Copper Dome Chronicle: 2023 Session Week 3

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 January 24-26, 2023, is 1,287 words or a five (5) minute read.

1. State Supreme Court Shock Part Deux

Last week the withdrawal by two out of three State Supreme Court candidates shook the State House. But that was followed by a second shock when Sen. Richard Cash proposed an amendment to S.374, the joint resolution setting the date for judicial elections. Sen. Cash’s amendment removed the State Supreme Court election. This led to nearly three hours and thirty minutes (3.5 hours) of debate, not including a one hour recess for lunch. Sen. Cash’s real argument was the process by which judges are screened by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission and elected by the General Assembly. Ultimately his amendment failed by a vote of 2-41 but that was not the end of debate.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey proposed an amendment to S.374, which was adopted without objection after a motion to table it failed 8-35, moving the judicial elections back one week to February 8, 2023. Additionally, H.3703 setting the date for elections for certain seats on the board of trustees for some universities and colleges was amended to coincide with the judicial elections on February 8. The House adopted and concurred in S.374 on January 26, and will consider H.3703 during the week of January 31-February 2, 2023.

In our inaugural edition we stated February 1 - the original date for judicial elections - was THE date on the legislative calendar. This year’s elections took many unexpected twists and turns, and has shown a bright spotlight on the judicial election process. More on that process in Bill Introductions below.

2. Senate Continues Debate on ESAs

S.39 has consumed several hours of Senate floor time and that trend continued last week. As mentioned in last week’s edition, an amendment by Sen. Tom Davis adding an additional school choice language was a pivotal decision in this bill’s journey. That amendment was withdrawn on January 24th, clearing a pathway for other amendments to be offered and considered. But by January 26th, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey spoke to the body that due to the exhaustive committee process over the past few years and subsequent Senate floor debates, it was time to vote on second and third reading of S.39. Sen. Michael Fanning proposed several amendments, which none were adopted, and just before 1:45pm Sen. Massey moved cloture on S.39 under the provisions of Senate Rule 15A. The motion was adopted with Senate Education Chair Greg Hembree controlling eight amendments and Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto controlling eight amendments for the debate during the week of January 31. Each amendment will have ten (10) minutes of debate equally divided, then the Senate will proceed to vote on each amendment, and ultimately second reading. More likely than not, pending the disposition of amendments, S.39 will pass the Senate by February 2 and be sent to the House to begin its journey there.

However, Sen. Davis’ amendment has found new life in the form of S.285, a stand-alone bill. The bill received a Senate Finance subcommittee hearing on January 26 and has another scheduled for January 31. This bill has bipartisan support but some view it as a competing proposal to S.39. Time will tell if one, both, or neither bill will become law this year.

3. FY24 House Budget Process Nears The Finish Line; The Senate Starts Its Race

The total number of House Ways and Means subcommittee budget hearings to-date is twenty-five (25) with another eleven (11) scheduled for the week of January 31-February 2, which will bring the grand total to thirty-six (36). Many are live streamed so tune in to listen and learn more about the budget process. Many subcommittee agendas have time allocated for House member requests and provisos discussion, a signal the House subcommittee process is nearing the finish line.

The Senate Finance budget subcommittees kickoff their hearings the week of January 31st with six (6) meetings, including large state agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Social Services. It is common for the House and Senate budget writing committees to overlap hearings, but this is about a week earlier for the start of Senate Finance hearings. Like the House, many Senate hearings are live streamed.

4. Bill Introductions

S.444 - This bill by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and seventeen (17) other Republican Senators would require the Judicial Merit Selection Commission to submit all candidates found qualified for a judgeship, thus increasing the number of candidates in some judicial elections. S.450 by Senator Tom Corbin and fourteen (14) other Republican Senators would change the composition of the screening commission as well as require all candidates found qualified to be submitted to the General Assembly and eligible for election. Both bills were filed on January 25, which conveniently was the same day as Governor Henry McMaster’s 2023 State of the State Address.

Gov. McMaster made a substantive proposal on the selection of judges, saying “I suggest that our Founding Fathers prescribed a method for judicial selection that has served our federal government well and with which the public is quite familiar. Gubernatorial appointment of all judges, with the advice and consent of the state Senate, requires no ‘re-invention of the wheel,’ will inspire the confidence of our people, and will encourage more excellent attorneys to seek public service.” It received some large applause from some members of the General Assembly. H.3529, introduced on January 10, 2023, mirrors Gov. McMaster’s proposal.

There are at least eleven (11) House and Senate bills proposing amendments to the current composition of the screening commission, changing the current process, and some proposing abolishment of the commission and proposing new methods of selecting or electing judges. The issue of judicial elections has skyrocketed to the top of mind for many legislators.

S.428 - The Senate congratulated Senator Nikki Setzler on him becoming the current longest serving state senator in the nation. Congratulations Sen. Setzler and thank you for your service!

S.436 - Sen. John Scott and others introduced this bill that encompasses the work of a study committee on heirs’ property.

H.3774 - A bill by Rep. John McCravy and forty-two (42) other Republican House members regarding abortion laws, including language to address the recent State Supreme Court 3-2 ruling that struck down laws placing restrictions on abortions. This bill is on the fast track in the House and will be debated in February.

H.3782 - A bill by Rep. Richie Yow and others is a short bill clarifying the definition of “video service” by excluding direct-to-home satellite services and streaming content. Definitions are critical in public policy and it would appear the telecommunications industry wants to get ahead of the curve when it comes to the franchise authority statute. This type of bill is commonly called an “industry bill” because of its narrow focus on just one industry.

H.3785 - A bill by Rep. Neal Collins to expand the scope of practice by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). While we’re not medical experts at Advocatus, we’ve seen enough “scope of practice” bills over the years to know they are closely scrutinized by the medical, plaintiff bar, and defense bar interest groups.

H.3797 - A bill by Rep. Bobby Cox to enact the “Military Temporary Remote School Enrollment Act” by reducing barriers during the school enrollment process for children of military families that are moving to a South Carolina military installation and community.

The South Carolina General Assembly website has a search option just for bill introductions; we invite readers to check it out.

Thanks for reading; we welcome your feedback and commentary!