SC House of Representatives

The South Carolina Legislature is looking to change a bond system that the Republican governor has repeatedly criticized for enabling a "revolving door" of defendants he says rack up violent charges while on pretrial release. The state Senate on Wednesday gave unanimous approval to the bill to revoke the initial bond for anyone charged with a violent crime or gun-involved felony while out on bond for a similar charge. But a provision for an additional five-year penalty, backed by the House and governor, was removed by senators who questioned its constitutionality and effectiveness.

bill to eliminate the state sales tax on feminine hygiene products has passed the South Carolina House. Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to get rid of the so-called "period tax," exempting the 6% state sales tax and extra local tax from items like tampons, pads and sanitary napkins. The bill now heads to the Senate. Supporters say it is unfair to tax a small group of the population for items they need when other necessities like medicine, food and utilities are not taxed.

It seemed like quite the longshot — a bill to expand gambling in conservative South Carolina sponsored by a Democrat passing the House where Republicans hold a super majority. But Rep. Russell Ott managed to cobble together a rare bipartisan alliance on a bill that would allow betting on horse races on a smartphone app. The 56-46 vote Wednesday was eye-opening in a state long opposed to gambling. Twenty-three years ago South Carolina shut down a nearly $3 billion video poker industry. Ott's bill still has long odds. It now goes to the Senate, where a similar measure has been on the floor since February. And Gov. Henry McMaster has vowed to veto any gambling expansion.

The South Carolina House has unanimously approved a bill allowing teachers or other school district staff up to six weeks of paid leave when they give birth or adopt a child. The bill was passed 113-0 Wednesday and faces one more routine approval before being sent to the Senate. It mirrors a law passed last year that allowed parental leave for state employees. But the General Assembly didn't include educators in that proposal and teachers were angry. The House proposal allows teachers who give birth or are the primary caretakers of an adopted child six weeks of paid leave. The other parent can take up to two weeks and parents who foster a child in state custody also are eligible for two weeks of leave.

The debate in the South Carolina House over the state's $13.8 billion spending plan for next fiscal year didn't go as smoothly as previous years. But the conflict wasn't over how much of a raise to give state employees or teachers or how much to spend on roads and bridges. Instead, this week's fight on the 2023-24 budget is between groups of Republicans over social issues more tangential to the budget. On one side are a group of anywhere from 12 to 20 of the chamber's most conservative Republicans who call themselves the Freedom Caucus. They are taking on mainstream Republicans.

The South Carolina House has passed a hate crimes bill. But Wednesday's vote sends the bill to the Senate where such a proposal has died in the past. Senate Republicans refused to hear it last year, even at the urging of a survivor of one of the 2015 killing of nine black members of a Charleston church.

The South Carolina House has approved additional sentencing for people charged with a violent crime and then convicted of a second violent offense while released on bond. Under the bill, a person convicted of a violent crime while out on bond for a separate first charge would face another mandatory sentence of five years in prison. Law enforcement groups say the measure adds a necessary tool to close the "revolving door" of repeat offenders. Criminal justice advocates say the proposal is an unconstitutional violation of due process rights that would target poor defendants. The Senate must now advance the bill before Gov. Henry McMaster can sign one of his top priorities into law.

South Carolina House lawmakers want to give voters the chance to repeal a constitutional prohibition on funding private educational institutions with public dollars. The effort comes amid a conservative push nationwide for taxpayer-funded "school choice" programs helping parents pay for private schools. If the change gets two-thirds support in the Senate, voters will have the opportunity to strike the amendment in a referendum during the next general election.

State lawmakers have a long list of Public Safety bills on their agenda for this legislative session. That list includes cracking down on violent offenders being chronically released on bond, stemming the fentanyl epidemic, allowing capital punishment to resume, and pay increases for law enforcement officers. All those bills advanced through the General Assembly this week. So did a controversial gun bill that opponents claim will make the state less safe.

The South Carolina House shows no signs of budging from its proposed abortion restrictions. For the second time since the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections, the chamber's Republican supermajority has passed a near-total ban. By a 83-31 vote on Wednesday, the House advanced a ban from conception. The bill has exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly and the patient's health and life. The move puts the House proposal at odds with the Senate's ban on abortions after cardiac activity is detected, around six weeks.