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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: Lawmakers back at work for Week 14 as they race to sine die

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson
Published April 14, 2026 at 6:01 AM EDT
S.C. Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
/
SCETV
S.C. Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina

It's Tuesday, April 14.

Welcome to Week 14 of the South Carolina legislative session.

The marathon legislative session is starting to pivot to an all-out sprint. That's because with five weeks (counting this week) and 15 more days left until sine die May 14, legislators have a finite amount of time to get their preferred legislation passed and out of both chambers before the two-year session officially ends.

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.

Calendar reminders:

  • State Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge will deliver the judiciary's annual address to a joint assembly at noon Wednesday. That is expected to be followed by joint elections for various college and university school board candidates
  • The full Senate will kick off its debate over the state's budget the week of April 21
  • Seersucker and summer suit day is April 23 (our cameras will be out)
  • South Carolina's statewide primary elections are June 9, with runoffs on June 23

ICYMI: And a new week means new SC Lede and This Week in South Carolina episodes. If you're dusting off the podcasts this week now that you're back from spring break, here's a refresher.

Notebook highlights:

  • A preview of Week 14 for the House and Senate, and highlights happening on and off the floor
  • No public dollars can pay for foreign-made American or South Carolina state flags and other legislation Gov. Henry McMaster recently signed into law
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.

What's on tap for Week 14?

The Senate and House both gavel in at noon today.

First, what the Senate is up to after its return from a perfunctory session last week.

Senate leaders want to tackle two main bills inside the chamber:

  • S. 508, sponsored by Sen. Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, largely expands the 2000 Heritage Act by prohibiting the removal, disturbance, alteration or relocation on public grounds of certain monuments, memorials, plaques and markers, among others, including any armed conflict involving South Carolinians and any about African American history. The legislation also addresses who can bring a lawsuit and exceptions. The bill, which sits on the special order calendar slot, was moved to a final third reading with all amendments carried over, meaning it requires one more vote to pass
  • S. 76, sponsored by former solicitor and Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, seeks to tackles criminal gang activity and offenses, while also creating new penalties under a new anti-racketeering act, or RICO

What else is on the agenda for the upper chamber?

Here are a few hearing highlights in the Senate for the week:

Tuesday

  • A Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee will meet first thing at 9 a.m. to debate one bill — S. 1095, sponsored by Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson — that would if passed ban abortions at conception and reclassify abortion-inducing drug medications, like misoprostol. The legislation would also eliminate rape and incest and fatal fetal anomaly exceptions, what are allowed under the current six-week ban. Last fall, a similar bill filed by Cash failed to win enough support to advance to the full Senate Medical Affairs Committee. Gov. Henry McMaster has repeatedly called the state's six-week abortion ban a good law, saying it has the support of most South Carolinians.
  • An insurance subcommittee of the Banking and Insurance Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on H. 4817, sponsored by Rep. Gary Brewer, R-Charleston, which deals with insurance fraud oversight, and penalties for violations of policyholder protections.
  • Three bills are on the agenda for a 10 a.m. hearing before a Senate Education subcommittee, including H. 4163, sponsored by House Education and Public Works Chairwoman Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, which creates a high school athletic association to govern athletics, and outlines participation by students enrolled in private or other independent schools. The full Senate Education Committee will take up the three bills Thursday morning.
  • After the Senate adjourns, the Senate Finance Committee will meet to debate three bills that include S. 933, sponsored by Sen. Shane Martin, that would raise pay to $47,500 for legislators, who earn $10,400 a year, plus per diem. After that hearing, a subcommittee focused on the retirement system will meet on S. 119, sponsored by Sen. Brian Adams, R-Berkeley, which removes the earning limitation for the police officers retirement system for anyone who has been retired for at least 90 days before heading back to covered employment.
  • A Senate Judiciary subcommittee will meet 15 minutes after the Senate adjourns on four bills that include H. 3163, sponsored by Rep. Mark Smith, R-Berkeley, which in part would add strokes to the list of impairment or injuries covered by the state Workers' Compensation Law for firefighters.

Wednesday

  • The full Family and Veterans' Service Committee will meet at 9 a.m. to discuss a handful of appointments and two bills — H. 5168, sponsored by Rep. Cody Mitchell, R-Darlington, and H. 3949, sponsored by Rep. John King, D-York — that would designate a new official state song and the state anthem, respectively.
  • Two bills — S. 896, sponsored by Sen. Matt Leber, R-Charleston, and S. 1037, sponsored by Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R-Spartanburg — that would seek to regulate chatbots and regulate how children engage with them are on the 9 a.m. agenda before a subcommittee of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.
  • A Senate Judiciary subcommittee will meet in the morning on two bills that include S. 702, sponsored by Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, that expands the "household member" definition as it relates to domestic violence crimes and the bill states that "coercive control" over a person's "household members" is considered unlawful and domestic violence.
  • The full Senate Medical Affairs Committee meets in the morning on appointments and four bills that include H. 5164, sponsored by Rep. Lee Hewitt, R-Georgetown, which allows exceptions for hospitals when putting a bed in the hallway or corridor. The full committee plans to meet again Thursday morning.
  • Three bills are on the agenda for a 10 a.m. hearing before a Senate Education subcommittee that cover opioid and fentanyl education for college and university students (S. 984, sponsored by Sen. Deon Tedder, D-Charleston), college safety training (H. 5205, sponsored by Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Horry) and school mapping for first responders (H. 5179, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort). The full Senate Education Committee will take up the legislation Thursday morning.
  • The state archives and history department, the state museum commission and the state Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will each go before a Senate Legislative Oversight subcommittee at 11 a.m. and give presentations about their respective agencies.
  • The full Senate Transportation Committee meets at 11 a.m. on a handful of proposals that include S. 872, sponsored by Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, which seeks to require driver's license or permit applications provide proof of citizenship or legal status in the United States.
  • A Senate Judiciary subcommittee will meet to decide whether to advance two bills that include S. 632, sponsored by Sen. Sean Bennett, R-Dorchester, which would in part outline who cannot lobby and implement more oversight measures. The agenda's second bill — S. 960, also sponsored by Bennett, — would partly require certain information to be disclosed related to election communications.
  • Another Senate Judiciary subcommittee will meet in the afternoon on two alcohol-related bills that include S. 849, sponsored by Sen. Jason Elliott, R-Greenville, dealing with alcohol delivery and curbside pickup.

Thursday

  • The Senate's Family and Veterans' Services child welfare subcommittee will meet in the morning to discuss one bill — H. 3502, sponsored by House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville — which states a lawyer for the Department of Social Services must ensure a child's safety is priority in any department recommendations and suggestions in court matters, and has the sole discretion on the department's behalf over whether to file a child abuse or neglect petition in family court.
S.C. Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, speaks with Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, on Jan. 15, 2025 in the S.C. Senate.
GAVIN JACKSON
S.C. Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, speaks with Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, on Jan. 15, 2025 in the S.C. Senate.

Now over to the House, which returns this week from its second week of furlough.

It's unclear precisely what specific bill will be the big debate of the week. But before the House checked out for the week, we caught up with House GOP Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, who told us the lower chamber has a few closely-watched pieces of legislation to sort through, from hemp derived consumables and drinks, to whether to agree to the Senate's changes over H. 4756, legislation restricting restroom, locker room and changing room use at public K-12 schools and colleges to biological sex at birth.

There's also the matter of expansive roads legislation the Senate already advanced and is now sitting on the House floor.

The legislation aims to modernize state transportation department operations, and identify areas in which the state can ease congestion and speed up construction.

House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, previously told reporters he expected the debate to occur after the House returned from furlough.

"There's a lot of work to do on it, a lot of opinions on it," Hiott previously told us. "That will be quite a debate on the floor."

Here are a few hearing highlights in the House for the week:

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Editor's Note: Statehouse meetings and agendas can change daily, or within the hour of the hearing. For the most updated meeting schedule, click the House and the Senate.

House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, talks with House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, in the House chamber at the Statehouse on Feb. 4 , 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, talks with House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, in the House chamber at the Statehouse on Feb. 4 , 2026.

Gov. McMaster signs more bills into law

Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday will hold a ceremonial bill signing with legislators to mark his signature on the income tax legislation.

The now-law lowers the top income tax rate to 5.21% from 6%, and raises the rate to 1.99% for anyone with a tax liability of up to $30,000.

Another part of the bill, with enough revenue coming in, the state will eventually flatten the rate and then phase out the tax completely, which could take years.

It's not the only legislation the governor has signed into law.

Since the start of this year, McMaster has signed 27 bills or resolutions into law and vetoed two proposals, though one — a now-law that allows colleges and universities to restrict name, image and likeness and revenue-sharing contracts with athletes from public disclosure — was overridden by the Legislature.

In the latest batch this month, McMaster signed legislation:

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster speaks at a news conference on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.
Jeffrey Collins/AP
/
AP
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster speaks at a news conference on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.

Statehouse daily planner (4/14)

SC House

SC Senate

Editor's Note: Statehouse meetings can change daily. For the most updated meeting schedule, click the House and the Senate.

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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