Copper Dome Chronicle: 2023 Session Week 19
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 May 15-19, 2023, is 817 words or just over a 3 minute read. There are an unknown number of days remaining in the special session. Thanks for reading and sharing; we welcome your feedback and commentary!
1. House Passes Abortion Bill
The House began debate on S.474, the Senate’s bill to regulate abortion, on May 16. After consuming 25 hours, 26 minutes of floor time the bill received third reading in the evening of May 17. Over 900 amendments were proposed; some were ruled out of order and most were defeated with the exception of the first amendment, which was the House Judiciary Committee amendment. The bill is vastly different from H.3774, the House bill regulating abortion that was deferred until 2024 by a motion made under Senate Rule 14 on April 27 during a Senate floor debate. S.474 was sent to the Senate where the Senate could concur in House amendments, amend the bill again and send it back to the House, or other procedural motions to delay consideration of the bill.
The House took action on other bills last week: H.3583 (sexual extortion) was enrolled for ratification after agreeing to the Senate amendments, as was S.343 (crisis stabilization facilities), H.3890 (youthful offenders), H.4049 (shareholder remote meetings), and H.3433 (saltwater fishing privileges). Two bills, S.397 (athletic trainers) and S.407 (opioid antidotes), were returned to the Senate with House amendments. The House non-concurred in the Senate amendments to S.330 (destruction of utility infrastructure) and H.3728 (South Carolina Transparency And Integrity In Education Act), setting up possible conference committees. Finally the House sent H.3811 (industry partnerships tax credits), H.3425 (retirement system earnings limitation), and H.3880 (admissions tax) to the Senate.
On May 19 House Speaker Murrell Smith informed House members the body would convene on May 24 as previously announced but then immediately adjourn and take no votes. The reason cited in the communication was the lack of a budget conference report to consider.
2. Senate Returns May 23
The Senate convened May 16 and after sending H.3583 (sexual extortion) to the House, promptly adjourned as communicated by Senate President Thomas Alexander on May 12. The Senate will convene on May 23 but what exactly will happen to S.474 is unknown. In a tweet from the Senate Republican Caucus Twitter account on May 18, a statement attributed to Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey stated in part, “Twenty-nine Republican Senators have voted twice to pass a heartbeat bill, and I look forward to returning with these members next week to continue the fight for life in South Carolina.” Like the House, any bill on the Senate calendar for May 23 is technically eligible for debate, though bills with an objection or not meeting the crossover deadline require procedural barriers to be removed in order to be debated.
3. No Budget Yet
The budget conference committee members met twice during the week of May 15 but did not reach agreement. Media reports suggested funding for the three research universities - Clemson, USC, and MUSC - was the holdup. Most observers believe a budget deal will be agreed to before the end of the fiscal year, but as an insurance policy H.4299 (continuing resolution) is on the Senate calendar awaiting third reading.
4. Bill Introductions
A few bills introduced during the past two weeks that warrant mention.
H.4488 - Introduced by Rep. Heath Sessions and with the support of House Speaker Murrell Smith, 3M Committee Chair Sylleste Davis, House Majority Leader Davey Hiott and House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, this bill would prohibit the use of non-compete clauses between physicians and health care facilities (mainly hospitals). This bill is an example of “promise made, promise kept.” In the Senate version of S.164 (certificate of need repeal), similar language banning non-compete clauses was included as an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Davis. Ultimately that language was not included in the final version of S.164 but it was publicly agreed to between the chambers to introduce stand-alone legislation prohibiting non-compete clauses. Time will tell if this bill will make it through the legislative process and become law in 2024.
H.4468 - Introduced by House Education & Public Works Chairlady Shannon Erickson and many others, this is a shell bill related to the recently enacted education scholarship trust fund program in S.39, also known as education savings accounts (ESAs). There is no legislative text as introduced so its purpose is unknown. But in 2024 this would be the vehicle to amend the new program before its implementation in school year 2024-2025.
S.806 - Introduced by Senate President Thomas Alexander, this bill would change the date the budget must pass the House from March 31 to March 10, which if violated requires the sine die adjournment date to be extended one day for each day this deadline is missed. Also, the bill would create a new right for the Senate President and House Speaker to call their respective bodies into session if a budget has not passed by the sine die adjournment date.
