Welcome to Thursday, the final legislative day of Week 7 of the South Carolina General Assembly.
As always, we will have a recap and wrap up on Friday.
You're reading The State House Gavel, a daily reporter notebook by reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse this year while lawmakers are in session.
Before we get into the seriousness of Wednesday's session, we would be remiss if we didn't point out the collection of lawmakers' sneakers for the annual Suits and Sneakers Cancer Action Day at the Statehouse.
Some went old school. Others went more practical.
And some, like House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, went flashy, with a curated pair donning the colors of his alma mater, Wofford College.
Notebook highlights:
- The S.C. House approved a bill to expand school choice by using tax dollars to cover K-12 private school vouchers with an addition that chamber leaders hope is a workaround of the S.C. Supreme Court's September ruling.
- Millennial and Gen-Z state lawmakers launch a new caucus to put their issues at the forefront.
- State Treasurer Curtis Loftis's moment arrives in front of a Senate finance panel skewering the $1.8 billion error.
House sees K-12 trustee as workaround
The House did what we expected them to do on Wednesday.
In a 79-38 vote, the House approved S. 62, a proposal to reignite a state law to pay for K-12 private school tuition vouchers and other approved education-related costs.
As a reminder:
- In 2023, the Legislature passed a law to cover those costs with public dollars in the budget. The state Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision overturned the law, citing a prohibition in the state Constitution that says no public money can be spent for the direct benefit of religious or private schools.
- Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree filed S. 62, which, in its original form, was proposed to be paid for by state Education Lottery dollars.
- The House scrapped that plan, erased the funding source and tweaked the voucher amount and poverty thresholds, so that by year 2027, there would be no income limitations. Lawmakers also added a trustee to oversee the so-called trust fund, what they hope is a work around of the high court's September 2024 opinion.
- The House Ways and Means budget-writing committee added $45 million to the House's version of the state budget to pay for the vouchers.
Back to Wednesday's vote.
Of the 38 who opposed the bill, five were Republicans:
- Rep. Neal Collins, R-Pickens
- Rep. Craig Gagnon, R-Abbeville
- Rep. Rob Harris, R-Spartanburg
- Rep. David Martin, R-York
- Rep. Dennis Moss, R-Cherokee
In a post on X, Rep. Harris explained why he voted no:
S.62 passed the House. I voted no and here's why: pic.twitter.com/d3b17bIRux
— Rob Harris (@HarrisForSC) February 26, 2025
What's next: The Senate bill will get a final, perfunctory vote in the House on Thursday. It then heads back over to the Senate, where senators can amend the bill once again. They can also approve the House changes and send the bill to the governor, or they can kick it to a conference committee to hash out differences.
Will the Supreme Court uphold this version? No one can say for sure right now. Proponents of the House bill will argue that by adding a trustee appointed by the state superintendent of education, rather than the agency as a whole, to oversee the program will directly answer the court's ruling. Critics of that attempt will say there is no change and it's still public money.
Lawmaker under 45? There's a new caucus for you
Are you a state lawmaker?
And are you under 45 years old? There's a new caucus for you.
On Wednesday, state Sen. Deon Tedder, D-Charleston, and House Rep. Brandon Newton, a Lancaster Republican and House majority whip, announced the launch of a new caucus, called the Future Caucus, geared toward millennial and Generation Z legislators.
South Carolina is now the 35th state with a Future Caucus, created to help young lawmakers work across the aisle, build relationships and identify bipartisan policy that particularly affects younger people.
"I'm excited to find ways that we can bring a little bit of modernization to our laws," said Newton, who is 30 years old.
Thirty-four-year-old Tedder, who was the youngest senator when he was elected but is no longer, said the group hasn't fully formed what policy priorities they want to push (they need to build up membership first) but he named housing, for example.
Newton says the group only plans to push bipartisan legislation, "that way we don't lose the spirit that we're after."
That also could include, he said, modernizing laws with technology and policies around at-home delivery.
Senators to grill SC treasurer
State Treasurer Curtis Loftis is expected to appear before a Senate panel on Thursday afternoon to answer more questions about the recent $1.8 billion accounting error.
An outside forensic audit firm, the state Comptroller General’s Office and the Senate Finance panel chaired by Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, itself all concluded that the mammoth accounting error originated in the Treasurer’s Office in 2016.
Loftis, however, says he disagrees with those assessments, maintaining that all state funds managed by the Treasurer’s Office have always been properly accounted for.
Grooms, meanwhile, contends Loftis misled the Legislature and should resign.
As background: The outside audit done by DC-based AlixPartners looked into three offices which handle financial matters for the state of South Carolina: the offices of comptroller general, auditor and state treasurer. Former Comptroller Richard Eckstrom, an elected position, resigned in 2023 over a previous, larger $3.5 billion accounting problem. And the former appointed auditor, George Kennedy, resigned last month amid the latest drama. That has left Loftis, also an elected official, standing alone.
What are senators looking for: Grooms told SC Public Radio's Russ McKinney on Wednesday that the purpose of Thursday's hearing is to discuss the audit and Loftis's response to it. (Previous legislative hearings into the accounting error have turned contentious.)
What happens next: That is the biggest question mark of them all. The Senate appears to strongly favor that Loftis should resign and that changes need to made to the Treasurer's Office. For example, asking voters to amend the state Constitution to make the job altogether part of the governor's Cabinet. The House, which has held a few hearings into the matter, hasn't yet showed their hand on where they stand on Loftis's future.
Daily planner (2/27)
SC House
- 9 a.m. — Blatt 321 — Business and Industry Subcommittee of House Regulations, Administrative Procedures, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Committee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 9 a.m. — Blatt 433 — E.P.W. Higher Education Subcommittee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 30 minutes after the House adjourns — Blatt 110 — Ware Shoals Dam (Laurens, Greenwood, and Abbeville Delegations)
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 30 minutes after the House adjourns — Blatt 427 — Education and Cultural Affairs Subcommittee of the Legislative Oversight Committee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - Immediately after the House adjourns — Blatt 516 — House Legislative Ethics Committee
Agenda Available - Immediately after the House adjourns — Blatt 433 — E.P.W. Motor Vehicles Subcommittee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only
SC Senate
- 9 a.m. — Gressette 105 — FVS Child Welfare Subcommittee on S.121
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 9 a.m. — Gressette 308 — Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 10 a.m. — Gressette 207 — Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - Immediately after the Senate adjourns — Gressette 209 — Finance Constitutional Subcommittee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only
GAVIN JACKSON
Clips from around the state
- North Charleston council members face charges in corruption probe (SC Public Radio)
- SC House passes bill to revive K-12 vouchers. The bulk of this year’s money will go unused. (SC Daily Gazette)
- Private school voucher bill approved by SC House. How is it different from a Senate plan (The State)
- Changes in how lawsuits are handled in South Carolina split parties (AP)
- As executions continue in SC, these inmates can’t receive death warrants (SC Daily Gazette)
- SC’s Joe Wilson wants to print new money with Donald Trump’s portrait. Here’s his idea (The State)
- US dockworkers approve 6-year contract, averting a strike (AP)
- SC Attorney General Alan Wilson denies ignoring US Rep. Nancy Mace's abuse claims (Post and Courier)
- Bill makes anyone who provides a fatal dose of fentanyl in SC a killer (SC Daily Gazette)
