the beginning.

Unfortunately, the 'SC Justice Act' died on the Senate floor, despite the common sense need for lawsuit reform. For many South Carolinians, this was one of the most critical pieces of legislation to be considered during this session. The bill (S.533) sought to change current state law that could leave individuals liable for all damages in a lawsuit, even if they were only partially or marginally at fault. That means everyone conceivably involved in a vehicle accident is sued, and those with "deep pockets" carry the burden of paying to settle a lawsuit or face forking over large sums in jury verdicts. That's not fair.

There is some good news – Judicial Reform is still alive. The Palmetto Promise Institute summed it up this way, "As the end of the legislative session draws near, the House and the Senate still have many disagreements on just what changes should be adopted. We do know this—finally, most legislators see the need to bolster public confidence in the state judiciary, reduce potential conflicts of interest, and stamp out any cronyism."

 

As we move into the final week of this legislative session, we remain focused on reconciling the House and Senate versions of the budget to ensure that our fiscal plans reflect the priorities and values of South Carolina.