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June 17, 2023 — What state lawmakers accomplished this state legislative session and what's on the table for next year; Rep. James Clyburn on gun reform; comments from South Carolina politicians on the arraignment of former President Donald Trump; and more.
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Criminal defendants with repeat violent charges will have a harder time getting out of jail as they await trial and could spend more time in prison if they are convicted of the crime while out on bond under a proposal heading to the South Carolina governor's desk. Both state legislative chambers on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require the payment of a full cash bond to post bail for people charged with a second violent or firearm-involved offense while out on pretrial release for a first offense. A conviction on the subsequent charge will allow another penalty carrying up to five years imprisonment even if they are found not guilty of the initial crime.
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A federal judge has ruled that South Carolina legislative special interest caucuses can formally campaign. It's a victory for a hardline conservative group of state representatives that want to push the Republican-controlled Legislature further to the right. The Tuesday order allows the South Carolina Freedom Caucus to fundraise and distribute election materials. The fledgling ultraconservative group of lawmakers had argued that a state ethics law limiting those abilities only to caucuses organized by political party, race, ethnicity or gender violated its freedom of speech.
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South Carolina legislative special interest caucuses can formally campaign, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a victory for a hardline conservative group of state representatives that want to push the Republican-controlled Legislature further to the right.
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June 10, 2023 — A look at the compromise reached by state House and Senate negotiators reached this week over the $13.8 billion state budget; the latest on bond reform legislation heading to Gov. Henry McMaster's desk; updates from the 2024 campaign trail; and more.
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May 20, 2023 — An extensive recap of the nearly 24 hours of debate this week in the South Carolina House of Representatives over a six-week abortion ban bill. The House approved the legislative, which now heads to the state Senate.
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Abortions would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy under a bill debated early into Wednesday morning by the South Carolina House in a development that follows months of Republicans in the chamber insisting instead on a near-total ban that the state Senate recently rejected.
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May 16, 2023 — A look at this week's abortion legislation debate as state lawmakers enter special session; comments from Gov. Henry McMaster about why he has called legislators back to the statehouse; Charleston Democratic Sen. Marlon Kimpson's retires from the state Senate; and more.
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The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether South Carolina's congressional districts need to be redrawn because they discriminate against Black voters. The justices said Monday they would review a lower-court ruling that found a coastal district running from Charleston to Hilton Head was intentionally redrawn to reduce the number of Black Democratic-leaning voters to make it more likely Republican candidates would win.
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May 13, 2023 — A look at the bills that made it over the sine die finish line for this year's regular state legislative session as well as those moving into special session as Gov. Henry McMaster calls lawmakers back to the statehouse.