Copper Dome Chronicle: 2023 Session Week 13

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Copper Dome Chronicle, sponsored by Advocatus. We strive for substantive writing with brevity, inspired by the book Smart Brevity; one of the best books about communications and writing we’ve read in years.

This week’s edition, covering April 3-7, 2023, is 1,215 words or a 5 minute read. Thanks for reading and sharing; we welcome your feedback and commentary!

1. House Passed 35 Bills, Reaches Crossover

The House passed 37 bills last week as it approached the April 10 crossover deadline. In total the House spent 12 hours, 28 minutes on the floor (excluding the recess for lunch on April 5). There were many debates but the most significant debates took place on H.3514, H.3737, H.4020, H.4087, and H.4124.

The longest debate was H.3514, the “South Carolina Equine Advancement Act.” While the bill creates the Equine Industry Development Fund to promote and improve the equine industry, the main purpose is to allow pari-mutuel wagering on horse races. The bill had 24 amendments filed and most were tabled or defeated. The bill received a second reading by only 10 votes, 54-44, and third reading by only 9 notes, 56-9. These are the closest votes so far this year in the House on second and third reading. Governor McMaster’s office stated if the bill reached his desk he would veto it.

H.4124 is a government restructuring bill to split the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) in two: a Department of Public Health and a Department of Environmental Services. Its Senate companion bill is S.399, championed by Senate Finance Committee Chair Harvey Peeler. There were some questions about the fiscal impact of splitting the agency and vaccine approval policy.The bill received second and third readings by wide margins, keeping the DHEC split alive for this session.

Two tax incentives bills, H.4020 (film/TV/theater productions) and H.4087 (corporate HQ and recycling centers), saw considerable debate about “picking winners and losers” in the marketplace. Small government conservatives made the argument that most businesses never receive tax incentives and the bills tilt the playing field. Others argued that without these incentives South Carolina will lose out to other states who offer incentives. H.4020, which offers tax rebates to production companies for expenses already incurred, saw some debate about the appropriateness of the content in some productions that were produced in South Carolina. Ultimately both bills received second and third readings by large margins.

Lastly H.3737 is a bill allowing an eligible railroad owner an income tax credit equal to 50% of the cost of their qualified expenditures for railroad reconstruction or replacement. While there was no opposition to the bill’s substance, some House members expressed frustration and criticism about trains in various parts of the state blocking intersections for long periods of time, one claiming nearly 24 hours of disruption. Additionally, at least 3 train derailments have occurred in South Carolina in 2023 alone, two in the Lake City area (Florence County) and one in Enoree (Spartanburg County). Given the major train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio there is a heightened sense of awareness about rail safety. In South Carolina the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) is the state agency responsible for rail safety, annually inspecting 2,600 miles of track.

2. Senate Finance Adopts Budget

Last week the Senate Finance Committee met on April 3 and 4 to deliberate on the FY 2023-2024 General Appropriations Act and the Capital Reserve Fund. The SFC webpage has posted provisos and the summary control document for the public.  Read Advocatus' first take on this version of the budget. Additional posts about interesting initiatives in the SFC version will be posted before the budget debate begins on the Senate floor, which is scheduled for the week of April 18. Read Advocatus’ primer about understanding a summary control document as a free resource to help educate the public.

3. Crossover Casualties

With both chambers having reached their crossover deadlines, here are some bills that didn’t make the April 10 deadline and would require special consideration (2/3 vote) to be enacted this year. A Top Ten list of policy areas where no bills made crossover:

• Election/selection of judges

• Joint and several liability reform

• Central Electric Power Cooperative regulation bills

• Moving the Department of Consumer Affairs to become a cabinet agency

• Allowing the Attorney General to participate in the judges and solicitors retirement system

• Medicaid expansion bills

• Gender transition and “gender-affirming” care bills

• Constitutional amendments removing the popular election of the Comptroller General

• Medical scope of practice bills (except genetic counselors and anesthesiologists' assistants)

• Solar energy tax exemption bills

Some additional bills that didn’t make crossover but were on a chamber calendar, significant media coverage, or large numbers of cosponsors:

S.147 (confidentiality program for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking)

S.148 (no charge school meal programs; partially addressed in Proviso 1.68 pending)

S.423 (sale and use of cannabis for medical uses)

S.425 (curbside pickup and delivery of alcohol)

S.563 (define and penalties for organized retail crime)

H.3026 (kidnapping)

H.3233 (sexually violent predator treatment program)

H.3593 (adoption tax credit)

H.3695 (voter registration including political party)

H.4002 (prohibit inmate possession of telecommunications device; Proviso 65.25 pending)

4. Bill Introductions

Because the Senate held perfunctory sessions only new House introductions are highlighted.

H.4280 - Introduced by House Education & Public Works Chair Shannon Erickson and many members of that committee, this bill is titled the “Educator Assistance Act.” The bill is a manifestation of Chairlady Erickson’s pledge to reduce administrative burdens on teachers by repealing or reducing requirements in state law that no longer serve a useful purpose. For example, the bill would end the practice of applying for renewal certification once a teacher has earned a professional teaching certificate with exceptions for cases of revocation or suspension. The bill is scheduled for a subcommittee hearing on April 18 and more provisions could be added to the bill, further reducing the administrative burden on teachers.

H.4299 - Introduced by House Ways & Means Chair Bruce Bannister along with the leadership of the House (Speaker Smith, Speaker Pro Tempore Pope, Majority Leader Hiott, Minority Leader Rutherford), this is a continuing resolution to keep state government operating if H.4300, the General Appropriations Act, is not enacted by July 1, 2023. At this point in time this should be considered an insurance policy; no one under the copper dome has suggested there is an impasse between the chambers on the budget such that no agreement would be reached by the beginning of the new fiscal year. 

H.4304 - Introduced by Rep. Ben Connell, this is a short bill but one with a profound effect for some families. The bill would allow parents/guardians and unemancipated minors to file parental and filial consortium claims. Personal injury lawsuits are filed so that the injured person can receive money as compensation for medical treatment, lost wages/compensation from not being able to work, and other expenses related to the injury. The purpose is for the injured person, or in the case of a wrongful death the decedent’s family, to be made “whole” in a tangible way. Loss of consortium claims are for the intangible things that are lost or can’t be replaced: companionship, care, and even love for one who can no longer express the emotions or has died. In 2007 the State Supreme Court considered a case involving loss of consortium by parents with their child; the court ruled in a split decision that such a claim is not valid under South Carolina law.