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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: Senate sends governor NIL bill, SC lawmaker switches reelection plan

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson
Published February 18, 2026 at 6:01 AM EST
The South Carolina Statehouse on Feb. 10 , 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
The South Carolina Statehouse on Feb. 10 , 2026.

It's Wednesday, Feb. 18.

The House gavels in at 10 a.m., with plans to debate:

  • H. 3477: Sponsored by Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington, the bill would change the calculation of how much money beneficiaries can get through unemployment insurance benefits.
  • H. 4757: Sponsored by Rep. Tommy Pope, R-York, the bill creates the so-called Parental Rights Act, a framework of a parent's rights and role in the education, health care and mental health care of their child, or under the age of 18.

The Senate returns at 1 p.m.

Senators plan to again tackle S. 768, sponsored by Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, a bill that would expand the homestead exemption from property taxes for anyone 65 and older.

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.

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate on Tuesday remembered civil rights icon and Greenville native Jesse Jackson, who died at 84. You can hear their tributes below.

Notebook highlights:

  • Senate sends governor legislation to seal public records on NIL deals between students and colleges and universities
  • A South Carolina legislator changes reelection plans
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.

NIL bill limiting public disclosure clears Senate

The Senate voted 30-13 to approve legislation that would join South Carolina with other states by sealing public records of name, image and likeness and revenue-sharing contracts between student-athletes and colleges and universities.

For background: The bill — H. 4902, sponsored by House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens — was pushed by university and college athletic directors, who argued South Carolina colleges would be put in a competitive disadvantage with other competitor schools without the change. The legislation also followed a public records request and subsequent lawsuit against the University of South Carolina for contract information.

Athletic directors, coaches and their backers also argued that the legislation strikes a "balance" by protecting student-athletes and allowing the public to know the aggregate total spending per year.

"Subjecting these agreements to public disclosure would raise serious privacy concerns for our student-athletes, potentially exposing them to undue public scrutiny and creating risks that extend well beyond the playing field," Clemson University's Athletics Director Graham Neff wrote Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree, R-Horry, last week.

Neff was joined by other athletic directors, including those from Coastal Carolina University and the University of South Carolina.

Meanwhile, the legislation's critics have called for more transparency, arguing the bill goes too far in protecting public universities.

The governor's office said Tuesday that Gov. Henry McMaster, who also has pushed for more transparency, will "fully and thoroughly review the bill."

You can listen to his past remarks to reporters below:

Gov. Henry McMaster on NIL revenue-sharing bill H. 4902 on 2.10.26

Missed the Senate debate? You can catch it below.

What else did the Senate do Tuesday?

  • The Senate voted 46-0 to pass H. 4257, sponsored by Horry Republican Rep. Jeff Johnson, that tweaks school district policy requirements on excused absences for certain activities.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee amended and advanced:
    • S.631: Sponsored by Sen. Overture Walker, D-Richland, the bill adds limits on where registered sex offenders can live in relation to bus stops
    • S.694: Sponsored Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken, the bill allows Aiken County's Board of Voter Registration and Elections to open a polling place within 5 miles of a voting precinct's boundaries
    • S.723: Sponsored by Sen. Allen Blackmon, R-Lancaster, the bill increases penalties for the amount of child sexual abuse material someone convicted possesses 
    •  S.751: Sponsored by Sen. Ed Sutton, D-Charleston, the bill increases prohibitions on the sale of nitrous oxide products outside of medical, food preparation and manufacturing purposes
    • H.3556: Sponsored by Rep. Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, the bill outlines a framework for protesting and appealing election filings down to the municipal level
    • H.3557: Sponsored by Rep. Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, the bill would shorten the filing period for elections from March 16-25, instead of March 30
    • The committee also tabled a gambling exception bill — H.4129, sponsored by Rep. Gary Brewer, R-Charleston — in a 13-9 vote over concerns that it could create “video poker 2.0” as Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, put it. The bill, which passed the House 99-9 last year, would allow someone who pays a fee to participate in a bass fishing tournament or other events in which skill predominates over chance and get a thing of value proportionate to how skillfully the game is played. Despite language in the bill that would appear to prohibit electronic gambling, it was deemed too broad and the bill was tabled.
  • And in the Senate Finance Committee, senators voted to:
    • Send bills S. 97 and S. 98, both authored by Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, that outline qualifications for county treasurers and county auditors, respectively, back to a Senate Finance subcommittee for more work.
    • Amend and pass H. 3868, sponsored by Rep. Gary Brewer, R-Charleston, a bill dealing with boat taxes.
    • Reject S. 344, sponsored by Sen. Michael Johnson, R-York, by a 10-12 vote. The bill would have largely allowed pari-mutuel wagering on horse races.
    • Passed S. 853, sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, a bill that deals with abandoned building tax credits
    • Passed S. 420, sponsored by Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken, a bill that would allow certain retiree post-employment benefit trusts to invest in corporate bonds or other bonds issued by a U.S. corporation.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, reads in the Senate chamber at the Statehouse on Feb. 17 , 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, reads in the Senate chamber at the Statehouse on Feb. 17 , 2026.

House Democrat switches exit plan

Longtime South Carolina Rep. Bill Clyburn said at the start of the legislative session that he would not seek reelection to the District 82 seat he’s held since 1994.

The Aiken Democrat, 84, at the time cited the needs of his family, especially his wife of 62 years. His wife, Beverly Clyburn, a mother of three, an educator and a longtime Aiken city councilwoman from 1988-2011, died days later on Jan. 30.

Tuesday marked Clyburn’s first day back in the House since her death. And while thanking his fellow legislative delegation members and the chamber for their support, Clyburn made a surprise announcement, followed by a standing ovation.

“You have made me assured that I don’t have to travel this path alone. You’re here with me,” Clyburn said from the House floor. “I don’t know very much what else to do other than to be a part of this family. So, I have told my delegation that I’m going to run for reelection.”

What else did the House do Tuesday?

  • The House slightly amended and quickly passed in a 109-5 vote a Senate bill — S. 477, sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort — that would make self-administered hormonal contraceptives more easily accessible at pharmacies. The bill would authorize pharmacists to dispense products that include oral contraceptives and patches under a standing prescription. The legislation will go back to the Senate, which can decide to reject the House changes or accept them and send the bill to the governor for his signature.
  • The House Ways and Means approved nearly all provisos, one-year budget attachments, to the state's $14 billion spending plan. The budget-writing committee plans to meet Wednesday to finalize any additional provisos and deal with line-item spending.
  • A House Judiciary subcommittee voted to "adjourn debate" on two solicitor-related bills, essentially delaying their passage, for now. That includes H. 4564, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Berkeley, that would seek to impeach 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson. Instead, the panel voted to recommend retaining former 13th Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins to in large part investigate whether the House can actually impeach an elected solicitor under the state Constitution. You can find more of our coverage here.
Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken, told his colleagues that their support following his wife's death on Jan. 30 has prompted him to seek reelection despite previously saying he would not be running again for the District 82 seat he has heldd since 1994 at the Statehouse on Feb. 17 , 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken, told his colleagues that their support following his wife's death on Jan. 30 has prompted him to seek reelection despite previously saying he would not be running again for the District 82 seat he has heldd since 1994 at the Statehouse on Feb. 17 , 2026.

Statehouse daily planner (2/18)

SC House

Editor's Note: The full House Ways and Means Committee will meet at the chair's call. You can find an updated schedule here.

SC Senate

SC governor

  • Feb. 18-20: Gov. McMaster to attend the National Governors Association and Republican Governors Association’s winter meetings in Washington, D.C.
  • 9 a.m. — Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to attend the state Department of Veterans' Affairs’ Veteran Entrepreneurship Forum, USS Yorktown in Mount Pleasant

Statehouse clips from around the state
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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