Budget Also Contains Off-Shore Oil Prohibition The S.C. General Assembly passes hundreds of bills and resolutions each year, but the most important measure enacted by the legislature is the annual State Appropriations Bill. That’s the state’s operating budget for the next fiscal year which begins on July 1. Not only does the budget provide the funding for state government to operate, it also identifies the priority needs of the state. This week the State Senate advanced the $9 Billion budget

State lawmakers are in the final month of this year’s legislative session with most of this year's priority bills still being debated. This week, a Senate sub-committee opted to hold until next year's session a controversial portion of the massive school improvement bill in hopes of securing passage of the remainder of the bill this year. The bill which has already passed in the House of Representatives is viewed as the most important matter for the legislature this session. The so-called

This year’s attempt by pro-life members of the state legislature to pass restrictions on abortions is centered in the House of Representatives. A bill that would ban almost all abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected in a woman passed the House Judiciary Committee this week on a mostly party line vote. Experts say a fetal heartbeat can typically be detected around the sixth week of pregnancy. Similar laws have been enacted by other states as abortion foes hope to get a case before the US

S.C. lawmakers had hoped to keep the decks at the Statehouse clear this legislative session to be able to focus on improving the state’s public school system. A major education bill has already been approved by the House. But matters regarding the state’s energy future are generating a lot of attention. Aside from the enormous question of whether or not the state should sell Santee Cooper, the debt-plagued state owned utility, the future of solar energy in the state is being debated.

After months of discussion about Santee Cooper, the SC General Assembly this week took the first official actions that could lead to the eventual sale of the state-owned utility. The State House of Representatives and Senate are considering Joint Resolutions that would begin a process to sell Santee Cooper which is burdened by an enormous debt incurred from the collapse of the giant V.C. Summer Nuclear Project in 2017.

This year’s session of the state legislature is at the half-way mark. And right on schedule this week the House of Representatives passed its’ version of next year’s $9 Billion state spending package. It now goes to the Senate. To pay for this year’s push to improve public education the budget contains millions of new education dollars. $160 Million dollars for teacher pay raises. The House version also funds two percent pay raises for state workers, and $32 Million to help shore-up the state’s

The S.C. House of Representatives this week overwhelmingly passed a major bill that overhauls the state’s education system. It pumps more money into the system, gives the state education superintendent more ability to take over low-performing school districts, and creates a nearly $100 Million fund to help bring businesses to places where schools are poor and struggling. The state’s low performing school system is hurting South Carolina’s businesses, and the state's Republican leadership is

The S.C. General Assembly is attempting to exert its authority over local governments in this year’s legislative session. The House of Representatives this week passed and sent to the Senate a bill that would stop local governments from passing regulations on cigarettes and vaping products. Supporters of the bill say such power should rest only with the state so as to prevent a mixed bag of laws and regulations from popping up across the state. What promises to be a more contentious issue this

South Carolina’s teachers have made their voices heard at the Statehouse as lawmakers debate a major public education reform bill. From the moment House Speaker Jay Lucas and dozens of fellow House members introduced the 84 page omnibus bill last month, teachers have been demanding changes. This week, Republican leaders in the legislature sought to re-assure them. A House education committee is now moving to incorporate some teacher backed changes to the bill.

Comprehensive bills to improve the state’s troubled public education system are being debated in both the State House and Senate. Last month House Speaker Jay Lucas (R-Darlington) and dozens of other lawmakers introduced an 84 page bill aimed at improving student readiness for the workplace, help for rural school districts that are struggling, and perhaps most importantly increasing teacher retention. Most agree that the critical component to school improvement is insuring there are enough good,