March 1, 2024 It was a busy week at the State House, with members of the House and Senate both spending long hours in chambers on Wednesday. The gridlock on judicial elections broke this week when the Senate set judicial reform legislation for Special Order, and the election for a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will be held next Wednesday, March 6th. Elections for the remaining judicial seats are scheduled for April 17th. Movement on the Floor Members of the House spent almost five hours on Wednesday debating state agency restructuring legislation, ultimately passing the legislation by a 100-17 vote. During the debate members of the Freedom Caucus proposed amendments which would allow local law enforcement to carry out the orders of the agency’s director; require annual reports on the cost effectiveness of the new agency; and require the General Assembly to vote on the retention of the director every two years, however, all of these amendments were struck down by the rest of the body. The bill received third reading on Thursday and now heads to the Senate, who has already passed their own version of the restructuring legislation. Legislation which will transform the way reading instruction is delivered to students is headed to the Governor’s desk after the House concurred with the Senate amendments to the legislation on Thursday. S. 418, which updates the state’s Read to Succeed statutes, includes provisions that require teachers to undergo science of reading based professional development; requires science of reading based instruction in the classroom, and expands summer reading camps and interventions for struggling students. The Governor has previously stated that he will sign the legislation, which takes effect upon his signature. Committee Action Members of the House Judiciary Committee continued debating legislation which would reform the state’s liquor liability laws this week, after hearing from bar and restaurant owners across the state that the price of liquor liability premiums is forcing them out of business. Many insurance companies have stopped doing business in the state due to the higher risk of doing business caused by the $1M insurance policy required for restaurants that serve beer, wine or liquor after 5 pm; and the House Committee’s proposed solution is designed to be an incentive program to motivate their return. The bill would establish two state funds that would subsidize the risks for both restaurants and insurance companies. One fund will maintain an initial balance of $75 million, funded by alcoholic beverages sales taxes, and will help subsidize the costs paid by policy holders. These policy holders must either agree to close before 10 pm or be required to follow strict safety requirements. The second fund, funded by a mandatory $88 fine on anyone convicted of driving under the influence in our state, would go towards offsetting costs of damages awarded to victims. The bill sponsor, Representative Jason Elliott (R-Greenville), emphasized that the funding for both funds would come from “those convicted of DUIs and those that consume liquor by the drink in our state”. The House Judiciary Committee gave a favorable report to the bill on Tuesday afternoon, and it now sits on the House calendar awaiting debate. A Senate Banking and Insurance Subcommittee has plans next Thursday to discuss their own version of liquor liability legislation. Members of a House Labor, Commerce and Industry subcommittee held multiple hearings on “The South Carolina Ten-Year Energy Transformation Act,” this week, hearing testimony from both proponents and opponents of a bill that is designed to streamline the state’s energy permitting process and expand the capacity of the state’s energy grid. Under the provisions of the legislation, the number of members of the Public Service Commission would be reduced to three from seven; the permitting process would be expedited for utilities; and utilities would be able to begin construction on pipelines before receiving PSC approval. The bill did not move out of subcommittee this week, but an additional hearing will be held when members of the subcommittee return to Columbia on Tuesday. Members of the “Constitutional Carry” conference committee held their first meeting this week, with members of both bodies expressing their desire to find a compromise on the two versions of the legislation. It is unclear when the conference committee will meet again to begin negotiations on the differences between the two bills. |