Copper Dome Chronicle: 2023 Session Week 24 & Sine Die
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 June 19-23, is 726 words or a 3 minute read. There are zero days remaining in the special session as the General Assembly has adjourned sine die. Thanks for reading and sharing; we welcome your feedback and commentary!
1. House, Senate Adjourn Sine Die
The House and the Senate adjourned sine die last week after Governor Henry McMaster issued his budget vetoes, which the General Assembly will consider in January 2024. The eleven vetoes were for specific projects (with total nonrecurring appropriations of approximately $1.5M) or provisos not needed due to the passage of other legislation. The FY 2023-2024 General Appropriations Act (H.4300) as well as the Capital Reserve Fund (H.4301) take effect July 1, 2023.
House Speaker Murrell Smith and Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey had previously indicated that after consulting with legislative leadership, the General Assembly may not return during the week of June 19 to consider budget vetoes and instead wait until January 2024. That came to pass and per floor motions adopted by both chambers, Speaker Smith and Senate President Thomas Alexander adjourned their chambers sine die.
2. The Legislative Offseason
With the General Assembly adjourned sine die, the legislative offseason begins. Three study committees were created via legislation this session: Certificate of Need Study Committee (S.164/Act 20); Child Food and Nutrition Services Study Committee (H.3312); Land Development Study Committee (S.284/Act 57). There are three study committees created by the FY 2023-2024 budget and can be found in Part 1B, Section 117:
Palmetto Autism Study Committee - First created in SY 2022-2023; report due to the General Assembly by January 15, 2024. It is housed at the SC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), but no information is available on the DHHS website.
South Carolina Prostate Cancer Study Committee - New study committee in FY 2023-2024; report due to the General Assembly by January 15, 2024.
Electricity Market Reform Measures Study Committee - First created in FY 2021-2022, report due to the General Assembly by January 31, 2024. Last week’s edition of The Copper Dome Chronicle previewed a comprehensive energy bill to be debated in 2024. This study committee will set the foundation for that legislation, as well as input from Gov. McMaster’s newly created PowerSC interagency working group.
The Legislative Oversight Committees of both chambers will have hearings this offseason as well; bookmark the House Legislative Oversight Committee and Senate Legislative Oversight Committee webpages. The Joint Bond Review Committee will meet on August 22, October 10, and December 5; check either the House or Senate legislative meeting page for the agendas. The Judicial Merit Selection Committee will hold screenings in November 2023 in order to have its report printed on January 11, 2024 with a tentative election date on February 7, 2024. The College and University Trustee Screening Commission typically does not meet in the offseason but it is theoretically possible (last occurrence was in November 2017). Additionally, there may be ad hoc committees working in the offseason. As an example, the House Education & Public Works Committee will convene an Ad Hoc Committee on High School Athletics to examine the governance, classification, and student eligibility of high school athletics.
3. The Tale of the Tape
The General Assembly’s website has a nice infographic about ratified legislation. There were 103 ratified pieces of legislation (bills and joint resolutions); 98 of them were signed into law by Gov. McMaster. Three bills became law after overriding a veto (S.31/Act 71; S.478; H.3890) and one bill became law without the governor’s signature (S.381/Act 5; bills ratifying constitutional amendments aren’t typically signed by governors). One bill (H.4413) did not become law because the House sustained Gov. McMaster’s veto.
In terms of introduced legislation, 837 pieces of legislation were filed in the Senate while the House filed 1,532. When the prefiling period opens this winter Senate legislation will start with S.838 and House legislation H.4533.
4. 2023 Southern Legislative Conference
A few thousand state legislators, legislative staff, governors and their staff, state and federal agencies will descend upon the Holy City (Charleston, South Carolina) for the 2023 Southern Legislative Conference (July 8-12). A full agenda has been posted; be sure to check out the policy program track. Three South Carolina natives will deliver keynote addresses: former Congressman Trey Gowdy; Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Vanessa Wyche (Clemson graduate, Go Tigers!), and author/motivational speaker Chris Singleton.
Can’t attend SLC this year? Contact us to have a conversation about how we can help your organization during this can’t-miss event.
