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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: House braces for abortion meds, hemp fights and Senate DUI debate nears end

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson
Published February 4, 2026 at 6:01 AM EST
The S.C. Senate chamber on Feb. 3, 2026.
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
/
SCETV
The S.C. Senate chamber on Feb. 3, 2026.

Statehouse reporters Gavin Jackson 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.

It's Wednesday, Feb. 4.

The House gavels in at 10 a.m.

The Senate will open session at 1 p.m.

And because today is expected to be a packed floor debate day in both legislative chambers, we will get right into 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.

But first, the calendar.

There are several dates to remember as you chart out your schedule for the next few months until sine die adjournment in May:

  • Feb. 25: American Legion joint assembly at 12:30 p.m.
  • March 4: Judicial elections, including state Supreme Court
  • Week of March 9: House debates the state budget
  • Week of March 16: House goes on furlough
  • March 16: Candidate filing opens
  • March 30: Candidate filing closes
  • Week of April 6: House takes another furlough
  • Week of April 20: Senate expected to debate budget
  • May 14: Sine die, the final official day of the 2026 session

Notebook highlights:

  • What you can expect in House and Senate chambers
  • South Carolina's attorney general and candidate for governor wants the state's second-in-command to have expanded responsibilities
  • Richmond Fed president talks economic, monetary policy
Reporters Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson, host of This Week in South Carolina and the SC Lede podcast.
Andre Bellamy/SCETV
Reporters Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson, host of This Week in South Carolina and the SC Lede podcast.

House, Senate floor fights

If you read The State House Gavel on Tuesday, then you already have a preview of what the Legislature plans to debate today.

But, as a reminder, starting with the Senate:

After agreeing — and disagreeing — to changes on Tuesday, the Senate is expected to wrap its debate today over S. 52, legislation to toughen the state's driving under the influence laws. We're told the amendment phase of this debate is not quite over. And that will be followed by a number of senators taking the floor to talk about the bill. Either way, we've been told the goal is to wrap the debate up today. The next priority? Senators say charter school accountability.

And the House?

Get ready for a long day. There's a reason they're in at 10 a.m.

The House is expected to debate:

  • H. 4760: The bill seeks to criminalize anyone who supplies abortion-inducing medication to someone without a prescription, and adds two medications, mifepristone and misoprostol, to the list of Schedule IV controlled substances, like Xanax and Ambien.
  • H. 4758 and H. 4759: Both bills target consumable hemp projects, with the former banning them and latter focused on regulating the sale and distribution. Should both receive favorable votes, and strangely enough, we are hearing that the apparent conflicting policies won't stop the House from possibly passing both, it will be the third House hemp bill sitting in the upper chamber. Last year, the House passed H. 3924, which would regulate sales of hemp-derived consumables to stores with valid alcohol licenses and prohibit sales and consumption to anyone under 21.

What else happened Tuesday?

  • House and Senate leaders ratified three bills, putting them on the track to get to the governor's desk. They are: S. 779, the bill to restore lawmakers' $1,000-a-month payout for in-district expenses; H. 3431, legislation that would require an online business to "exercise reasonable care" in the use of a minor's personal data in an attempt to limit psychological harm, among other issues, through better design, time limits and certain restrictions on content and location data; and S. 336, which sets the first Wednesday of March for a joint assembly to elect judges.
  • The House Judiciary Committee sent three bills to the House floor for debate — H.3530, H.4511 and H.4813 — that mainly deal with magistrate judges.
  • Gov. Henry McMaster has appointed his former chief attorney, Thomas Limehouse, to an at-large seat on the State Ports Authority Board of Directors, with a term from Feb. 13 to Feb. 13, 2031. The appointment now goes to the Senate Transportation Committee.
  • The Senate is set to take up McMaster's veto of S. 623, a local Georgetown bill dealing with building requirements filed by Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown.
  • In a 24-19 vote, the Senate passed S. 26 (filed by Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg), requiring owners of watercraft of more than 70 horsepower carrying a certain amount of liability insurance.
  • The House Ways and Means Committee sent three bills to the floor that include H. 5006, a small business property tax break proposal filed by Lancaster Republican Rep. Brandon Newton.
  • As of Tuesday, both the House and Senate have now adopted a resolution approving the design and location of the future Robert Smalls statue on the Statehouse grounds.
  • The Senate adopted S. 883, the sine die resolution, which outlines what the Legislature can return to the Statehouse for after session ends on May 14. The resolution now heads to the House. (Senate leaders said Tuesday they don't intend to be in Columbia past Memorial Day.)
S.C. Sen. Brian Adams, R-Berkeley, takes questions from Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield,
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
/
SCETV
S.C. Sen. Brian Adams, R-Berkeley, takes questions from Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, over legislation to toughen the state's driving under the influence laws.

Should the Lt Gov have more powers? AG says yes

The Statehouse continues to be the epicenter for many political policy rollouts as politicians run for higher office.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Alan Wilson offered his latest proposal if elected governor. And this idea involves his lieutenant governor running mate, Florence Republican Sen. Mike Reichenbach.

The duo announced what they're calling the "Families First Audit Initiative," an initiative that would essentially grow the No. 2's responsibilities by tasking the lieutenant governor with overseeing and conducting independent audits of state agencies.

The plan says the lieutenant governor would perform those audits in conjunction with other offices that actually perform audits, such as the state auditor, the state's inspector general and the Legislative Audit Council.

Wilson said the move wouldn't grow government, but rather make current processes more efficient and proactive versus reactive.

Wilson is one of five GOP candidates for governor, along with:

  • Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette
  • Congresswoman Nancy Mace of the 1st District
  • Congressman Ralph Norman of the 5th District
  • State Sen. John Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg

The Democratic Party slate includes:

  • State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland
  • Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod

You can hear Wilson's full policy roll out below:

Wilson is hardly the first person to propose expanding the responsibilities of the lieutenant governor, who only became a running mate to the governor in 2019 after the Legislature changed the Constitution to remove the lieutenant governor from the Senate chamber. The Senate president now presides over the chamber.

The new version of the lieutenant governor has a very limited portfolio, somewhat by design. The most important role perhaps? Stepping up as governor should the governor be unable to serve, similar to the vice president.

Beyond that, the lieutenant governor — who earns less than $50,000 a year for the technically part-time position — helps the governor on their priorities and advocates for the governor's agenda across the state.

Lt. Gov. Evette is the first lieutenant governor in this role.

A businesswoman, Evette often stumps for Gov. McMaster's agenda at business-type events about workforce readiness, the economy and technical colleges and universities.

Alan Wilson, current S.C. Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate, unveiled his Families First Audit Initiative on Feb. 3, 2026, at the South Carolina Statehouse along with his running mate Sen. Mike Reichenbach, R-Florence.. The initiative would task the lieutenant governor with overseeing and conducting independent performance audits of state agencies in coordination with other offices, such as the state auditor and state inspector general, to synchronize audits with the Legislative Audit Council.
GAVIN JACKSON
Alan Wilson, current S.C. Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate, unveiled his Families First Audit Initiative on Feb. 3, 2026, at the South Carolina Statehouse along with his running mate Sen. Mike Reichenbach, R-Florence. The initiative would task the lieutenant governor with overseeing and conducting independent performance audits of state agencies in coordination with other offices, such as the state auditor and state inspector general, to synchronize audits with the Legislative Audit Council.

Richmond Fed says 2026 fog 'starting to lift'

Tom Barkin, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, told education and business leaders on Tuesday that economic and monetary policy may become more clear this year compared to “driving in a dense fog” of 2025 political machinations that sidelined many businesses.

"(Many) spent the year on the side of the road, not cutting back, but not leaning into more investment — not hiring, but not firing,” Barkin said. “Visibility only worsened further when everybody lost access to government data during last fall's extended shutdown. But as we move into 2026, it feels to me like the fog is starting to lift. Or maybe our eyes are just starting to adjust. And, once again, we're seeing an economy that remains remarkably resilient.”

Barkin keynoted a breakfast briefing for South Carolina First Steps, in partnership with the state's education and employment and workforce departments.

You can listen to his full remarks below:

Daily Statehouse planner (2/4)

SC House

SC Senate

SC governor

  • 11:30 a.m. — Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to attend the Rotary Club of Aiken Inaugural Economic Symposium in Aiken

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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
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