The State House Gavel: SC Senate GOP leader talks tort reform's future after bill passes

It's finally Friday.

And it's our last post for March. We will see you in April!

We have plenty to report from inside the Statehouse after Week 11 in the General Assembly wrapped for the week.

First, we hope all of our Upstate readers are safe from the Table Rock wildfire that has spread thousands of acres, prompting surrounding evacuations.

Gov. Henry McMaster with state and emergency leaders are scheduled to share an update on the Table Rock wildfires at 11:15 a.m. You can watch that livestream via SCETV.

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.

Notebook highlights:

• Senators had plenty to say after a heavily amended tort reform bill passed out of the chamber after four weeks of debate and hours of negotiated compromise. Hear what Democratic Sens. Margie Bright Matthews and Tameika Isaac Devine, and GOP Leader Shane Massey had to say.
• A breakdown of some of what you might have missed in the House and Senate during Week 11, and what lawmakers say you can expect to see in Week 12.
  

  

  SCETV

The Senate's tort reform bill heads to the House.

Late Wednesday, the chamber passed S. 244 in a 35-7 vote that occurred after four weeks of debate and into the night negotiations that resulted in a compromised bill.

Hear from Democratic Sens. Margie Bright Matthews of Colleton County first and Tameika Isaac Devine of Richland County — both attorneys and two of the seven Democrats who opposed the bill.

The amended comprehensive bill touches on nearly every sector and person in South Carolina from restaurants and bars, manufacturers, hospitals, forever chemicals, attorneys and victims.

One senator who spoke to SC Public Radio heaped praise on York Republican Sen. Michael Johnson, giving him credit for working with both sides to find common ground on the bill that ultimately led to its passage.

"There's certainly a lot of compromise in here, but I also think it's a solution," Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield told reporters, noting the bill also applies to auto insurance, small businesses, truckers, large industry and "people everywhere across South Carolina."

Statehouse reporters interviewed Massey after the Senate gave a final, perfunctory vote to the bill Thursday. We asked Massey about the compromise, carve outs, liquor liability, the bill's future, and the contention that erupted over it.

"It was the greatest misinformation campaign since Russia," Massey told reporters about the outside media campaign.

Here's part of that interview below:

Massey was also asked whether liquor liability changes — an issue being pushed by bars and restaurants that they argue without threatens to close their businesses — could be shooed in if the House makes no move on a broader tort reform this year.

Here's what he said:

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, Gov. McMaster posted, "Thank you to the SC Senate for getting tort reform done. A wonderful example of leadership, determination, hard work, and collaboration. Great news, South Carolina."

The regular legislative session ends on Thursday May 8.

Jeffrey Collins/AP

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AP

Several big items stole the headlines this week, from tort reform to DEI and the Senate's $1.8 billion error report.

But there were plenty of other key items that advanced to the floor, passed out of the respective chambers and were left by lawmakers to linger into the next week.

Starting with the Senate:

• The Senate confirmed McMaster's choice for South Carolina adjutant general, Brigadier Gen. Robin Stilwell who was nominated by McMaster in February.
  "I know that he will continue to serve our state with honor and distinction, ensuring the Guard remains ready to protect South Carolinians and support our communities in times of need," McMaster said in part of his statement.
• And Jeff Duncan, the former 3rd District congressman who did not seek reelection last year, has been tapped by McMaster to serve as a member of the Santee Cooper board of directors. If confirmed by the Senate, Duncan would represent the 3rd Congressional District on the state-owned utility board.
• The Senate Education Committee advanced three of five bills to the floor for debate dealing with charter school student enrollment, private security in schools and school meals. The committee carried over what's called the Educator Assistance Act and a bill dealing with student expulsion.
• Dr. Edward Simmer, the governor's nominee to lead the new Department of Public Health, will get his second confirmation hearing before the Medical Affairs Committee on Thursday.
• And on the chamber's special order (priority) calendar is H. 3309, the House's energy utility bill filed by Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter. Senate GOP Leader Massey told reporters that Tuesday and Wednesday of next week could be long days. He noted that now roughly half of the chamber was not here in 2018-2019 as the Legislature responded to the fallout from the V.C. Summer nuclear site's unfinished reactors and the reforms that followed.
  
  Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, on energy utility bill 3.26.25

  Listen • 1:49

Massey said after the Senate wraps up the energy debate, the chamber will take a week off the floor to allow the Senate Finance Committee to do budget work and kick out its spending plan to the floor.

Two weeks later, in late April, the Senate will debate the roughly $14.5 billion general fund budget.

Now over to the House:

• As we reported, the House abruptly stopped debate over an anti-DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) bill that deals with offices and initiatives on college campuses, state and local government and in school districts. House Democrats criticized the move, calling the House Republican Caucus ill-prepared. Meanwhile, House Education and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, said the move was nothing more than to allow her and her staff more time to vet the more than 20 amendments lawmakers put on the desk. Erickson said that debate should occur Tuesday.
• In another abrupt move, on Thursday the House stopped debate over H. 3276, a hands-free driving bill filed by Rep. Tommy Pope, R-York. The pause came as Rep. Bill Taylor, an Aiken Republican who has filed similar legislation over the course of a decade, proposed changes that he said would make the bill stronger. That debate is expected to return at some point next week.
• The House passed two election-related bills. One — H. 3556, filed by Rep. Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster — that changes the process to protest and contest elections of county, less than county and municipal officers. The second — H. 3557, also filed by Newton — requires in part all candidates to pay a filing fee and lets political parties charge a certification fee.
• The House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee — commonly known as 3M — will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to take up S. 2, a bill filed by Cherokee County Republican Sen. Harvey Peeler that would consolidate certain health care-related agencies.
• The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to start discussions over H. 4216 — filed by budget Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville — the Republican-led proposal to lower and flatten the income tax rate.

MAAYAN SCHECHTER

• As EPA deregulates, nearly 1.8M acres of SC wetlands could lose federal protection, report says (Post and Courier)
• Solar farms spark tension between rural areas and sun power advocates. Senators weigh in (The State)
• Greenville County sued by patrons, ACLU for library board's crackdown on LGBTQ books (Post and Courier)
• Housing for thousands in SC in jeopardy as Trump’s orders sow confusion in HUD funding (The State)
• SC Bill: Law Enforcement training for individuals with autism (WSPA)
• Bills seek to improve safety for South Carolinians as they worship and attend class (SC Daily Gazette)
• SC says cheers as it IDs the coolest thing made in the Palmetto State (Post and Courier)
• South Carolina bill targets bank tracking of gun purchases (WLTX)
• Trump endorses SC’s Lindsey Graham for reelection. What it could mean for 2026 campaign (The State)
• PTSD broke up a veteran’s family. Now his daughters could lose SC college scholarships too. (SC Daily Gazette)
• South Carolina lawmaker introduces bill to increase burning penalties after wildfires (WMBF)
• SC drivers may want to check their insurance policies. State-allowed minimums could double. (SC Daily Gazette)
• SC Senate passes lawsuit reform package. Opinions mixed on its future and what it does. (Post and Courier)