LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : April 8-12, 2019

Wednesday of this week, April 10, marked the General Assembly “crossover” deadline. Crossover is the last day for a bill to pass out of the chamber in which it was introduced, with a simple majority vote, for it to be considered in the opposite chamber. The crossover deadline is a critical deadline for Senate bills to be sent to the House for consideration in this legislative session. The Senate bills listed below received a third reading prior to the crossover deadline.

On The Floor:

TORT CLAIMS — Referred to as a ‘tort,’ a civil wrong that may cause a claimant to suffer loss, injury or harm may occur specifically at the hands of a government entity or political subdivision. Senate Bill 7 increases increase the limits from a loss, under the Tort Claims Act, from a single occurrence for persons to five hundred thousand dollars and total sum arising out of a single occurrence to one million dollars. Additionally, a party who files an offer of judgement shall be allowed to recover administrative, filing or other court costs, and eight percent interest on the amount of the verdict from the date of the offer. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

CHILD TORTURE — Children are among the most vulnerable, and must be ensured protection. Senate Bill 189 cements that it is unlawful to commit torture or allow torture to be committed against a child and further define terms. ‘Torture’ includes, but is not limited to, inflicting or participating in or assisting in inflicting intense physical or emotional pain upon a child repeatedly over a period of time for the purpose of terrorizing the child or for the purpose of satisfying the sadistic, craven, cruel or prurient desires of the perpetrator or another person. A person is guilty of homicide by child abuse if the person causes the death of a child while committing torture or knowingly aids and abets another person to commit torture that results in the death of a child. Homicide by child abuse is a felony and a person who is convicted must be imprisoned for life or must be imprisoned for a term of not less than twenty years. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

CHILDCARE FACILITY REGISTRY — A bill to prohibit a childcare facility from employing a caregiver or other staff that is registered or required to register on the National Sex Offender Registry, State Sex Offender Registry, or Central Registry, and State Child Abuse and Neglect Registry. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

CHILDCARE FACILITY BACKGROUND CHECKS — Senate Bill 601 seeks to provide additional protections for those who care for children in childcare facilities. The bill provides restrictions on foster care or adoption placements to add background check requirements from each employee of a residential facility where children in foster care may be placed. No child in custody of the Department of Social Services may be placed in a foster home, adoptive home or residential facility if the person has a substantiated history of child abuse or neglect or has pled guilty or nolo contendere or has been convicted to offenses outlined in the section. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY — Consolidation of school districts in certain instances have shown to provide an improved educational opportunities to children and cost savings to the district. Senate Bill 203 provides criteria for school district consolidation under certain circumstances. On or before August 1, 2022, any local school district that meets characteristics shall be eligible to receive appropriated funds for the purpose of consolidating with other districts within its county. Among the standards is a school in which if the daily membership is less than one thousand five hundred, and located within Tier IV county in the 2018 tax year. Eligible districts must submit a preliminary consolidation plan and timeline to the Department of Education for review and use of funds. The eligible district may not incur new bond indebtedness, spend existing district reserves, dispose of district assets or increase the salary of any district employee without prior approval by the Department, unless otherwise directed by the General Assembly. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

THREATENING WITH DANGEROUS WEAPON —  Senate Bill 276 provides that it is unlawful for a person to threaten, solicit another to threaten, or conspire to threaten to cause damage, serious bodily injury, or death. This bill also provides it unlawful to cause damage to or destroy a building or other real or personal property by use of a dangerous weapon on any premises or property owned, operated, or controlled by any post-secondary institution, in a church, in any publicly owned building or recreational park areas or in a public gathering place. A person charged may, as a condition of his bond hearing and any subsequent bond hearing, undergo a mental health evaluation. If the evaluation reveals the person needs mental health treatment, then the court shall require him to undergo mental health treatment or counseling. The Department of Mental Health shall study the scope of applications and financial impact of this act and shall annually make a report to the General Assembly containing its finding by January 1 beginning in 2020. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

MISREPRESENTING SERVICE ANIMALS — Animals trained to provide service can provide great care and support to individuals with a disability or need. Unfortunately, some fraudulently claim the use of animals for service which undermines lawful use of service animals. Senate Bill 281 provides the needed clarity for service animals by making it unlawful for a person to intentionally misrepresent an animal as a service animal or service animal in-training for the purpose of obtaining any right provided to a disabled person, and provide penalties. Inquires made in order to investigate are limited to those inquires allowed by the Department of Justice. A uniform traffic ticket may be used for the arrest. Landlords may request documentation to verify tenant’s lawful use of a service animal, which shall be deemed sufficient if it establishes an individual has a disability and the animal will provide disability-related assistance or support. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

CERTIFYING CORONER AND SHERIFF CANDIDATES — Senate Bill 17 provides that the duties of the county boards of voter registration and elections are responsible for certifying that county’s candidates for country coroner and country sheriff. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

TRANSPORT OF PERSONS OF MENTAL ILLNESS —  Transportation individuals believed to to have a mental illness is a need and must done with care. Senate Bill 303 provides that a state or local law enforcement officer responsible for transporting a patient believed to have a mental illness must be part of the therapeutic transport unit and have undergone mental health and crisis intervention training to provide that a physician is responsible for the patient’s care and must notify a friend or relative that they may transport the patient to the facility, and that the friend or relative freely chooses to assume the responsibility and liability for the transport. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

ALCOHOL SERVER TRAINING — Senate Bill 342 enacts provisions to provide training and responsibility for those who serve alcohol. The “Responsible Alcohol Server Training Act” implements and enforces mandatory alcohol server training and education programs to businesses to obtain alcohol server certificates. This requires servers of all alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption in licensed or permitted businesses to obtain alcohol server certificates, and to require fees from providers of training programs and from applicants for alcohol server certificates. Training programs must only be either online or in the classroom. Topics covered in this bill include, but are not limited to, state laws regulation alcohol purchasing, liquor liability issues, impaired driving or driving under the influence, information on blood alcohol concentration and factors that change this, the effect alcohol has on the human body and human behavior, methods of refusing to serve or sell alcoholic beverage to individuals under twenty-one years of age and intoxicated individuals, methods for properly and effectively checking the identification of an individual, for identifying illegal identification, and life consequences, like losing education scholarships, relating to minors use. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

NAVAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AUTHORITY — Senate Bill 413 adds Naval Criminal Investigative Service Agents to the list of authorized federal law enforcement officers to enforce the state’s criminal laws. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

PORT CARGO TAX CREDIT — A bill, S.439, increases the maximum amount of tax credits allowed to all qualifying taxpayers from eight million to fifteen million dollars for each calendar years, as it relates to cargo volume, port transportation, transportation of freight, good and materials. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

FINGERPRINT BACKGROUND CHECKS —  Senate Bill 480 relates to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to provide that an agency authorized to conduct fingerprint background checks in this state may conduct a federal fingerprint review to provide that SLED, upon request, may submit the fingerprints collected by agencies to the Federal Bureau of Enforcement Division. SLED and the FBI may retain collected fingerprints and search any retained fingerprints later pursuant to an appropriate inquiry. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

REAL ESTATE BACKGROUND CHECKS — Senate Bill 649 provides that certain real estate professionals must undergo criminal background checks for initial applications for licensure and for licensure renewals, as well as property managers and property managers-in-charge. Each of the provisions is effective for initial license applications or renewals due on or after July 1, 2020. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

GOLF CART ALLOWANCES —  Senate Bill 666 allows a municipality with a land area of approximate 3.87 square miles and a population estimated as of July 1, 2017, to be between ten and eleven thousand persons by the United States Census Bureau’s Population Estimate Program that is located within a county that had a population of two hundred twenty-six thousand seventy-three persons according to the 2010 United States Census may enact an ordinance allowing the operation of a permitted golf cart for up to sixty minutes after sunset on locally owned roads for which the posted speed limit is twenty-five miles an hour or less if the golf cart has operable headlights and brake lights. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

In Committee:

Senate Finance Committee:

S.678 – Local Government Fund: A bill relating to the Local Government Fund to provide that in any fiscal year in which general fund revenues are projected to increase or decrease, the appropriation to the LGF must be adjusted by the same projected percentage change, but not exceeding five percent. The adjustment must be determined by the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office with the Board of Economic Advisors’ most recent projection of recurring general revenue.

Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee:

S.394 – Auxiliary Containers: A bill to provide that any regulation regarding the use, disposition, sale or imposition of any prohibition, fee, imposition or taxation of auxiliary containers must be done only by the General Assembly. The article supersedes and preempts any ordinance enacted by a political subdivision that purports to regulate at the retail, manufacturer or distributor level. The provision does not limit any recycling program, or ordinance pertaining to the use of auxiliary containers on exempted properties such as state, county, or municipal park or properties including coastal tidelands, wetlands, public beach, river or other body of water.

S.506 – Housing Authority Commissioners: A bill to provide that a county legislative delegation may adopt a resolution declaring that there exists a state of emergency with regard to a municipal housing authority that if convincing evidence or action or failure to act in which residents are subjected to unreasonably hazardous conditions or being subjected to conditions that led to the death or one or more residents, the commissioners are immediately suspended from office for ninety days. During this period of suspension, the mayor, or the mayor’s designee, shall exercise the powers and duties of the housing authority. Concurrently, the council of the municipality shall conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances under which the state of emergency was declared. Commissioners shall have the right to be heard in person or by counsel during the mayor’s investigation. If the council determines the authority took action or failed to take action meeting the conditions, the commissioners are immediately removed from office and the council shall appoint new commissioners.

For more questions on the above bills or additional legislation being considered by the Senate, please reach out! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. 

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 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : March 25-29, 2019

On The Floor:

CRUELTY TO ANIMALS — Cruel treatment of animals should be admonished and prevented. Senate Bill 105 sets clear standards and the education for how South Carolina views the ill treatment of animals. The bill provides that every four years magistrates and municipal court judges must receive at least two hours of instruction on issues concerning animal cruelty. The legal education must be determined by the South Carolina Court Administration at the direction of the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. To provide that it is unlawful to tether a dog in a manner in which the dog is unattended for more than sixty minutes without continuous access to sustenance and shelter; by means of choke collar, prong collar, logging chain or tow chain; if the dog is young than six months of age; and in a manner that limits reasonable access to usable space; and provides exceptions for use a tether in certain circumstances. To provide additional changes to the grants relating to spaying and neutering programs, veterinarian technician duties in an emergency or natural disaster, and shelter standards. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

BUSINESS SAFETY — Senate Bill 109 defines “electric fence” and sets the allowances for use of electric fences to protect businesses and industry. An “electric fence” means an electrified fence with a height not to exceed ten feet or two feet higher than the perimeter fence equipped with an energizer that does not exceed twelve volts DC. The charge produced must meet and not exceed the International Electrotechnical Commission Standard. No electric fence may be used without a surrounding non-electrical fence or wall not less than five feet high. Electric fences shall be permitted on property not zoned exclusively for residential use and must post ‘Warning — Electric Fence’ signs within intervals not more than sixty feet. Electric fence does not mean an electrified fence erected for agricultural or wildlife habitat management purposes. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

EFFICIENCIES IN LICENSING — Senate Bill 573 provides that the Board of Financial Institutions may participate in the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, requiring check cashing business and deferred presentment lenders to fulfill their licensing paperwork requirements using the NMLS. The process shifts toward a fully electronic process resulting in faster turn-around times for licenses and greater efficiencies at the Board. All fees will be handled directly by the System for processing background and credit checks as well as collecting applications and providing documents to the Board. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

INSURANCE RATE INCREASE LIMITS — Senate Bill 579 passed this week clarifies that for automobile insurance, an insurer must wait six months before it can request an additional rate increase. Provisions align the number of increases with the average auto policy length of six months. The bill provides more flexibility to respond to market conditions. Nothing in the bill restricts the Director’s prerogative to review all filings and rates to see if rates are excessive, too low or unfairly discriminatory. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

LIFE AND HEALTH GUARANTY — Senate Bill 580 provides updates to the Life and Accident and Health Insurance Guaranty Association. Among the changes: add Health Maintenance Organizations to the association, to establish that assessments related to long-term care contracts will be split 50/50 between health insurers and life insurers, and to add language that spells out how reinsurance is handled during an insolvency or impairment. The bill also clarifies who can receive benefits from the association and the limits on those benefits. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

ADVERTISING ON COMMERCIAL BENCHES — A bill, S. 593, deletes the expiration date of permits to a regional transit authority or public transit operator to install and maintain benches upon which commercial advertisements are placed provided that each bench will be located on of the applicant’s bus stops, within the right-of-way of a public road a, and the applicant otherwise meets all relevant federal statutory and regulatory requirements. The bill heads to the House for further consideration.

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BONDS — S.621 is a bill to amend the code relating to the issuance and refunding of bonds by the Jobs-Economic Development Authority to conform to recent finalized regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that modify the requirements for public notice, public hearings, and approval of private activity bonds. These regulations are required as part of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. A public hearing is held required to federal law to enable interest on such bonds to be excluded from gross income for federal tax purposes. Notice of a public hearing must be provided to the public and clerk of county council or municipal council. The bill heads to the House for further consideration.

FOOD DONATION CREDITS — Senate Bill 647 adds wild hogs to the eligibility for a nonrefundable tax credit for processing donated for charitable distribution and ensures that no portion of the wild hog may be used by a commercial enterprise. The amount of the credit is seventy-give dollars for each carcass processed and donated. The credit must be claimed in the year earned and may not be carried to any other taxable year. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

In Committee:

Senate Judiciary Committee:

S.17 – Certifying Coroner and Sheriff Candidates: A bill relating to the duties of the county boards of voter registration and elections are responsible for certifying that county’s candidates for country coroner and country sheriff.

S.180 – Drones Over Military Installations: A bill relating to trespasses and the unlawful use of the property of others. This states that it is unlawful to operate an unmanned aerial vehicle within a horizontal distance of five hundred feet or a vertical distance of two hundred fifty feet from the flight path of a federal military installation with restricted public access without written consent. Violation and conviction of not abiding will result in either a less than $500 fine, less than 30 days imprisonment, or both.

S.276 – Threatening with Dangerous Weapon: A bill to provide that it is unlawful for a person to threaten, solicit another to threaten, or conspire to threaten to cause damage, serious bodily injury, or death. This bill also provides it unlawful to cause damage to or destroy a building or other real or personal property by use of a dangerous weapon on any premises or property owned, operated, or controlled by any post-secondary institution, in a church, in any publicly owned building or recreational park areas or in a public gathering place. If this is violated, the person charged must undergo a mental health evaluation and, if necessary, mental health treatment or counselling.

S.342 – Alcohol Server Training: A bill to enact the “Responsible Alcohol Server Training Act” by implementing and enforcing mandatory alcohol server training and education programs to businesses to obtain alcohol server certificates. This requires servers of all alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption in licensed or permitted businesses to obtain alcohol server certificates, and to require fees from providers of training programs and from applicants for alcohol server certificates. Training programs must only be either online or in the classroom. Topics covered in this bill include, but are not limited to, state laws regulation alcohol purchasing, liquor liability issues, impaired driving or driving under the influence, information on blood alcohol concentration and factors that change this, the effect alcohol has on the human body and human behavior, methods of refusing to serve or sell alcoholic beverage to individuals under twenty-one years of age and intoxicated individuals, methods for properly and effectively checking the identification of an individual, for identifying illegal identification, and life consequences, like losing education scholarships, relating to minors use.

S.480 – Fingerprint Background Checks: A bill relating to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to provide that an agency authorized to conduct fingerprint background checks in this state may conduct a federal fingerprint review to provide that SLED, upon request, may submit the fingerprints collected by agencies to the Federal Bureau of Enforcement Division. SLED and the FBI may retain collected fingerprints and search any retained fingerprints later pursuant to an appropriate inquiry.

S.534 – Sheriff Qualifications: A bill to provide qualifications that a sheriffs and sheriff candidates must possess to serve as sheriff including, but not limited to, five years’ experience as Class 1 law enforcement officer, and have not been convicted of, pled guilty to, or pardoned for a felony or crime of moral turpitude in the State. Removes section relating to serving as summary court judge for at least ten years.

S.640 – Clerks of Court Reporting: A bill to provide that Magistrates shall report the disposition of each criminal case to the State law Enforcement Division within ten days, weekends and holidays excluded. Magistrates shall also report to SLED within 48 hours the issuance of any restraining orders, court orders of protection from domestic abuse act orders, any orders of state firearms prohibition and any orders that may prohibit a person from legally purchasing or possessing a firearm. Similar provisions are applicable to reporting by municipal judges and clerks of family court.

H.3483 – Coal Residuals: A bill to repeal Section 3 of Act 138 of 2016 relating to the automatic repeal of provisions requiring certain coal combustion residuals to be placed in a Class 3 landfill.

Senate Family and Veterans’ Services Committee:

S.595 – Childcare Facility Registry: A bill to prohibit a childcare facility from employing a caregiver or other staff that is registered or required to register on the National Sex Offender Registry, State Sex Offender Registry, or Central Registry, and State Child Abuse and Neglect Registry.

S.601 – Childcare Facility Background Checks: A bill to provide restrictions on foster care or adoption placements to add background check requirements from each employee of a residential facility where children in foster care may be placed. No child in custody of the Department of Social Services may be placed in a foster home, adoptive home or residential facility if the person has a substantiated history of child abuse or neglect or has pled guilty or nolo contendere or has been convicted to offenses outlined in the section.

Senate Education Committee:

S.15 – Financial Literacy: A bill to provide that beginning with the 2020-2021 School Year, each high school shall offer a one-half credit course in personal finance as an elective that students may use to complete graduation requirements. The curriculum shall incorporate competencies pursuant to Financial Literacy Instruction, and the Department of Education shall develop the curriculum for coursework before July 1, 2020.

H.3929 – Make Up Days: A joint resolution to provide that during the 2018-2019 school year, the State Board of Education may waive requirements for making up days beyond the three days that may be forgiven because of snow, extreme weather conditions or other disruptions requiring schools to close. The waivers may only be considered and granted upon requires of the local school board of trustees through a majority of the vote of that board.

For more questions on the above bills or additional legislation being considered by the Senate, please reach out! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. 

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 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : March 18-22, 2019

On The Floor:

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME — Raise your hand if you always seem to forget to reset your clocks to daylight saving time.  The Senate passed a resolution this week, S.11, to provide that if the United States Congress authorizes states to observe daylight saving times year round, it is the intent of the South Carolina General Assembly that daylight saving time be the year-round standard of the entire state and all of its political subdivisions. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANCE ACT —  A physician assistant or PA can be of great benefit to providing collaboration with licensed physicians and providing limited medical care to patients Senate Bill 132, passed this week by the Senate, defines “physician assistant” or “PA” and further defines the scope of practice between a PA and physician. The bill creates a Physician Assistant Committee as an advisory committee to the board to evaluate qualifications for licensure and make recommendations to the board. The committee will consist of nine members appointed by the Board of Medical Examiners — three licensed PAs with minimum of three years of patient care, two who must be consumers, and three physicians licensed to practice in the state. PAs may perform certain tasks within the written scope of practice — health histories and exams, medical treatments, diagnosing studies, educating patients, consultations, issuing medical orders and obtaining consent, pronounce and certify cause of death, sign death certificates.  A scope of practice agreement must be signed by PA and physician done at least annually, made available to the board and if failed to do so deemed misconduct by the PA. Other conditions apply within this section. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

ELECTRONIC PRESCRIPTIONS — Electronic prescribing or e-prescribing can be beneficial in increasing dispensing times, improving security, and reducing fraudulent prescriptions, but there can be challenges to change in technology. Senate Bill 136 addresses the benefits and challenges of electronic prescriptions. The bill adds “electronic” to references to written prescriptions. A practitioner may not dispense controlled substance in Schedule II without the written or electronic prescription. The provision provides exceptions if a documented technological or electronic failure occurs, if dispensed by a Federal pharmacy, for the practice of veterinary medicine, elements of the prescription are not supported by technology or for a patient discharged from hospital, emergency room or urgent care. If approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor, the act takes place beginning January 1, 2021 to provide time to for technological and system updates. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

PRESCRIBER SUPPLY — Senate Bill 463 provides that a pharmacist dispensing medications may, absent of a prescriber’s orders to the contrary, dispense medications in a 90-day supply. The provision does not ably to scheduled medications, psychotherapeutic drugs and medications subject to reporting under the prescription monitoring program. The bill does not supersede or invalidate any third party payor agreement. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

ELECTRONIC NOTARY — Senate Bill 486 allows notaries to notarize documents using an electronic/digital signature for an electronic document. The signor my physically appear in front of the notary. Additionally, remote online notarization will allow the notary and signor to be in two different locations if the signor appears in front using audio-visual technology, may be sent via email or other electronic means and provides additional security, and other items. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

CHILDREN’S TRUST FUND — Ensuring that children in South Carolina are protected is of paramount importance. Senate Bill 498 provides that the South Carolina Children’s Trust Fund shall have access at any reasonable time to electronic information systems, records, reports and materials maintained by the Department of Social Services or the Department of Children’s Advocacy for the purposes of bona fide research on child abuse or neglect, quantitative or qualitative evaluation of prevention programs to reduce child abuse or neglect, or the assessment of service needs and gaps for the prevention of child abuse or neglect. The Trust Fund shall adhere to all information security policies, standards, guidelines and procedures promulgated by the Division of Technology of the Department of Administration with respect to all records, reports and materials.

NUCLEAR ADVISORY COUNCIL  — Established in Act 357 of 2000, the Nuclear Advisory Council is charged with advising the Governor on numerous issues pertaining to the nuclear industry in South Carolina, including the Atlantic Compact, the Barnwell commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, the Savannah River Site, and others. Senate Bill 206 renames the Nuclear Advisory Council to the “Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council,” and provides that the Council shall be responsible to the Director of the Department of Administration and report to the Governor. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

TEXTILE COMMUNITIES REVITALIZATION — A bill, S.440, was passed by the Senate to amend the South Carolina Textiles Communities Revitalization Act to provide that the purpose of the credit related to new or rehabilitated buildings on contiguous parcels, do not include expenses that increase the square footage of the buildings that existed immediately preceding the time at which the textile mill became abandoned by more than two hundred percent. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

FISH CATCH LIMITS — The Senate passed two bills this week to adjust catch limits for Spadefish (S.474) and Tripletail (S.475). Senate Bill 474 provides that it is unlawful for a person to take or have in possession more than ten spadefish in any one day, not to exceed thirty spadefish in one day on any boat. Senate Bill 475 provides that it is unlawful for a person to take or have in possession more than three tripletail in any one day, not to exceed nine tripletail in one day on any boat. The bills now head to the House for further consideration.

In Committee:

Agriculture and Natural Resources:

S.107 — Dams: A bill relating to dams to define regulated dam as a reservoir where failure of such dam would cause damage to human life or property of others, exempts low hazard (Class III) dams whose failure would only cause minimal property damage. The bill would require dam owners to provide DHEC with contact information and a completed dam owner safety checklist on a prescribed schedule and report changes within 30 days. Owners may request a waiver if the department determines they impose a significant hardship on the owner. Provisions maintain that owners must have an emergency plan in place to notify emergency officials and DHEC if the dam has failed or is near failure. The bill also includes other language relating to repairs of dams, inspection by DHEC, exemptions for agricultural, fishing and recreational dams that pose no significant danger to human life or property and establishes a refundable tax credit for dam repairs required by DHEC.

Banking and Insurance Committee:

S.133 — Flood Damage Mitigation: A bill to expand the South Carolina Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program, established within the Department of Insurance, to include flood damage. Adding to the use of grants will be raising the dwelling above the minimum required elevation standards, the adding of vents to enclosures, installing breakaway walls, and relocating the dwelling further from the flood source. On July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2020 the amount of remitted premium tax the department may use to implement the program is increased by one percent so that when fully phased in on July 1, 2020 the department may use three percent of the remitted premium taxes to implement the program.

S.580 — Life and Health Guaranty Association: A bill to update the Life and Accident and Health Insurance Guaranty Association. Among the changes: add Health Maintenance Organizations to the association, to establish that assessments related to long-term care contracts will be split 50/50 between health insurers and life insurers, and to add language that spells out how reinsurance is handled during an insolvency or impairment. The bill also clarifies who can receive benefits from the association and the limits on those benefits.

Senate Finance Committee:

S.185 — Angel Investor Act: A bill to extend the sunset of the High Growth Small Business Job Creation Act of 2013, commonly referred to as the Angel Investor Act, to repeal on December 1, 2025.

S.530 — Consolidated Procurement Code: A bill to update the Consolidated Procurement Code. The update clarifies that the notification shall occur to the Director of the Division of Procurement Services; further define terms such as “information technology,” “information resources,” “database,” “software,” and more; provide that a business day does not mean Saturday, Sunday nor state or federal holiday; provide use of ‘public funds;’ and other related awards and items.

S.621 — Industrial Development Bonds: A bill to amend the code relating to the issuance and refunding of bonds by the Jobs-Economic Development Authority to conform to recent finalized regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that modify the requirements for public notice, public hearings, and approval of private activity bonds. These regulations are required as part of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. A public hearing is held required to federal law to enable interest on such bonds to be excluded from gross income for federal tax purposes. Notice of a public hearing must be provided to the public and clerk of county council or municipal council.

S.647 — Tax Credits for Donation of Wild Hogs: A bill to add wild hogs to the eligibility for a nonrefundable tax credit for processing donated for charitable distribution. No portion of the wild hog may be used by a commercial enterprise. The amount of the credit is seventy-give dollars for each carcass processed and donated. The credit must be claimed in the year earned and may not be carried to any other taxable year.

S.655 — Job Tax Credits for Professional Sports Teams: A bill to add ‘professional sports teams’ to qualifying entities eligible to receive job tax credits. ‘Professional sports team’ means a team or club included in a professional league such as the National Football League, National Association for Stock Car Racing or the National Basketball Association, primarily engaged in live sporting events before a paying audience with an annual payroll for federal tax purposes of not less than one hundred ninety million dollars and not less than one hundred fifty employees.

H.4157 — Statewide Voting System Solution: A joint resolution to extend the deadline to submit offers for a solicitation for a statewide voting system solution for the South Carolina Elections Commission to April 4, 2019 and create a special evaluation panel to evaluate and score the offers.

Fish, Game and Forestry Committee:

S.575 — Wild Turkey Tags: A bill to revise the seasons for hunting wild turkey in the four Game Zones; provides for a one turkey limit during the first ten days of a season. The bill establishes a $10 fee for set of turkey tags for residents and $50 fee for set of tags for nonresidents. Persons under the age of 16, lifetime licensees and gratis licensees have no cost. Additionally, ‘Youth Turkey Day’ for persons under the age of 18 is established the Saturday preceding the start of a game zone turkey season. The bag limit is one male wild turkey.

H.3750 — Deer Hunting Tags: A bill to provide that a resident who purchases a South Carolina Hunting License and a Big Game Permit must receive at least two antlerless deer tags.

Senate Medical Affairs Committee:

S.303 — Transport of Persons of Mental Illness: A bill to provide that a state or local law enforcement officer responsible for transporting a patient believed to have a mental illness must be part of the therapeutic transport unit and have undergone mental health and crisis intervention training to provide that a physician is responsible for the patient’s care and must notify a friend or relative that they may transport the patient to the facility, and that the friend or relative freely chooses to assume the responsibility and liability for the transport. Officers in a therapeutic transport unit should dress in civilian clothes and use an unmarked sedan to the extent possible when transporting a patient.

H.3274 — Political Subdivisions Cigarette Ordinances: A bill to provide that political subdivisions of the state may not enact any laws, ordinances or rules pertaining to the ingredients, flavors or licensing of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, tobacco products or alternative nicotine products. Laws, ordinances or rules enacted prior to January 1, 2019 are exempt from the preemption imposed.

Senate Transportation Committee:

S.401 — Construction of the State Highway System: A bill to provide that an entity undertaking a highway improvement project bears the cost of relocating water and sewer lines. Eligibility for payment of relocation costs to be placed under control of a general contractor, unless the utility ops out pursuant to certain parameters. Nothing prohibits or limits payment for relocation when a public utility has prior right to situate lines in present location. The Act applies to transportation improvement projects for which no more than 25% of preliminary engineering funds have been spent as of the effective date.

S.593 — Commercial Advertisement Benches: A bill to delete the expiration date of permits to a regional transit authority or public transit operator to install and maintain benches upon which commercial advertisements are placed provided that each bench will be located on of the applicant’s bus stops, within the right-of-way of a public road a, and the applicant otherwise meets all relevant federal statutory and regulatory requirements.

H.3310 — Surrender of Certificates of Title: A bill to provide that if an insurance company or its agent is unable to obtain the certificate of title from the claimant within thirty days after acceptance by the claimant an offer in a settlement of total loss, the insurance company may submit an application to the department for a salvage certificate of title. The application shall include evidence that the insurance company or its agent has fulfilled its settlement with and made two or more written attempts to obtain the certificate of title from the claimant.

For more questions on the above bills or additional legislation being considered by the Senate, please reach out! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. 

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 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : March 11-15, 2019

On The Floor:

CLOSING THE SALES AND USE GAP — We are living in a tech-based world and a growing tech-based economy. Our brick and mortar shops invest in our state and serve a vital function for goods and services. Our online retailers ought to play by the same rules. Senate Bill 214 clarifies that any person that engages in the business of facilitating a retail sale of tangible personal property — including but not limited to any space, store, catalog, website, television, radio broadcast, or similar place — is responsible for remitting the sales and use tax to the State. The term “marketplace facilitator” is used for these online business and would require each seller to collect and remit the tax and obtain a retail license if the seller maintains a place of business; qualifies to do business; solicits purchases by an agent, independent contractor, or internet website; and meets constitutional standards for economic nexus with South Carolina. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

SUPERB ACCOUNT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY —  Senate Bill 525 repeals the 2026 sunset of the environmental impact fee for the Superb Account and Superb Financial Responsibility Fund, Section 44-2-90. The accrued interest will continue to be applied to a respective account. The bill was given a third reading and was sent to the House.

In Committee:

Senate Transportation Committee:

S.509 — Nonfranchise Automobile Dealer License: A bill to provide that an initial nonfranchise automobile dealer license entitles a licensee to carry on and conduct business of a nonfranchise automobile dealer. The license of a nonfranchise automobile dealer expires annually the last day of the month of the year following its issuance. Renewal must not be granted unless the licensee submits satisfactory proof of at least four hours of attendance at DMV-approved continuing education prior to the renewal. The provision does not apply to a franchised automobile dealer or a nonfranchised automobile dealer owned and operated by a franchised automobile dealer, nor does it apply to a nonfranchised automobile dealer whose primary business is salvage motor vehicles.

Senate Family and Veterans’ Services Committee:

S.189 — Child Torture: A bill to provide that it is unlawful to commit torture or allow torture to be committed against a child and further define terms. ‘Torture’ includes, but is not limited to, inflicting or participating in or assisting in inflicting intense physical or emotional pain upon a child repeatedly over a period of time for the purpose of terrorizing the child or for the purpose of satisfying the sadistic, craven, cruel or prurient desires of the perpetrator or another person. A person is guilty of homicide by child abuse if the person causes the death of a child while committing torture or knowingly aids and abets another person to commit torture that results in the death of a child. Homicide by child abuse is a felony and a person who is convicted must be imprisoned for life or must be imprisoned for a term of not less than twenty years.

S.486 — Electronic and Remote Notaries: A bill to allow notaries to notarize documents using an electronic/digital signature for an electronic document. The signor my physically appear in front of the notary. Additionally, remote online notarization will allow the notary and signor to be in two different locations if the signor appears in front using audio-visual technology, may be sent via email or other electronic means and provides additional security, and other items.

S.498 — Children’s Trust Fund: A bill to provide that the South Carolina Children’s Trust Fund shall have access at any reasonable time to electronic information systems, records, reports and materials maintained by the Department of Social Services or the Department of Children’s Advocacy for the purposes of bona fide research on child abuse or neglect, quantitative or qualitative evaluation of prevention programs to reduce child abuse or neglect, or the assessment of service needs and gaps for the prevention of child abuse or neglect. The Trust Fund shall adhere to all information security policies, standards, guidelines and procedures promulgated by the Division of Technology of the Department of Administration with respect to all records, reports and materials.

H.3180 — Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: A bill to conform to federal law and expand protections for members of the Armed Forces and their families. Servicemembers who receive orders for a permanent change of station may cancel service contracts with providers who do not provide the same service in the area where the Servicemember is being re-stationed. The provision applies to telecommunication services, internet services, television services, athletic or gym membership and satellite radio services. Additionally, Servicemembers or their families may file a civil action against companies that violate this section.

H.3438 — Division of Veterans Affairs: A bill to re-establish the Division of Veterans Affairs, currently residing in the Department of Administration, as a cabinet-level agency under direct supervision of the Governor to be known as the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Agency head will be established as “Secretary,” and must be appointed by the governor and confirmed with Advice and Consent of the Senate, provide clarifying and conforming provision for the authorities of the Secretary and no longer required County Veterans Affairs Officers to be veterans or be a member of the SC Association of County Veterans Affairs Officers.

Senate Judiciary Committee:

S.11 — Daylight Saving Time: A bill to provide that if the United States Congress authorizes states to observe daylight saving times year round, it is the intent of the South Carolina General Assembly that daylight saving time be the year-round standard of the entire state and all of its political subdivisions.

S.206 — Nuclear Advisory Council: A bill to rename the Nuclear Advisory Council to the “Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council,” and provide that the Council shall be responsible to the Director of the Department of Administration and report to the Governor.

S.413 — Naval Criminal Investigation Authority: A bill to provide that Naval Criminal Investigative Service Agents are authorized to enforce the state’s criminal laws by federal law enforcement officers.

H.3420 — Youth Access to Tobacco Prevention: bill to prohibit minors from entering retail establishments that primarily sell tobacco produces and/or alternative nicotine products, including use of mail, shipping or delivery that requires a signature over the age of eighteen released to the purchaser unless the Internet employ protections to ensure age verification. A retail establishment must conspicuously post on all entrances to the establishment that a person under eighteen years of age must not enter unless actively supervised and accompanied by an adult, age will be verified prior to purchase. if the United States Congress authorizes states to observe daylight saving times year

For more questions on the above bills or additional legislation being considered by the Senate, please reach out! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. 

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A Letter by Senator Sean Bennett

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Tax. The five seasons of the year. Or the fifth horseman of the apocalypse. Whichever you prefer.

Either way, the angst of taxes are felt across the board but can no longer be ignored. Our tax policy is an invisible weight around our economic neck.

At the end of last year, I wrote about our broken and antiquated tax system during the debate in the state legislature of whether or not to conform to changes made in the federal tax code.

I said then: “neither blanket conformity nor non-conformity is the answer as both result in negative impacts to South Carolina income tax payers…let’s not let this moment pass us by. Let’s do right by the taxpayers and finally pass a broad-based, pro-growth tax policy that is the best fit for all of South Carolina.”

I am pleased to say that the Senate, House and Governor worked together on a conformity bill that was forward-looking, fair and protected our most vulnerable in the state. Perfect? Far from it, but it did avoid the negative impacts from carte blanche conformity.

But our work is far from over. I have been fighting for years to reform the old, outdated state tax code to a new plan that provides real opportunity for middle-class earners, lifts up our working poor, allows our local companies to be more competitive in our global economy, and provides for real educational opportunities for our students.

I was selected to co-chair a special Senate committee tasked with conducting a comprehensive assessment of our state’s tax policy. Over the last few months, we have held hearings and received testimony from some of the nation’s foremost experts in economics and taxation. The findings are clear — our tax base is narrow and eroding further every day. It is unfair in that it creates disparities among taxpayers. It does not promote growth. And it is unsustainable.

That said, we are closer than we have been in decades to improving our tax system. The House of Representatives has joined the Senate in a call for sweeping tax reform, and the governor too has made it a priority.

In fact, Governor McMaster made reference to it thirteen times in his State of the State Address.

But what does this tax reform look like?

It must be fair, equitable, and predictable. It must enhance economic growth for all and align with the modern economy. It must be broad based with a low burden.

It starts with the income tax where 41 percent of taxpayers pay the state’s highest tax rate of 7 percent, while 42 percent pay nothing at all.

To compound this problem, the rate “kicks-in” at individuals making just $14,861 a year, harming those who can least afford it most. Let me be clear, SC has the highest marginal tax rate in the southeast and 12th highest in the nation.

But income tax reform alone will not produce the necessary results. We must also change the way we apply sales taxes and the grossly unequal, and often punitive, property tax system. A system where a single property can be subject to three different levels of taxation.

We can do better for working families.

Often forgot in the discussion of tax reform is the vital impact it has on the state’s education policy. Tax reform and education funding go hand-in-hand. We are missing the mark if we try to tackle one without the other.

Education funding — particularly for fast-growing districts — is most harmed not by inadequate funding but by improper distribution of resources. Current tax and education funding formulas make it nearly impossible to correct those inequities. Therefore, a commitment to real educational change can only be accomplished with accompanying bold fiscal improvements.

I will continue to advocate for a tax system that is transparent and easily understood, reform that controls the growth and expansion of government while insuring reliable funding of core government functions, security for the basic needs of the state and lifts up the working families who are harmed most from our current structure, and a system that limits new revenue to be used as a baseline for future spending — a shell game that governments often use to camouflage unnecessary spending increases.

Partnership is priority. Providing a high-quality education creates a vibrant, high-skilled workforce for our businesses and industries; a strong workforce means more jobs, better quality of life and opportunities for all; and a targeted, fair tax system creates a climate that foster new jobs, better opportunities and a South Carolina for which we can be proud.

Elected in 2013, Sean Bennett represents portions of Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties in the South Carolina State Senate. In addition to serving as co-chairman of the Senate Finance Taxation System Review and Reform Subcommittee, he chairs the Senate Ethics Committee.

This letter was featured in an edition of the Berkeley Independent on March 13, 2019. 

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 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : March 1-8, 2019

On The Floor:

REDUCING DRUNK DRIVING FATALITIES — A high number of traffic fatalities are related to alcohol-impaired driving. The numbers are alarming — there’s no excuse for driving while intoxicated. The ignition interlock device program in South Carolina is working. Senate Bill 18 takes an additional step forward to reduce fatalities resulting from alcohol-impaired driving. The bill provides that in lieu of serving the remainder of a suspension or denial of license or permit, relating to persons who drive motor vehicles and have a certain amount of alcohol concentration, a person may enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program. The ignition interlock device is required to be affixed to the motor vehicle for three months. Mopeds and Motorcycles exempt from the provision. The cost of the device must be borne by the person, however the person may submit an affidavit of indigence to the Department of PPP, and other related items. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.  

CONTRABAND CELLPHONES — The use and access to contraband cell phones in our state’s correctional facilities is dangerous to correctional officers, other inmates and unfettered access to the general public. Contraband cell phones is a growing concern nationwide, as they are used to plot escapes and run criminal networks outside of prison walls. The Senate pushed back on this unlawful activity in S.156 to enact that it is unlawful to possess within or introduce a telecommunication device upon the grounds of a correctional facility, except as authorized by the appropriate official in charge of the correctional institution. A person who violates is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be imprisoned for not more than three years and forfeits all earned work credits, education credits and good conduct credits. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

LET KIDS, BE KIDS — The Senate this week re-enforced commonsense guardianship and all that goes with child independence. Senate Bill 79, passed this week by the Senate, provides that child abuse or neglect or harm does not occur if a parent, guardian or other responsible for child’s welfare allows a child of certain age to engage in independent activities including independent means of travel to and from school, engaging in recreational facilities, outdoor play, and remaining at home unattended.

FOSTER CARE FOR FICTIVE KIN — Senate Bill 191 provides that fictive kin are eligible to be foster parents under the kinship foster care program and relatives and fictive kin may foster a child before being licensed as a kinship foster care provider under certain circumstances. A ‘fictive kin’ means an individual who is not related by birth, adoption or marriage to a child but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child or the child’s family. If a relative or fictive kin with whom a child has been placed is denied licensure, then the relative or fictive kin must relinquish custody of the child to the department. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

SOLAR ENERGY — Senate Bill 362 allows a an income tax credit equal to twenty-five percent of the cost of installation of a solar energy property if he constructs, purchases or leases a solar energy property and other related terms. A credit for each installation of solar energy property may not exceed two million five hundred thousand dollars. The credit s allowed on a first-come, first-served basis, and the total amount of credits available to be taken. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

POWERS OF SHERIFFS — Jurisdictional limits can result in unnecessary barriers for sheriff’s to perform their duties and keep the public safe, even within their own county.  Senate Bill 397 provides that a county sheriff, in counties with a population in excess of one hundred thousand residents according to the latest official U.S. Decennial Census, has the power of constable and enforce cases arising within county limits, including municipal limits. When in fresh and continuous pursuit of a suspect within county limits, police officers may follow and arrest the suspect anywhere in the State. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

ARMED FORCES LICENSES — A bill, S.455, provides that a board or commission shall issue temporary professional license to the spouse of an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces if meeting certain circumstances. A professional or occupational board or commission shall accept the education, training and experience completed by an individual as a member of the Armed Forces or Reserves of the United States, National Guard of any state, Military Reserves of any state or the Naval Militias of any state and apply this training, education and experience in the manner most favorable toward satisfying the qualifications. Nothing in the provision should be construed as requiring a board or commission to grant licensure to the spouse if not all state law requirements have been met. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

For more questions on the above bills or additional legislation being considered by the Senate, please reach out! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. 

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COLUMBIA, SC — Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Greg Hembree, has announced the scheduling of four public hearings to receive comments from members of the public on S.419,  The South Carolina Career Opportunity and Access for All Act.

Monday, March 4, 2019

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

McCormick Middle School Gym

6979 Highway 28 South McCormick, SC 29835

Parking available in front of school, with gym located between McCormick Middle School and McCormick High School Buildings. Sign in sheet to testify should be out by 5:15 p.m. near the entrance to the gym. Testimony to begin at 6:00 p.m. All speakers should come prepared to limit remarks to three minutes. Written remarks are also welcome.

Monday, March 11, 2019

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Coker College, Black Box Theater Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center

300 East College Avenue Hartsville, SC 29550

Enter campus through the brick columns on College Avenue. Parking available to the right, with the Arts Center on Campus Drive ahead of you and to the right from the brick columns. Sign in sheet to testify should be out by 5:15 p.m. near the entrance to the theater. Testimony to begin at 6:00 p.m. All speakers should come prepared to limit remarks to three minutes. Written remarks are also welcome.

Monday, March 18, 2019

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gaffney High School Auditorium

149 Twin Lake Road Gaffney, SC 29340

Parking in front of school, with auditorium entrance by the flag pole. Sign in sheet to testify should be out by 5:15 p.m. inside the entrance to the auditorium. Testimony to begin at 6:00 p.m. All speakers should come prepared to limit remarks to three minutes. Written remarks are also welcome.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Georgetown High School Auditorium

2500 Anthuan Maybank Drive Georgetown, SC 29440

Parking available in front of school, with auditorium to the left when facing the school. Sign in sheet to testify should be out by 5:15 p.m. inside the entrance to the auditorium. Testimony to begin at 6:00 p.m. All speakers should come prepared to limit remarks to three minutes. Written remarks are also welcome.

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 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : February 18-22, 2019

On The Floor:

ADOPTIVE PARENTS RIGHTS TO KNOW — Adoption is a life-changing opportunity for children looking for their forever home, and the adopting parents. Senate Bill 181 adds that medical history of an adoptee’s biological parents shall be disclosed to prospective adoptive parent, if biological parents elect to provide that information. The medical history must be in a form that does not disclose personally identifiable information of the biological parents, and shall be deposited with the family court that enters a final decree of adoption. The medical history may be disclosed to the adoptee upon reaching the age of majority or under certain circumstances prior to reaching age of majority if good cause shown. The bill now heads to the House for consideration

FOSTER CARE FOR FICTIVE KIN — Senate Bill 191 provides that fictive kin are eligible to be foster parents under the kinship foster care program and relatives and fictive kin may foster a child before being licensed as a kinship foster care provider under certain circumstances. A ‘fictive kin’ means an individual who is not related by birth, adoption or marriage to a child but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child or the child’s family. If a relative or fictive kin with whom a child has been placed is denied licensure, then the relative or fictive kin must relinquish custody of the child to the department. The bill now heads to the House for consideration

 SUNLIGHT ON CHILD FATALITIES — A bill, S.211, to authorize the Department of Social Services Director or his designee to prepare and release reports relating to fatalities or near fatalities of children. The disclosure is limited to cause and circumstances regarding the fatality or near fatality; age and gender of the child; previous reports of child abuse or neglect that led to the fatality or near fatality; result of investigations; services provided by the state and actions of the state pertinent to the abuse, neglect, fatality or near fatality. The report may be delayed if the disclosure would threaten the safety or well-being of a child or the child’s family, or when the disclosure would impede a criminal investigation. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

UNIIFORM UNINCORPORATED NONPROFIT — Senate Bill 260 enacts the Revised Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act to define terms, specify applicability, set forth powers of unincorporated nonprofit associations, to specify liability and set forth process by which legal action against an association is adjudicated. The bill now heads to the House for consideration

 FILING OF DISTRATINT — The Department of Revenue, under S.323, may submit to a financial institution, information identifying a debtor named on a warrant for distraint that has been issued or filed or whose debt has been submitted to collections. Debt must be at least 180 days old from assessment. These may be submitted quarterly or, with agreement of the financial institution, more frequently, and they must conduct a data match, followed by information concerning the debtor and purpose for collecting outstanding debt. The financial institution must be paid out of collected funds, not exceeding the actual cost. The financial institution is not liable to a person for disclosure of information. The bill now heads to the House for consideration

In Committee:

Senate Judiciary Committee

S.18 — Minors Interlock Device Program: A bill to provide that in lieu of serving the remainder of a suspension or denial of license or permit, relating to persons under the age of twenty-one who drive motor vehicles and have a certain amount of alcohol concentration, a person may enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program and other related items.

S.79 — Child Independence: A bill to provide that child abuse or neglect or harm does not occur if a parent, guardian or other responsible for child’s welfare allows a child of certain age to engage in independent activities including independent means of travel to and from school, engaging in recreational facilities, outdoor play, and remaining at home unattended.

S.386 — Tort Claims Act: A bill to reorganize the Tort Claims Act to raise the limit on judgments from one million dollars to two million dollars, prohibit payment from the fund, require any authorized payments come from state’s catastrophic fund, and other provisions.

Senate Finance Committee

S.318 — Pay for Success Performance Accountability: A bill to provide the South Carolina Pay for Success Performance Accountability Act to establish the trust fund for performance accountability to fund pay-for-success contracts, whereby the state only pays to the extent that desired outcomes, performed by private-sector organizations, are achieved.

S.329 — Geothermal Machinery Tax Credits: A bill to extend the repeal date for purchase of geothermal machinery and equipment from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2022.

S.362 — Solar Energy Tax Credits A bill to provide that a taxpayer is allowed an income tax credit equal to twenty-five percent of the cost of installation of a solar energy property if he constructs, purchases or leases a solar energy property and other related terms.

S.408 — Operation of Cable System: A bill to provide that any receipts from the operation of a cable system, including a cable service or noncable or nonvideo services, are attributable to the State in pro rata proportion of the costs performing the service. If a pass-through business operates a cable system, then the corporation that owns the interest directly or indirectly must be treated as operating a cable system.

S.439 — Port Cargo Tax Credit: A bill increase the maximum amount of tax credits allowed to all qualifying taxpayers from eight million to fifteen million dollars for each calendar years, as it relates to cargo volume, port transportation, transportation of freight, good and materials.

 S.298 — Increased Funding to Higher Education: A bill to provide increased funding to public institutions of higher learning in same percentage as General Fund increase to provide additional funding for scholarships, eligibility criteria for funding and establish higher education facilities Repair and Renovation Fund and other funding related items.

Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee

S.474 – Spadefish Catch Limits: A bill to provide that it is unlawful for a person to take or have in possession more than ten spadefish in any one day, not to exceed thirty spadefish in one day on any boat.

S.475 – Tripletail Catch Limits: A bill to provide that it is unlawful for a person to take or have in possession more than three tripletail in any one day, not to exceed nine tripletail in one day on any boat.

 Senate Transportation Committee

S.514 — Champion Tigers: A bill to provide the Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue ‘Clemson University 2018 Football National Champions’ special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles.

S.199 — Veteran Designation: A bill relating to the requirements provide to obtain veteran designation of a driver’s license including National Guard Bureau report of separation and record of service and United States Department of Defense honorable discharge certification, and other related terms.

 Senate Medical Affairs Committee

S.277 – Speech-Language Pathologists: A bill to make technical corrections to provisions relating to speech-language pathologists to add ‘communication specialist’ to representations of a speech-language pathologist, license much complete 1.6 CEUs during each license period, and additional CEUs during a period. The provisions do not apply to an educator certified by the State Board of Education, including an educator certified as a speech-language therapist who is not licensed as a speech-language pathologist and does not hold a certificate of clinical competence.

Looking Forward to Next Week:

Clemson University 2018 Football National Champions — The General Assembly will meet in Joint Session at noon on Tuesday, February 26, 2019 to congratulate the Clemson University Football Team and Coaches on winning the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship. Coach Dabo Swinney will address the Assembly and be extended the privilege of the floor during the joint session.

State of the Supreme Court — Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court Donald Beatty will address the General Assembly in joint session at noon on Wednesday, February 27, 2019.

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 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : January 28-February 1, 2019

On The Floor:

REDUCING TEACHER WORKLOAD — Teachers want to teach, but burdensome paperwork and required reporting gets in the way of dedicating time to children in the classroom. The Senate passed S.168 to direct the State Department of Education to develop recommendations for reducing and streamlining the amount of paperwork and reporting required of teachers, schools, and school districts. The Department must also include information on district, and state levels, the entity requiring the data, method of reporting and frequency of the report. The Department shall report its recommendations to the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee and Chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee no later than August 1, 2019. This is am important step forward in getting back to basics.

CARRYING OUT JUSTICE —  The people of South Carolina have made their support for the death penalty of persons convicted of a capital crime clear. South Carolina’s ability to carry out justice in the law has been limited by the inability to receive the lethal injection drugs needed to carry out a sentence. The Senate this week passed S.176 which will change the default execution method to electrocution and only allows an election of lethal injection if the drugs are available or firing squad. Those on the state’s death row currently have the ability to select either lethal injection or electrocution. That selection will still exist under the proposed bill, but allows the Department another mechanism to carry out a court ordered sentence if the lethal injection drugs are not available. If the Department of Corrections is unable to carry out the sentence, the Director shall determine and certify by affidavit to the Supreme Court whether the method is available.

PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING — Human trafficking should not and will not be tolerated. The Senate this week passed S.194 to redefine terms relating to prostitution, increase penalties for solicitation of prostitution, keeping a brothel and inducing another to participation in prostitution, and establishes an affirmative defense of victims of human trafficking. The bill now heads to the House for further consideration.

EMERGENCY PRESCRIPTION REFILLS — Senate Bill 16 extends the amount of a prescription refill from a ten (10) day period to a fourteen (14) day supply. In the event that a pharmacist is unable to dispense an emergency refill for the time period due to the medication’s packaging, the pharmacist is permitted to dispense up to a thirty-day (30) quantity. As amended, the dispensing pharmacist must notify the prescriber of the refill, and the amount, no later than ten (10) days after the supply is filled. An emergency supply is only allowable once in a twelve-month period.

STATE HOUSE PROTECTION — Every day, visitors from South Carolina and all across the nation, visit our historic State House. Prior a complex reconstruction, the south steps of the State House faced Senate Street. Senate Bill 108  re-defines the coordinates containing the capitol grounds to add Pendleton Street as a defining boundary. The updated coordinates accurately encompass the entire capitol complex: Gervais, Assembly, Pendleton and Sumter Streets. Important in this provision, is the specification of safety measures for the Burea of Protective Services, Senate sergeant at arms and House sergeant at arms in providing protections to the State House, the complex, members of the General Assembly and visitors who visit the complex. The State House visitors office offers guided tours of the historic State House year round. For more information on visiting the State House, please call 803-734-2430.

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 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE : January 21-25, 2019

On The Floor:

PROTECTING VICTIM STATEMENTS — Relief for victims or victim’s families does not end at sentencing. Victims are asked to relive past pains during at parole hearings. The Senate this week passed S.94 to allow for the submission of a film, videotape or written electronic information may be used victim’s statement or victim’s family statement for consideration by Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services in making its determination of parole. The same videotape or other information may be submitted for subsequent parole hearings each time if a person provides an affirmative written statement that the information represents the present position of the office or person.

PROMOTING EARLY DETECTION OF ALZHEIMER’S —  The Senate passed a bill, S.205, to include to the duties of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Resource Coordination Center to provide additional duties to facilitate and coordinate early detection and educational initiatives for health care providers.

PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THE VULNERABLE — Rights of vulnerable adults, seeking to maintain control of their property, is important. S.205 ensures an owner who is entitled to the special assessment ratio for owner-occupied residential property, that becomes a patient at a nursing home or community residential care facility, retains the four percent (4%) assessment ratio and applicable exemptions. This is as long as the owner otherwise qualifies, has intention to return to the property and the property is not rented in excess of seventy-two (72) days in a year.

FLOOD REPAIR — The state has been affected by several natural disasters in the past years and is still recovering from the resulting damages. The Senate passed S.217 to allow revenue collected by Local Hospitality Tax and Local Accommodations Tax to be expended for control and repair of flooding and drainage within tourism-related lands or areas, or a site preparation, demolition, repair or construction.

CLARIFYING CIVIL DAMAGES — South Carolinians step up to the plate and are active in improving our local communities. Involvement comes with responsibility. S.333 provides that probation officers, court personnel, county and municipal personnel, public officials, charitable organizations and private volunteers are not liable for civil damages in community services programs with probationers, unless an injury or damages result from gross negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct. This provision does not grant immunity to a driver transporting a probationer who, by his negligence, injures probationer on community service.

FEDERAL RESEARCH AND RESPONSIBILITY —  The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution, S.169, to urge the federal government, Congress and the U.S. Attorney General, to conduct research on the use of cannabis to treat medical conditions and illnesses.

ANOTHER SOUTH CAROLINA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP — Senate Bill 343 congratulates the Clemson University Football Team for winning the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, and to invite the team, coaches and officials to join the General Assembly in a joint session at 12 noon on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. This was adopted by the House in addition to the Senate.

CELEBRATING THE UOFSC — The Senate passed a resolution, S.403, to appreciate the outstanding opportunities that the University of South Carolina affords to the Palmetto State and to our citizens, and declare January 30, 2019 as “Carolina Day” at the State House. This was adopted by the House in addition to the Senate.

RESPONDING TO THE SHUTDOWN — South Carolina is home to many great citizens employed by or impacted by the federal government. Senate Bill 418 is a resolution to seek relief for those impacted by the shutdown seeking relief for memorialize banks, credit unions, utility providers, and other lending institutions operating in South Carolina to assist federal employees affected by the federal government shutdown.

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