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The State House Gavel

The State House Gavel shares updates about the South Carolina General Assembly, including legislative actions, debates and discussions. Featuring news and interviews, so you have access to the latest developments in policy and decisions that shape South Carolina’s future.

The State House Gavel: 5 bills lawmakers face with 1 month left

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,

Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney

Published April 8, 2025 at 6:01 AM EDT

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, center, gives his State of the State speech Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Statehouse reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter are back at the Capitol reporting what you need to know when lawmakers are in Columbia. They'll post news, important schedules, photos/videos and behind-the-scenes interviews with policymakers.

Happy Tuesday.

Welcome to Week 13 of the S.C. legislative session.

There's one more month left but who's counting (we all are).

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.

Schedule reminder: The Senate is off the floor this week to give the Senate Finance Committee time to rework and advance their version of the state $14.5 billion general fund spending plan.

And congratulations to all our Statehouse reporter friends who won awards Friday at the S.C. Press Association's annual ceremony. You can find a list of this year's winners here.

Notebook highlights:

From liquor liability to private school tuition vouchers, South Carolina lawmakers have several large items staring them down before they go home for the year next month. A breakdown of some top issues left.
Gov. Henry McMaster defended his pick to lead the new environmental services, who, like his public health nominee, has faced criticism.
Drug overdose deaths are decreasing in South Carolina. See what the state's director of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services has to say.

Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson

5 big bills in question as session winds up

There are 15 days left on the South Carolina Statehouse calendar.

Even fewer if you count the House's furlough break next week and the Senate's absence on the floor this week to finalize their spending bill plan in committee.

We have asked plenty of times, and Statehouse leaders say they are still committed to ensuring May 8 is indeed the final day they will be in Columbia, except for budget and any vetoes.

That has left plenty of questions about some major pieces of legislation floating through the General Assembly, and whether they will pass before 5 p.m., sine die.

Here are where five issues stand:

Tort reform and liquor liability: Senators are waiting to see if the House will take a bite of S. 244, the expansive tort reform legislation that took up four weeks of debate and covers everything from lawsuits, auto insurance, liquor liability and damage compensation. The bill passed the Senate and sits in the House Judiciary Committee, which, so far, has not scheduled a hearing. Senate GOP Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, told reporters last week he hopes the House realizes that the bill is bigger than just liquor liability and affects all sectors. At the same time, the House has pushed a standalone liquor liability bill it says answers to a more immediate problem for bars and restaurants that argue without could shutter their doors for good. That bill, H. 3497, passed the House and sits on the Senate calendar. Sens. Ross Turner, R-Greenville, and Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, have both put a hold on the bill.

Energy capacity: The Senate passed H. 3309 last week, House Speaker Murrell Smith's utility bill Statehouse leaders say aims to meet South Carolina's growing energy needs. The bill streamlines the regulatory process, requires agencies to act faster on new utility applications and gives Santee Cooper the green light to work with Dominion Energy on a new gas plant in Colleton County. Now that it's out of the Senate, the House can decide whether to amend it once more to kick it to a conference committee so both sides can negotiate a compromise.

Health care consolidation: For the second time, lawmakers will try to consolidate now three health care-related agencies after similar legislation was foiled last year. The bill, S. 2, has already cleared the Senate and a House committee, leaving it currently sitting on the House calendar. The bill would create the new Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities by consolidating the departments of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, Disabilities and Special Needs and Mental Health.

Private school vouchers: The so-called Education Scholarship Trust Fund proposal — S. 62 — that would, as amended by the House, use taxpayer dollars to fund K-12 private school tuition vouchers and other education-related costs is back in the Senate. The House amended the bill by removing the state Lottery funding mechanism and replacing it with state dollars and a "trustee" to oversee the program. With the two versions having major differences, the Senate can now decide whether to go back to their version or try to move closer to the House's position. Regardless, if passed this year, the bill will likely get another airing in front of the state Supreme Court.

Income tax plan: The proposal, H. 4216, is the latest big bill to drop. Republican leaders hailed the legislation as needed to better compete with its Southeast neighbors. The bill initially calls to replace the state’s personal income tax rate structure with a flat 3.99% for all filers, then eventually lowers it to 2.49% if revenue growth is strong in future years. But lawmakers are now back to the drawing board after internal pushback put the plan on ice following state estimates that showed nearly 60% of filers would see their taxes go up initially. The bill still sits in the House Ways and Means Committee.

South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, left, speaks as state Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, listens during a news conference on tax cuts on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Gov defends environmental agency pick

Less than a week after Gov. Henry McMaster's choice to lead the Department of Public Health failed to advance out of a Senate committee, the governor is yet again on defense of another pick of his: Myra Reece to lead new Department of Environmental Services.

Who is Reece: She is the current interim director of environmental services, what was part of the former Department of Health and Environmental Control, where Reece worked for 30-plus years. She also chairs WaterSC, a statewide water planning initiative.

Why the defense: Reece has faced pushback over her confirmation. The criticism has particularly been coming from wealthy Isle of Palms property owner Rom Reddy, who was fined $289,000 by DHEC as part of a years-long battle over a seawall he constructed on his beachfront property in violation of state law.

McMaster defended Reece to reporters Monday:

Gov. Henry McMaster on Myra Reece nomination 4.7.25

Look forward: A month of session left, Reece has her first confirmation hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday before the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Sen. Wes Climer, R-York. The hearing comes days after Dr. Edward Simmer, McMaster's nominee to lead the Department of Public Health, failed to advance out of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster answers questions about the 2024 General Assembly's session at a news conference on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins) — FILE — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster answers questions on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

SC overdose deaths decline

South Carolina overdose deaths are dropping.

That's according to Sara Goldsby, director of the state Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, who last week sat down with host Gavin Jackson on This Week in South Carolina.

What does the data say?

In 2023, the most recent available data, there were 2,157 drug overdose deaths in South Carolina, a 6.1% drop from the 2,296 drug overdose deaths in 2022. Goldsby told Jackson that overdose deaths are expected to continue to drop.

“A 6% decrease across tells us that the efforts across the state, in local communities and support from federal government, all that coordination and collaboration, is really making an impact,” Goldsby said. “We’re even further encouraged to see that the provisional CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) drug overdose data is telling us that the 2024 overdose deaths, when those are finalized, they will be lower again so we’re moving in the right direction.”

Why the drop?

Goldsby said it's a combination of good state policy — for example, making the opioid overdose reversing drug naloxone readily available and over the counter — drug monitoring efforts and greater tools for law enforcement to go after traffickers has helped.

Drug test strip availability is also a contributing factor to the decrease, Goldsby said, especially as street drugs have increasingly been laced with powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

“No drug use is good, but people are going to use drugs and we want them to be able prevent their own deaths if possible. So, having the ability to test a substance to know if there’s fentanyl in it is saving lives, and that includes testing substances like cocaine and methamphetamine that now have fentanyl in them,” Goldsby said. “We know the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) data is telling us that the illicit pills in the illicit market that look like a prescription pill have been deadly. We know that in 2023 seven out of 10 pills had a deadly amount of fentanyl in them.”

Are there funding concerns?

Some $2 million in federal funding that came to the state and community groups on the frontlines ceased in late March, according to Goldsby.

A NBC News report said the CDC is pulling back on $11.4 billion allocated in response to the pandemic to state and community health departments.

“We had some abrupt termination of federal grants, but the investment in the publicly-funded addiction system nationwide and in our state through the bloc grants that come to us for substance abuse are really the foundation of public prevention, treatment and recovery services the citizens have access to,” Goldsby said.

But, with data trending in the right direction for the first time in a decade, Goldsby said “ongoing investments are going to be needed to really sustain the access and care for South Carolinians.”