Session Week 11

Key Points for This Week
● Income Tax Reform Heads to Governor’s Desk
● Senate Amends, Passes School Bathroom Bill
● House Passes Limited Lawsuit Reform Measures

The One-Minute Drill
The Big Picture: On Wednesday, Senate President Thomas Alexander (R-Oconee) and House Speaker Murrell Smith (R-Sumter), ratified acts – a formal proceeding after a bill has passed both chambers. This week, that included H.4216, the income tax reduction bill, which is a major change in tax policy in this state. The bill now officially heads to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk.

The Senate
School Bathroom Use Bill Passes
In a sweeping bipartisan vote of 33-2, the Senate advanced H.4756, legislation that would restrict bathroom, locker, and changing room use at public K-12 schools, colleges and universities to that which corresponds to a person’s biological sex at birth. The bill codifies language that already exists in state law under a budget proviso, but expands the application to colleges and universities and adds a private cause of action for violations. The bill was slightly amended by the Senate, so it will head back to the House to see if the body concurs in their amendments.

What Else?
The Senate advanced H.4763, the HALO bill, by a unanimous vote on Thursday. The bill prevents individuals from “approaching, impeding, causing harm to, or harassing” a first responder or emergency medical care provider. The Senate slightly amended the House version of the bill by removing the 25 foot perimeter. The bill was a Republican Caucus Agenda item in both bodies.

The House
House Passes Limited Lawsuit Reform Measures
While the House was expected to take up the Insurance Rate Reduction Act, the body instead tackled two pieces debated by the Judiciary Committee that limit lawsuit abilities in South Carolina. H.4760 deals with time-limited demands for settlements, setting a minimum amount of time of thirty days for an insured to respond. Representative Jay Jordan (R-Florence) who chaired the bill’s subcommittee said it’s to ensure bad actors can’t create artificial deadlines without guidelines and drag parties into bad faith claims. H.4544, medical malpractice legislation, modifies situations in medical malpractice cases where noneconomic damage caps do not apply, and adds a limit of 8x the current limitations on noneconomic damages to those situations. The bill also tweaks the definition of “occurrence.” Rep. Jay Jordan (R-Florence) said the bill aims to protect payments to ensure fair and timely compensation while preventing"excessive and unpredictable” lawsuits that can drive up healthcare costs.

Both bills passed the House unanimously and are headed to the Senate.

What Else?
The House voted unanimously to concur in Senate amendments to H.3858, a boat tax reduction bill, that would cut the property taxes paid on boats registered in SC by nearly half. The reduction would phased in over three years, and eliminate the requirement for owners to title an outboard motor. An updated fiscal impact study indicates that the cut will cut property tax revenue by nearly $40 million at the end of implementation.

The House voted to override Governor McMaster’s veto of H.4902, the name, image and likeness bill that would shield NIL contracts between colleges/universities and student athletes. The Senate is expected to take up the override next week.

In Committees
Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Arts - H.5177/S.863
A House Ways & Means Subcommittee and a Senate Education Committee advanced pieces of legislation that would allow technical colleges to expand their culinary programs to bachelor’s degree programs. The House limits that ability to Trident Technical College only, while the Senate opens it up to all Technical Colleges.

DOT Reform - S.831/H.5071
A House Ways & Means Subcommittee advanced the sweeping DOT Reform legislation Thursday morning. The House replaced the language in the Senate bill with their working language.

Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit - S.853
A House Ways & Means Subcommittee advanced language that would clarify language on property types eligible for the Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit. The bill is headed to the full committee.

The Week Ahead
In the Senate:
● Floor Watch: The Senate is working on clearing their calendar before the budget, so we expect them to continue clearing smaller bills. Senators are hoping to get to the Municipal Penny Sales Tax legislation.
● Committees: Senate Finance subcommittees will wrap up their work on the state budget. Senate subcommittees will continue their work on data center regulation.

In the House:
● Floor Watch: The House did not take up H.4817, the Insurance Rate Reduction Act, this week as was expected. We assume the body will take up this legislation next week before furlough.
● Committees: The House will continue to work through committees to prep for floor debate following their second furlough week (the week of April 6). A Senate Judiciary Subcommittee will take up H.3408, legislation that would prohibit a business whos’ principal place of business is located in a U.S. declared foreign adversary (the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, the Russian Federation, Iran or North Korea), from owning, leasing, possessing or exercising control over any real estate in South Carolina.

Candidate Filing
Candidate filing remains open until Monday, March 30 at noon.