2018 House Republican Caucus End Of Session Report
2018 House Republican Caucus End Of Session Report
Government Reorganization And
Reform:
H.4977 - Governor And
Lieutenant Governor Restructuring
Formalizes the 2012
voter-approved constitutional amendment that ends the practice of electing the
governor and lieutenant governor separately. 2018 will be the first year in
which the party nominees for governor will select a lieutenant governor
candidate as a running mate.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
S.27 – Appointment Of State
Superintendent Of Education By Governor
Places a constitutional question on the ballot that asks voters if they
approve of granting the governor the authority to appoint the state
Superintendent of Education instead of keeping it as an elected position.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.3352 - Office Of Freedom
Of Information Act Review
Closes loopholes in the South
Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which will promote increased
transparency in state government.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.3209 – Record
Expungement Act
Provides eligibility for expungement
of offenses that meet certain criteria established by law. This measure allows
low-level offenders greater opportunities when re-entering the workforce.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and vetoed by
the governor. Gubernatorial veto overridden by House and Senate, which resulted
in the legislation becoming law
S.499
– Driver’s Licenses
Eliminates the$50 fee criminal
offenders have been forced to pay to have an identity code placed on their
driver’s licenses. The identity code will still be required to appear on driver’s
licenses of offenders, but the fee is eliminated. The passage of S.499 is
expected to resolve a lawsuit over the $50 mandate.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.3358 – South Carolina REAL
I.D. Act
Allows the state to comply
with federal REAL I.D. requirements, while also allowing citizens to opt out of
REAL I.D.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by the
governor
H.4683 – Beachfront
Management Reform Act
Establishes a beachfront
setback line at the most seaward of the established 2012 line, or the line
established through a review or appeal of the proposed 2017 line. The law also
states data cannot be used to determine new lines from an erosion zone within
eighteen months of it being impacted by a storm system named by the National
Weather Service. Additionally, the law sets procedures and notices for DHEC to
use for any future baseline and setback line establishment cycles, including a
clarification of an appeals process.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
Public Safety
H.4496 – Enhanced Ban Of Sanctuary City Policies
Authorizes circuit courts to determine if a political subdivision has intentionally
violated the provisions of this law that prohibit interfering with the enforcement
of state or federal immigration policies. If a political subdivision is found
to be in violation, it will be barred from receiving Local Government Fund
appropriations for at least three consecutive years.
STATUS:H.4496
was not passed by the Senate, but its language and enforcement mechanisms were
added to the budget
H.3208 – Increased Penalties
For Acts Of Terrorism
Mandates
prison sentences of not more than 30 years for individuals who plan an act of
terrorism and not more than 20 years in prison for anyone who supports an act
of terrorism, including financial assistance.
STATUS:Blocked by the
Senate
H.3548 – SC Unborn Child
Protection From Dismemberment Abortion Act
Bans dismemberment abortion
procedures in which a physician uses forceps to pull apart the unborn child
before removing it in pieces.
STATUS:Filibustered by the Senate
H.4033 – Work Zone Safety
Act
Strengthens penalties for those
who endanger the life of highway workers. The bill was proposed by the Aiken
County legislative delegation in response to hit-and-run deaths of two Aiken
County SCDOT workers.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.3329 – Human Trafficking
Penalties And Detection Measures
Expands definitions and
penalties for convicted human traffickers and enacts harsher punishments for
those trafficking individuals under the age of 18 to provide that a first time
offender will be convicted of a felony and imprisoned for not more than 30 years.
A second or subsequent conviction carries a sentence of not more than 45 years.
This legislation grants the Attorney General’s office and the Human Trafficking
Task Force the flexibility and law enforcement resources needed to
appropriately address concerns.
STATUS: Passed by the
House and Senate and signed by the governor
S.805 – Creation Of
Children’s Advocacy Department
Creates the Department of
Children’s Advocacy to ensure children under the care of a state agency,
particularly children served by the child welfare or juvenile justice systems,
receive timely, safe, and effective services and to receive and investigate
complaints related to the provision of services for children.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
Consumer Protection
S.105 – Automatic Stay
Reform
Shortens the amount of time environmental
groups are able to hold up construction of important business development
projects in administrative law court.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
Opioid Abuse Prevention
H.3819 – Prescription
Requirements For Minors
Establishes requirements
related to prescribing opioid analgesics to minors.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.3822 - Controlled Substance
Schedules
Adds the Code Commissioner
for Controlled Substance Scheduling Updates.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.3826 - Tamper Proof
Prescription Pads
Requires written
prescriptions for any Schedule II, III, IV, and V controlled substance to be
written on tamper-resistant prescription pads that contain one or more
industry-recognized features.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.4117 – Drug Court Access
To Prescription Monitoring Program
Revises confidentiality
provisions for the Prescription Monitoring Program maintained by the South
Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to provide
program data to a presiding judge of a drug court pertaining to a specific case
involving a designated person.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.4487 - DHEC Reforms
Updates Title 44 based on the
recommendations of the House Legislative Oversight Committee’s review and study
of DHEC.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.4488 – Confidentiality
Exceptions For Coroners And Deputy Coroners
Expands the list of persons
to which the DHEC’s Bureau of Drug Control may provide prescription monitoring
program data so that it also includes a coroner, deputy coroner,medical
examiner, or deputy medical examiner who is involved in an official inquiry into
the cause and manner of a person’s death.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.4600- Community
Distribution Of Opioid Overdose Antidotes
Authorizes pharmacists to dispense
opioid overdose antidotes to certain community organizations to distribute to a
person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose or to a caregiver of
such person.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.4601 - Licensure for
Addiction Counselors
Requires an addiction
counselor to be licensed by the Department of Labor, Licensure, and Regulation. After October 1,
2018, an addiction counselor applicant must have a master’s degree or higher
and meet the other licensure requirements imposed on professional counselors
and marriage and family therapists.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
S.918 - Opioid
Prescription Limits
Provides the components of
Prescription Report Cards and sets an initial opioid prescription supply limit
at 7 days for acute pain treatment and post-operative pain treatment.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
S.302 - Opioid Related
Education
Requires opioid related
education in the Department of Education’s health standards as well as requires
students at higher education institutions with degrees in health care
professions that allows the person to prescribe Schedules II, III, and IV
controlled substances to complete coursework on the prescription and monitoring
of Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances, including coursework on the
prescribing of Schedule II controlled substances to treat or manage pain, and
strategies that can be employed to recognize signs of and reduce the likelihood
of patient addiction.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
Education
H.3427 – Computer Science
Curriculum In Public Schools
Requires the State Board of
Education to adopt and incorporate grade appropriate computer science standards
into the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum.
STATUS:Blocked by the Senate
H.3343 - School
Facilities/Capital Infrastructure
Allows economically
challenged school districts that do not have the financial ability to secure
school maintenance bonds to seek bonding approval. The bill requires school
districts to institute reforms in order to have their bond request backed by
the state.
STATUS: Blocked by the Senate
H.3034 – In-state Tuition
For Veterans And Their Dependents
Complies with updated federal
requirements and qualifies veterans and their dependents who use the G.I. Bill
and certain other benefits the ability to pay in-state tuition at South
Carolina public institutions of higher learning.
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and signed by
the governor
H.3035 - Increasing Access
to Higher Education for Veterans
Eliminates the 12-month
waiting period for veterans and active duty service members to establish
residency in order to obtain in-state tuition rates at colleges and
universities.
STATUS: Blocked by the Senate
Ratepayer Protections
Addressing the VC Summer Nuclear Project Fallout
H.4375 and S.954 -
Conference Committee Reports
A joint House and Senate
conference committee met to iron out differences and solidify reports on two
bills passed this session to address the VC Summer nuclear facility fallout. The
agreed upon provisions included in bills H.4375 and S.954 are as follows:
Reduces the nuclear surcharge from over 18% to 3.19% by removing every SCE&G rate increase approved after 2010
Repeals the Base Load Review Act
Reforms the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS)
Creates a consumer advocate for ratepayers
Allows for long term rate relief by defining the terms of “prudent” and “imprudent”
Gives ORS the tools needed to access confidential documents of utilities and subpoena powers
Eliminates the July 12, 2018 deadline whereby the PSC must make a decision on the SCANA-Dominion merger
Establishes a new timeline for the PSC to make a decision by December 21, 2018
STATUS: Passed by the House and Senate and either
signed by the governor or veto overridden
Highlights Included in
Fiscal Year 2018-2019 State Budget
The House and Senate worked
together this year to craft a responsible budget that provides for South
Carolina’s basic needs and services. Provisions included in the appropriations bill are as follows:
School Safety
Appropriates funding for door locks, security cameras, medical detectors, and student resource officers (SRO)
Education
Increases base student cost to better assist teachers and help meet students’ needs
Provides additional funding for school buses
Allocates monies for technical schools to train and equip students for skilled industry jobs
Public Safety
Provides additional funding for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) laboratory for enhanced forensic testing capabilities, which will help decrease the backlog of evidence testing in pending criminal cases.
Increases pay for correctional officers in order to fill much-needed positions.
Gives the Department of Corrections additional flexibility within its budget for critical security upgrades.
Tax Conformity
H.5341 - South Carolina
Income Tax Reform
Reinstates personal income
tax exemptions that South Carolina taxpayers have benefited from for decades.Historically,
South Carolina has conformed its state income tax structure to the federal
Internal Revenue Code. However, the tax reform package Congress passed last
December could result in severe financial consequences for South Carolina
taxpayers if a bill is not passed in 2018 to address concerns.
STATUS: Stalled in the Senate, but included in the
Sine Die resolution to allow consideration in a Special Session
It's an honor and privilege to represent each and every person in SC House District #39. Feel free to reach out to me and give your opinion on any issue at calforrest@schouse.gov