BRIEF: House, Senate to reorganize Dec. 6
Staff reports | More than two dozen new Statehouse faces will meet for the first time next week in Columbia with veteran lawmakers as the state House and Senate reorganize on Dec. 6.
View ArticleBRIEFS: New rules, new chairs in the state Senate
Staff reports | In bicameral legislatures, state senates often are lauded for being chambers where bad ideas coming from a reactionary or rowdy sister chamber can be improved through a more...
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: Hundreds of bills pre-filed this week in legislature, part 1
Staff reports | State lawmakers filed more than 500 new bills this week in preparation for the beginning of the new legislative session next month. This week, we offer a look at the 198 pre-filed bills...
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: House pre-files hundreds of new bills, part 2
Staff reports | State House members pre-filed more than 350 bills last week, including high-profile measures related to online porn and bathroom choice that got coverage. But there were a host of...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Another legislator suspended; Session to start Tuesday
Staff reports | For the second time in a month, House Speaker Jay Lucas suspended a member of the S.C. House of Representatives following a criminal indictment. On Wednesday, Lucas suspended state Rep....
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: From a conservation bank to an environmental bill of rights
State lawmakers introduced more than 150 bills over the week to add to the 500+ bills that were prefiled in December. Bills ranged from measures to legalize medical marijuana and reauthorize the state...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Overlooking Haley’s new budget; Pension reform looms
Staff reports | Gov. Nikki Haley delivered a 636-page executive budget for 2017-18 to state legislators on Tuesday, the opening day of the legislative session. Unfortunately for her, it may become the...
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: Bills seek honors for slain Senate colleague
Staff reports | The late Sen. Clementa Pinckney, a Jasper County resident who was killed in the Emanuel AME Church massacre in Charleston in June 2015, may be honored in his home county if two bills...
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: From fights and dance halls to beer coolers at the door
State lawmakers introduced more than 100 bills over the past week, including several that might may you bat an eye. State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, offered a bill to seek to remove some...
View ArticleBRIEFS: The new governor’s staffers; Dark money bills filed
Staff reports | Newly sworn-in Gov. Henry McMaster has yet to name all of his office staff, but plans to do soon. McMaster is in the transition process from serving as lieutenant governor to governor....
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: From redistricting to revenge porn
Lawmakers introduced 106 new bills in the House and Senate over the last week including companion bills that seek to thwart neighbors from filing “nuisance suits” against nearby manufacturers or...
View ArticleBRIEFS: From plastic bags to education policy and Fritz Hollings
Staff reports | Who knew there was a “plastic bag lobby?” But there apparently is, according to environmental activists who are trying to thwart an effort to limit local governments’ abilities to make...
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: Bills to help the working poor, raise gas tax, fix pension system
Staff reports | Lawmakers introduced 101 bills over the last week, including several measures by S.C. Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, aimed at helping low-income South Carolinians through a tax...
View ArticleNEWS BRIEF: Reading is fundamental
Staff reports | The Republican-dominated House this voted to approve a resolution calling on new Gov. Henry McMaster to expand Medicaid in South Carolina. WHAAAAATTT?!?!?!
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: Bills introduced on tax credits, relief and sales tax exemptions
Staff reports | State lawmakers introduced 108 bills over the past week, many of which were congratulatory or memorials, such as one to honor the late Rep. Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, for his service. He died...
View ArticleBRIEFS: It’s budget time; Remembering Joe Neal
Staff reports | Lace up your budget boots because it’s already time to get serious. Next week, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold its full committee deliberations. Because the legislature...
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: Lawmakers file bills to thwart opioid abuse
Staff reports | Four Republican House members this week filed a package of 10 bills designed to thwart the rising epidemic of opioid and heroin abuse. It’s a comprehensive approach to build a...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Pension reform on the way; Winthrop Poll and Trump
Staff reports | It looks like the General Assembly is serious about enacting state pension reform this legislative session, perhaps as early as next week in the House. Currently, the state pension...
View ArticleBRIEF: Your view on taxes might be based on how things are framed
Staff reports | If you heard that a particular proposal raised taxes a “whopping 60 percent,” you might think that wasn’t so great. But what if you were told a tax hike would cost the average resident...
View ArticleTALLY SHEET: From cutting tax brackets to regulating porn
Staff reports | As the legislative session heads toward the halfway mark in terms of legislative days, lawmakers for the first time introduced fewer than 100 bills over the past week with the Senate...
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