State House Week

South Carolina has a new, restrictive abortion law. The House of Representatives this week gave final passage to the Fetal Heartbeat Bill which bans most abortions, and Gov. McMaster signed it into law. While the new law is now in effect, it’s already being challenged in court by two groups, Planned Parenthood and the Greenville Women’s Clinic. Federal courts have found similar laws in other states to be unconstitutional, and the US Supreme Court has yet to rule on just how far a state can go in

When state lawmakers return to Columbia next week the House of Representatives is expected to debate the Fetal Heartbeat Abortion bill. The measure, which has already been approved by the Senate, would forbid doctors from performing abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected usually around the sixth week of pregnancy.

The slow pace of COVID vaccinations across the state, and the need to vaccinate teachers in an effort to get more students in classrooms reached a boiling point at the Statehouse this week.

It took 16 attempts over 30 years, but this week the State Senate passed a bill that bans most abortions in the state. Using its new commanding Republican majority the Senate approved the so-called "fetal heartbeat" bill which prohibits doctors from performing an abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. That usually occurs six to eight weeks into a pregnancy. The vote was along party lines. Charleston’s Sandy Senn … one of three Republican women members was the only Republican to join with Democrats in opposing the measure. The bill now goes to the House where easier passage is expected.

Once again this legislative session, conservative members of the SC General Assembly are attempting to restrict abortion in the state. A bill that would ban almost all abortions is being fast tracked in the State Senate. In past years abortion bills have been derailed in the upper chamber. But this session, with a new, stronger Republican majority, supporters hope to finally be able to pass the bill and send it to the House where it has passed before.

This year’s session of the S.C. General Assembly got underway this week with one member describing it as "a session not like any other." Most lawmakers wore masks as the lingering COVID pandemic altered many time-honored legislative traditions. Adding to the unusual atmosphere at the Statehouse, were extra state police manning posts in and around the building following last week’s insurrection in Washington. Neither the House or Senate will meet next week during the Presidential inauguration.

Like the state as a whole, the Sc General Assembly is being impacted by the coronavirus. The House and Senate held separate, one day sessions this week to approve an emergency appropriation for DHEC to help the public health agency deal with the growing pandemic.

The state is on its way to having a record state budget. The House of Representatives this week approved next year’s state spending package, and for the first time it totals over $10 Billion .

After two years of work and eight weeks of gridlock on the floor of the State Senate … Senators this week were finally able to pass the sweeping School Improvement Bill. Education Committee Chairman Gregg Hembree called it a long, and arduous journey. The bill aims to improve teacher working conditions, streamline required student testing, and give more authority to the state to deal with local school districts that are failing. The bill now goes to the House which passed a similar bill last year. The two versions will have to be reconciled this spring.

The S.C. State Senate this week voted to limit debate on the massive public school improvement bill. Senators have been considering the bill for seven weeks. Senate leaders hope to move to a final vote on the bill next week.