Happy Thursday.
The S.C. Senate wrapped up its work for the week, and senators will head home early for the Easter weekend.
That concludes Week 14 of the South Carolina legislative session.
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.
With the General Assembly out Thursday, we are skipping Friday's usual post, and, instead, we will have a special edition of The State House Gavel Monday previewing the Senate's hearing over whether to remove Treasurer Curtis Loftis from office for willful neglect of duty dealing with the $1.8 billion accounting error and other matters.
Notebook highlights:
- House and Senate education leaders have struck a compromise over a K-12 private school voucher bill they hope will appease the state Supreme Court.
- A bill that would ban holding a cellphone while driving is closer to becoming law this year — eight years after one lawmaker first proposed the idea.
- One of the governor's top 2025 priorities — legislation that would consolidate three health-related agencies into one — will soon become reality after the Senate approved a bill they say will provide greater efficiency and care in the state.
Compromise struck on vouchers
The education chairs of the South Carolina Senate and House of Representatives have reached a compromise on legislation that would try — for the second time — to pay for K-12 private school vouchers through the state budget.
"We reached a consensus on the key elements of the bill," Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree, R-Horry, said.
Under the agreement presented Wednesday, the program could be covered using either taxpayer dollars or state Lottery money for tuition and other eligible education-related needs.
And, this time, it would install a third-party trustee with qualifications to oversee the program — what Republicans hope is a workaround of the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision, when it ruled that public money could not be spent for the direct benefit of private schools.
"In my view, this is an insurance policy," Hembree said.
Hembree also said the money options give the General Assembly more flexibility. For instance, he said, if the high court were to rule again that public dollars are prohibited but decide the Lottery is OK, lawmakers would not have to pass another bill.
The amended bill, S. 62, also would:
- Set the voucher, or scholarship, amount at $7,500.
- Offers two enrollment periods, first for students already in the program and another for new students.
- Sets the student limit at 15,000 students who can participate in the program. The number can be increased if state revenue is available and appropriated. At full implementation, the program could cost more than $112 million.
- In the first school year, the bill sets a household poverty limit of 300%, or $96,450 for a family of four. In following years, the limit would be set at 500%, or $160,750 for a family of four.
The Senate voted 29-13 to attach the compromise amendment to the bill with two Republicans joining with Democrats to oppose: Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and Sen. Shane Martin, R-Spartanburg.
But Hembree agreed with Democrats' request to delay the vote on the amended bill to, giving senators more time to read the compromise that will likely bypass the traditional conference committee process.
You can listen to some of Hembree's back-and-forth with Calhoun Democratic Sen. Russell Ott, who requested the delay:
What's next?
The Senate returns next week to debate the $14 billion state general fund budget, so any debate over the bill will have to occur after that. Then the House would have to agree to the new version.
Nine days are left of the regular session, which ends May 8.
Whatever is passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor will is expected to be challenged and returned to the state Supreme Court.
Then, the next steps are up to the five justices.
SC hands-free bill close to becoming law
For one state lawmaker — Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken — getting a hands-free driving bill passed through the General Assembly took about eight years of effort.
Now, the effort is closer than ever to becoming state law.
State lawmakers are rushing to enact a law to ban scrolling while driving — a hands-free driving bill that would ban making calls and texting, scrolling through Instagram and and email — before this year’s legislative session ends.
The bill — H. 3276 — which has already passed through the House, is on its way for debate in the Senate, where it’s been overwhelmingly approved in previous sessions.
Not only is passage of the bill viewed as a highway safety measure, but officials say the state stands to lose $50 million in federal highway safety money if it doesn’t join more than 30 other states and ban people from holding cellphones as they drive.
If it becomes law:
- The first offense would be a $100 fine
- Other offenses would carry a $200 fine and two points added to a driver’s driving record
South Carolina and North Carolina are the only states on the East Coast that currently do not ban drivers from holding phones to make calls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Texting while driving is already illegal in South Carolina.
Health care consolidation heads to gov
One of Gov. Henry McMaster's top 2025 priorities — passing a bill that consolidates three health care-related agencies into one to provide better services to South Carolinians — will finally head to his desk.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted 40-2 to agree with House changes on S. 2, a bill that creates a new Cabinet-level department called the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
It includes the departments of:
- Mental Health
- Disability and Special Needs
- Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services
The bill now heads to the governor for his signature.
"We have a dysfunctional system," McMaster told SC Public Radio this week. "This will go a long way to fixing that."
Daily planner (4/17)
SC House and Senate
- 9 a.m. — Gressette 105 — Public Utilities Review Committee
Agenda Available
SC governor
- 1:30 p.m. — Gov. Henry McMaster will attend the German American Chamber of Commerce Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Business Conference in Greenville
Clips from around the state
- Proposed NOAA budget cuts would end climate research. ‘Huge impacts’ are expected for SC. (Post and Courier)
- Some SC school districts won’t give grades below 50. Legislation would ban such policies. (SC Daily Gazette)
- USC bought Apple watches for employees. It shouldn’t have, audit says (The State)
- Port of Charleston's cargo volume climbed ahead of Trump's tariff rollout (Post and Courier)
- Without $6M in immediate funding, an SC college says it will close its campus (The State)
