It's Tuesday, Jan. 27.
You're reading The State House Gavel, your daily reporter notebook by Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse.
There are 16 weeks and 47 days left of session.
And it's still cold.
So cold in fact that the winter weather, particularly in the Upstate, has put the freeze on the South Carolina legislative session today, cancelling floor work and most committee hearings.
Both the House and Senate will hold what's called a perfunctory session, meaning a legislator will gavel in and out without any debate, floor work or serious legislative business. The Senate has cancelled all of its hearings, while the House is keeping a very light calendar for the start of the week, spreading cancelled hearings to other days.
We're told session is expected to return tomorrow, the same day Gov. Henry McMaster will deliver his final State of the State address to the General Assembly. (More details below).
Because the weather turned into a Statehouse scheduling shuffle, this State House Gavel will be lighter than usual. We will return to our regularly what's on tap for the week tomorrow.
Notebook highlights:
- South Carolina's state-owned hospital system pushes for new multimillion-dollar cancer center
- Gubernatorial candidate to give State of the State response
Why MUSC wants a new cancer center
We all know South Carolina is growing — fast.
So too is the aging Baby Boomer generation, as South Carolinians are getting older and retirees are moving to the mild weathered Palmetto State.
From state government services to infrastructure and health care, the growth is going to have an impact on South Carolina.
That includes at the state-owned Medical University of South Carolina and MUSC Health — itself a rapidly growing hospital network with 16 owned/affiliated hospitals in rural areas, a Level 1 trauma center in downtown Charleston near its Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Hollings Cancer Center.
This Week in South Carolina host Gavin Jackson recently sat down with MUSC Health President and CEO Dr. Patrick Cawley and MUSC President Dr. David Cole, who both say much more is needed to keep up with the wave of the Baby Boomer impact and the increasing prevalence of cancer.
Last April, the MUSC Board of Trustees approved plans to start a new campus cancer hospital that is expected to provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient cancer care, along with essential support services.
That’s the $350 million funding vision the two have pitched state lawmakers this year on as part of their budget request. (Gov. McMaster has recommended $115 million via his executive budget.)
Here's part of their interview, edited for length.
What would such a comprehensive cancer center mean for the state?
Cawley: What's driving this is the amount of cancer we're facing today and that we're seeing coming into the future — a 20% increase in the amount of cancer cases diagnosed in South Carolina in the coming year. The No. 1 thing that every single community wants help on is cancer. When we go through treatment, it's rough, right? And you don't want to be traveling when you're going through chemo and radiation. You want to be close to home. The technology is getting much closer to be able to deliver this cutting-edge care at home facilitated by the epicenter in Charleston.
How does this fit into MUSC’s mission?
Cole: I keep referring to ecosystem, but it's not merely a building ,which will be state-of-the-art. It's the people that are part of that, the education that occurs there, the research that supports it to provide that standard of care and the patient experience we've been talking about. We're going to make two commitments to the citizens of South Carolina: We're committing to actually creating cures in cancer and we're committing to the best patient cancer experience for South Carolinians, period.
Over several recent legislative sessions, hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to MUSC, USC (the University of South Carolina) and Clemson University for health science needs. What does this support signal to you?
Cawley: That South Carolina (is) growing. And there's just a lot of needs and a lot of infrastructure to support the growth that is already here and is going to continue to for the next 10 to 15 years. It's also incumbent upon us to make sure we're doing this together. This is not just about MUSC. This is about an ecosystem for the state. We're going to link up with anyone who wants to be part of this.
Cole: We educate. We have six colleges. We have to educate every dimension of health care. We need to educate the heck out of everybody that is high quality, can deliver and be a part of this community in this state. I would say in a future learning sense, we need to redefine the model of care delivery because as much as we work to create more training opportunities and pipelines, the need is going to outstrip anything that we can accomplish in the current way that we are delivering care.
You can find the full TWISC interview below:
Dem gov hopeful to respond to McMaster
South Carolina state Rep. Jermaine Johnson will deliver the Democratic response tomorrow night to Gov. McMaster's ninth and final State of the State speech.
The 40-year-old Richland County Democrat is running for governor. He faces Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod in the June Democratic primary.
The three-term lawmaker recently announced he will not seek reelection to his Midlands-based House seat (state law lets candidates run for more than one political office) so he can focus on his gubernatorial bid.
As others have noted, Johnson is not the first House Democrat vying for the state's top office to respond to the governor.
In 2018, then-state Rep. James Smith, who was running for governor, gave the response to McMaster's State of the State address. McMaster went on to win his first four-year term in November.
What is the State of the State?
It's annual address delivered by the governor, laying out priorities and a legislative wish list for the new year. But particularly for McMaster, it will be an opportunity for the state's longest-serving governor to look back at his lengthy tenure in front of a joint assembly.
We'll have more on his speech in Wednesday's Gavel.
When will Johnson respond?
The response is pre-taped, which means Johnson won't be responding to McMaster's speech in real time. His response will air immediately after McMaster's remarks wrap.
How can I watch?
Both speeches will air on SCETV and will broadcast on SC Public Radio and online at scetv.org, starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Also, be sure to stick around post-speeches as TWISC and SC Lede host Gavin Jackson catches up with legislators from both political parties to get their reactions.
Daily Statehouse planner (1/27)
SC House
- Noon — Blatt 108 — Healthcare Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee
Agenda
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 1:30 p.m. — Blatt 321 — Economic Development Budget Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee
Agenda
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only
Statehouse clips from around the state
- How routine oversight hearing became a political flash point in the SC governor's race (Post and Courier)
- Utilities trying to tamp concerns over planned SC gas plant, environmentalists say (The State)
- SC bill would require Ten Commandments in every classroom. A Louisiana law is already in court. (SC Daily Gazette)
- Culture war bills dominate first 2 weeks of SC Statehouse session. Will it determine their outcome? (Post and Courier)
- Lt. Gov. Evette breaks with SC Gov. McMaster on closed primary stance (The State)
- SC lawmakers weigh new fees, tolls in major transportation overhaul (WIS)
- SC Republicans likely to keep coveted first-in-the-South presidential primary spot in 2028 (Post and Courier)
- Horry County leaders latest backing push to rename I-73 after Trump (WBTW)
- Every candidate for SC governor wants to cut or eliminate the income tax. Here's how. (Post and Courier)
- 3 recent SC governor GOP race polls. 3 different leaders. Why the difference? (The State)
