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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: What we're watching in the final week, from energy to liquor liability

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Russ McKinney, Gavin Jackson
Published May 6, 2025 at 6:01 AM EDT
The South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., is seen on Jan. 25, 2014. For years, South Carolina's capital was known mainly to visitors as the seat of state government and the home of the University of South Carolina. But in recent years the area's varied attractions have been marketed as part of tourism campaign that the area is "Famously Hot." An estimated 1 million visitors a year now visit the area. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith).
Bruce Smith/AP
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AP

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.

It is finally, the final week of the South Carolina legislative session.

Here comes some long floor fights and smattering of conference committees.

Sine die is 5 p.m. Thursday.

And, remember, the sine die resolution — which tells lawmakers what they can take up should they return post-regular session — is narrow, leaving the Legislature with plans to only really return to Columbia to finalize the more than $14 billion state spending plan.

The S.C. Board of Economic Advisors, the state's revenue forecasters, will announce new budget revenue May 20, and lawmakers are likely to return shortly after for the budget.

In case you missed it: At the end of last week, the S.C. Inspector General's Office opened an investigation at the Senate's request to look at the overall operations of the Treasurer's Office. The investigation follows the Senate's 33-8 vote to remove Treasurer Curtis Loftis from office for "willful neglect of duty" over the $1.8 billion accounting error.

You can find the scope of the IG's investigation here.

Notebook highlights:

  • It's the final week of session, so where does legislation about energy capacity and liquor liability stand in the General Assembly? What else we're watching this week.
  • The Senate has a number of confirmations to OK before sine die. What the Senate GOP leader says that means for Gov. Henry McMaster's pick to run public health.
Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson
SCETV
Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson

The final countdown

State lawmakers head home for the year Thursday.

With few days left, Republican leaders have two important pieces of legislation hanging in the balance before they leave the Capitol: a major energy bill, and a liquor liability/tort reform compromise that many bars and restaurants say without, they could lock their doors for good.

What's their status?

Energy: The House last Thursday passed H. 3309, what leaders billed a compromise between the two chambers so that electric utilities can meet future needs for the fast-growing state. The bill is now back in the Senate, where there's considerable support for ensuring that large power users, like data centers, don't require residential customers to share in those costs. The House dropped that provision from the bill, among other parts that could trigger lengthy floor debate in the Senate.

Tort reform/Liquor liability: Let's start out by saying that Republican House leaders have made it pretty clear the lower chamber will not be taking up the Senate's tort reform package — S. 244 — in full. But House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, told reporters the House is committed to passing a bill that would decrease the cost of liquor liability insurance for owners of bars and restaurants, who have been lobbying the Legislature for months. On the Senate side, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said he's hopeful that a compromise could include parts of the Senate bill aimed at lowering costs by primarily focusing on the amounts of damages that juries may award in cases involving multiple defendants, known as joint and several liability. Both sides told reporters at the end of last week that they're talking — a sign, they said, that a compromise could be coming.

Possibly a sign, the full House Judiciary Committee meets at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday on H. 3497, the House's liquor liability bill that the Senate amended with its tort reform proposal.

Here are some other bills that we're following in Week 17:

  • H. 4025: The budget bill is back in the House, which is expected to take it back up Tuesday before it eventually heads to a conference committee between the two chambers.
  • H. 4216: The House is expected on Tuesday to debate its income tax proposal that has since been revamped to impact fewer filers and, eventually, eliminate the tax entirely.
  • H. 3858: A bill that would slash boat taxes is currently sitting on the House calendar.
  • S. 77: A bill that would require school boards to make necessary efforts to meetings are open to the public and available by livestream.
  • H. 3276: A hands-free driving bill that has passed both chambers. The bill is currently back in the House, which can decide whether to agree with Senate changes or amend it.

A "circus," Massey said, describing the final week of session. "The last week's always crazy. ... We're going to have stuff flying back and forth."

South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, left, and South Carolina Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, right, speak before a joint session of the General Assembly on Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Jeffrey Collins/AP
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AP
South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, left, and South Carolina Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, right, speak before a joint session of the General Assembly on Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

GOP leader: Slim chance on Simmer

It's not only bills that lawmakers need to get through this week.

Senate GOP Leader Massey said there's some 20 to 30 confirmations that the Senate needs to take up before heading home, including appointments for the Santee Cooper board and the director of the state Department of Social Services.

That leaves Dr. Edward Simmer, Gov. Henry McMaster's nominee to lead the newly created Department of Public Health. Simmer is currently serving as interim director.

Simmer, who formerly ran what was the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) before it was split, failed to advance out of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee.

Since, McMaster has pushed lawmakers, publicly and privately, to bring Simmer's nomination to the floor and give him a favorable confirmation.

That action is seemingly unlikely with three days left.

Massey told reporters last Thursday that Simmer will not get a vote in the full Senate.

Hear more of Massey's remarks:

S.C. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, on Senate confirmations

Some Republican senators have urged McMaster to pull his bid and nominate someone else. McMaster, with a little more than a year left in office, has made no moves or public intentions to do that yet.

"One of the questions I have would be who's next. As I've told some of our senators, ... we can do worse," Massey told reporters last week. "... The absence of leadership at DHEC in 2020 and early 2021 was a real problem. And we saw the result of that. Be careful what you ask for, because it could be worse."

Dr. Edward Simmer listens as the South Carolina Medical Affairs Committee gave his nomination to be the first director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health an unfavorable vote on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Jeffrey Collins/AP
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AP
Dr. Edward Simmer listens as the South Carolina Medical Affairs Committee gave his nomination to be the first director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health an unfavorable vote on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

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Maayan Schechter
Maayan Schechter (My-yahn Schek-ter) is a news reporter with South Carolina Public Radio and ETV. She worked at South Carolina newspapers for a decade, previously working as a reporter and then editor of The State’s S.C. State House and politics team, and as a reporter at the Aiken Standard and the Greenville News. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2013.
See stories by Maayan Schechter
Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs. He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta. He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.
See stories by Russ McKinney
Gavin Jackson
Gavin Jackson graduated with a visual journalism degree from Kent State University in 2008 and has been in the news industry ever since. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Louisiana and most recently in South Carolina at the Florence Morning News and Charleston Post and Courier.
See stories by Gavin Jackson