The SC General Assembly met in regular session this week. The House Ways and Means Committee adopted its version of the budget on Wednesday, and the House and Senate continued to report bills out of subcommittee and committee to the calendars.
Late Thursday afternoon, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee gave a favorable report to two bills dealing with liquor liability and tort reform, S244 and S184. No amendments were adopted but members anticipate amendments in full committee and on the floor.
The House of Representative gave final approval to H3309, the SC Energy Security Act, and sent the bill to the Senate for debate. The Senate referred the bill to the Judiciary Committee and a subcommittee held a meeting on Thursday morning to hear testimony from stakeholders. Subcommittee members did not take action on the bill.
House Ways and Means Committee approves its version of the budget
The House Ways and Means Committee met Tuesday and Wednesday and adopted its version of the budget. The committee version of the budget includes these items:
- $14.5 million added to the Local Government Fund base amount. Committee members fully funded the LGF at 5% according to Act 84, which passed into law in 2019.
- $222.3 million in nonrecurring dollars to SC Emergency Management Division Declared Disaster Relief for Hurricane Helene.
- $200 million to SC Department of Transportation for bridge modernization.
- $10.9 million in additional money to the SC State Election Commission for a statewide voting system upgrade.
- $15 million in nonrecurring dollars to the SC Rural Infrastructure Authority for a statewide Water and Sewer Fund.
- $1.5 million in recurring dollars and $6 million in one-time money for destination specific grants.
- $1.1 million in one-time dollars for SC Association of Tourism Regions.
- $1.5 million recurring dollars for beach renourishment grants.
- $38 million in one-time dollars to the SC Office of Resilience to replenish the Disaster Relief and Resilience Reserve Fund.
Several provisos were introduced that affect cities and towns.
Proviso 55.10 was adopted to provide that at least 60% of funds sent to the SC Department of Environmental Services for the Pollutants Remediation Fund be made available to private well owners and municipal, county, joint or otherwise small public drinking water systems.
Proviso 117.de prohibits the use of state funds for diversity, equity and inclusions programs.
Next, the budget will go to the full House of Representatives for debate during the week of March 10. For questions about the budget, contact Daina Phillips (dphillips@masc.sc) at 803.933.1203.
Senate Finance Committee sends property tax and annexation bills to the floor
The Senate Finance Committee met on Tuesday to discuss S125, the low-income housing property tax exemption bill; and S264, the farm property annexation bill. S125 provides a property tax exemption for a nonprofit housing corporation for a percentage that equals the corporation’s ownership interest in the property. S264 prohibits land with farm buildings or agricultural structures from being annexed by a municipality without express written agreement of the owner. The committee passed both of these bills out favorably.
On Thursday, these bills were on the calendar, but senators postponed debate to comply with a Senate rule that requires bills to be on the calendar for 24 hours before they are debated. Senators are expected to debate these bills next week. For questions on these bills, contact Erica Wright (ewright@masc.sc) at 803.354.4793.
Stay in Touch
The Municipal Association legislative team is on X. Follow Erica Wright (@EricaMuniSC) for updates from the State House. Also follow the Association at @MuniAssnSC. Don’t forget to listen to the every Friday for a recap of the week’s legislative issues and a look to the week ahead at the State House.
House Labor, Commerce and Industry Regulatory Review subcommittee
H3021 – Enacts the Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Requires the Small Business Regulatory Review Committee to conduct an initial review of regulations pending reauthorization and make recommendations to the General Assembly for removing or retaining those regulations.
Senate Finance Committee
S291 – continuing budget resolution – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Gives the continuing authority to pay the expenses of state government if the 2025-2026 fiscal year begins without a general appropriations bill.
Senate Judiciary Committee
S12 – Santee Cooper joint project authorization – favorable report as amended. The amendment only made technical changes related to the Joint Bond Review Committee.
Summary of the bill as introduced: Authorizes Santee Cooper to jointly own, with investor-owned utilities, electrical generation and transmission facilities.
S157 – storm damage recovery – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Allows an electric utility to include storm recovery costs for Hurricane Helene in its cost of capital from the date of the storm through the issuance of storm recovery bonds.
Senate Judiciary subcommittee
S244 – tort reform – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Instructs a jury or a court to determine the percentage of fault of the claimant, the defendant and of any nonparty whose act or omission was a proximate cause of the claimants' alleged damages.
S184 – dram shop – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Establishes liability for a person or establishment who illegally furnishes alcohol to an individual who injures a third party.
Senate Banking and Insurance Banking subcommittee
S163 – local zoning and digital asset mining – favorable report as amended. The amendment removes subsection A under Section 34-47-40.
Summary of the bill as introduced: Prohibits a governing authority from accepting or requiring a payment using central bank digital currency. The bill also prohibits a political subdivision from placing zoning restrictions on digital asset mining businesses that do not generally apply to other businesses in the area.
Senate Transportation Committee
S275 – electric vehicle charging stations – favorable report as amended. The amendment removes language related to L2 chargers and grandfathers in existing infrastructure.
Summary of the bill as introduced: Requires an electric utility provider that offers an electric vehicle charging station directly to the public to do so on a non-discriminatory basis under the same fees and conditions offered to private providers of EV charging stations.
House Labor, Commerce and Industry Public Utilities subcommittee
H3571 – underground facility damage prevention – favorable report as amended. The amendment changes who imposes the penalty from the Attorney General’s Office to the court.
Summary of the bill as introduced: Adds definitions for certain terms in the Underground Facility Damage Prevention Act and preempts local government ordinances that require pre-marking of facilities or permits to identify facilities.
H3756 – storm damage recovery – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Allows an electric utility to include storm recovery costs for Hurricane Helene in its cost of capital from the date of the storm through the issuance of storm recovery bonds.
Senate Judiciary subcommittee
S192 – implied consent for driving under the influence – the subcommittee met and took testimony but did not take action on the bill.
Summary of the bill as introduced: Allows law enforcement agencies to determine which method of testing for alcohol or drugs shall be administered and removes the requirement that a breath test be administered before other sobriety tests.
House Education and Public Works Transportation subcommittee
H3801 – exemptions from the state procurement code – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Adds planning for repairs to bridges, highways, roads and other improvements on the state's rights of way to the list of exemptions from the state procurement code.
H3768 – utility relocation – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Extends the sunset date for utility relocation requirements in highway construction projects until July 1, 2031.
House Judiciary Constitutional Laws subcommittee
H3556 – election protests – favorable report
Summary of the bill as introduced: Requires the state executive committee of a political party to hear primary protests and contests in the case of county officers, less than county officers and municipal officers.
Senate Medical Affairs Committee
S2 – Establishes the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities – favorable report as amended. The amendment makes employees of the agency at will and removes them from the protections of Title 8.
Summary of the bill as introduced: Establishes the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.