During the 1998 legislative year, the General Assembly again placed substantial emphasis on education - both kindergarten through grade twelve and post-secondary education. This emphasis is seen in both the 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill, where a great portion of the new funds appropriated is dedicated to education, as well as in comprehensive bills passed in 1998 which specifically address both public and higher education.

Substantial funding is included in the 1998-99 budget bill for implementation of the provisions of S.850, the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998. This comprehensive legislation, which impacts grades kindergarten through twelve, requires establishment of detailed, grade level academic standards in specified subjects, and requires assessment of students' and schools' success in meeting these standards. Schools' performance on both meeting standards and on improvement from past performance ratings will be graded annually, and report cards on these ratings will be mailed to parents and advertised in the newspaper.

Building on the improved public school performance that the Education Accountability Act is expected to bring, the General Assembly passed H.4535, which creates two new tuition assistance programs. These programs - one providing scholarships and one providing tuition tax credits - will dramatically improve the availability of a college education for South Carolina's children. The Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence (LIFE) scholarship program offers direct academic scholarships to qualified students. Tuition tax credits are offered for students who do not meet the academic requirements for the LIFE and the current Palmetto Fellows Scholarship programs. Funding for both the LIFE scholarship and tuition tax credits is included in the 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill.

The General Assembly again prioritized tax relief by including an additional $30 million in the 1998-99 budget to annualize and maintain the homeowner property tax relief program. Also, the Senate agreed to the House's proposal to establish, by permanent proviso in the budget, the Trust Fund for Tax Relief. This fund, which totals $354 million for 1998-99, guarantees the residential property tax exemption, the homestead exemption for persons over age 65 or disabled, the business inventory tax exemption, and the manufacturers' additional depreciation reimbursement.

The 1998-99 budget bill includes a 2.5% state employee pay raise, effective July 1, 1998. Also in the budget bill, senior citizens will benefit from $11 million in additional funding to be used for nursing home beds and for additional community long-term care slots.

The General Assembly enacted important legislation in the area of criminal justice with passage of the Sexually Violent Predator Act. This legislation establishes an involuntary commitment procedure to prevent sexually violent predators from engaging in repeated acts of sexual violence. If a court determines that it is not safe for a sexually violent offender who is about to be released from prison to re-enter society, the offender may be committed in a secure environment until he is no longer a threat to the general public.

Another important law passed by the General Assembly concerns access to the information in the Sex Offender Registry. Sex offenders must register annually for life with the sheriff in the county where they reside. This legislation provides greater public access to the information contained in the sex offender registry by allowing a person to obtain from SLED (S.C. Law Enforcement Division) a list of registered sex offenders residing in a city, a county, a zip code zone, or a list of all registered sex offenders within the State.

This year the General Assembly took a "zero tolerance" approach to drivers under the age of 21 who use alcohol. Under the provisions of the bill passed this year, an underage driver who has a blood alcohol level of .02 or higher will have his driving privileges suspended automatically for three months (or for six months if the driver refuses to take the chemical tests). This legislation also includes a proposal to reexamine whether the state should continue to require bars and restaurants to serve their liquor from minibottles. If voters decide to amend the S.C. Constitution and end the use of minibottles in a referendum that would be held in the year 2000, the inference that someone was driving under the influence would drop to a .08 blood-alcohol level (the current law infers that a person is driving under the influence if he or she has a .10 blood-alcohol reading). The bill also bans the sale of malt liquor in a container of more than one liter. This ban would take effect July 1, 2000, unless the General Assembly enacts legislation based on a study committee's examination of how malt liquor is marketed and sold.

The General Assembly passed a number of bills to enhance the quality of care which South Carolinians receive under health insurance plans. The General Assembly passed H.3889, the Access to Emergency Medical Care Act, which requires medical personnel to initiate appropriate intervention to stabilize any emergency medical condition before requesting authorization for the treatment from a managed care organization. The General Assembly also approved H.3985, the Omnibus Health Benefits and Education Act of 1998, which requires a health benefit plan to allow its adult female enrollees a minimum of two visits each year, without prior approval, to an obstetrician-gynecologist ( OB/GYN ) in the health benefit plan. The act also requires that all health insurers which provide coverage for mastectomies, must provide coverage for hospitalization for at least forty-eight hours following the mastectomy and cover prosthetic devices and restorative surgery so as to produce a symmetrical appearance. Additionally, the bill requires all health insurers to provide coverage for mammograms, annual pap smears, and prostate cancer examinations. Lawmakers also passed S.535 which provides for privacy of genetic information with regard to insurance coverage. The legislation aims to encourage individuals to obtain potentially life-saving information from genetic tests without fear of an adverse impact on their insurance rates.

The 1998 legislative session ended without resolving the issue of personal property tax relief. The House of Representatives passed legislation which proposed to eliminate taxes which South Carolinians pay on automobiles and other personal property, but this legislation did not pass the Senate. The Senate passed legislation which proposed a constitutional amendment allowing a county governing body to lower the tax assessment of the value of personal property including cars, boats, motors, and aircrafts. The Senate's joint resolution was not reported out of House committee before the legislative session ended.

The General Assembly also considered, but did not pass, measures pertaining to gambling. The House passed and sent to the Senate legislation which would have banned video poker in South Carolina, effective June 1, 1999. The Senate adjourned debate on the House-passed bill. The Senate also adjourned debate on S.947, another bill which would have banned video poker effective June 1, 1999. Both bills remained on the Senate calendar when the legislative session ended. A video poker ban also was included in the House-passed 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill, but the Senate conferees voted against including it in the final bill and the ban therefore was not included in the final budget.

The House Ways and Means Committee gave a report of favorable with amendment to a Joint Resolution which proposed amending the South Carolina Constitution so as to establish a state-run lottery. The proceeds of the lottery would have been used to fund scholarships for in-state residents to attend South Carolina's postsecondary institutions. The joint resolution was recommitted from the House floor to the Ways and Means Committee and was not reported out of that committee before the legislative session ended.

The House passed significant legislation which was not approved by the Senate. The House passed two bills that would have shortened the legislative session. The House also passed a bill raising the speed limit on the interstate to seventy miles per hour, but that bill did not pass the Senate. The magistrates court reform bill, designed to toughen the standards and educational requirements for magistrates, passed the House but was not given final consideration by the Senate. The House-passed bill that would have abolished the use of affirmative action programs and quotas by the state and its political subdivisions was not taken up by the Senate. The House also passed a bill extending the provisions of Truth in Sentencing to all crimes and establishing advisory sentencing guidelines for judges to use. This legislation did not receive final consideration by the Senate. Given the interest which these initiatives have generated among lawmakers, many of these issues are likely to be revisited when the 113th General Assembly convenes in January of 1999.

ENACTED

Access to Emergency Medical Care Act (H.3889)

Check Cashing and Presentment Services (S.994)

Child Labor Violations (S.534)

Commercial Mobile Radio Services
911 Emergency Telephone Service (S.778)

Electronic Commerce (S.1167)

Freedom of Information Act Revision (S.22)

Genetic Information (S.535)

Investment of State Employee's Pension Funds (S.958)

Marriage Ban Removal (H.4303)

Omnibus Health Benefits and Education Act (H.3985)

Psychologists, Counselors, Therapists
and Psycho-Educational Specialists (S.718)

South Carolina Education Accountability Act (S.850)

South Carolina Patients' Insurance and Benefits Protection Act (S.310)

Sex Offender Registry Information (H.4805)

Sexually Violent Predator Act (H.4360)

Special Purpose Districts (S.757)

RATIFIED

Driver's License Qualifications (H.3300)

School Safety Act (H.4804)

Tuition Assistance (H.4535)

Zero-Tolerance & DUI Legislation (S.174)

PASSED THE HOUSE, BUT NOT THE SENATE

Advisory Sentencing Guidelines (H.3842)

Affirmative Action Prohibition (H.4115)

Magistrates Court Reform Act (H.4378)

Personal Property Tax Relief (H.4846, H.4847)

Video Poker Ban (H.4577)

Shortening the Legislative Session (H.3041, H.3042)

Speed Limits (H.3150)

PASSED THE SENATE, BUT NOT THE HOUSE

Personal Property Tax Relief (S.1055)

These summaries highlight some of the major bills considered by the General Assembly this year. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the matters debated by the legislature in 1998. Major legislation is summarized here in a format which is intended to be more accessible than a simple reading of the bills, joint resolutions, and acts. This report, which covers legislative activity through June 17, 1998, is a guide to, not a substitute for, the full text of the legislation summarized.

NOTE: Legislation which did not pass in the 1998 session is not carried over into the 1999 legislative year. Such legislation will be considered in the future only if it is re-introduced.

CHILD LABOR

The General Assembly passed S.534 which revises fines for violations of regulations prohibiting oppressive child labor. Prior to this legislation, an employer who violated child labor regulations was issued a written warning for a first offense and fined not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars for each subsequent offense. The bill eliminates these punishments, and instead authorizes the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation to impose a fine of no more than one thousand dollars for a first offense in lieu of a written warning. For a second or subsequent offense, an employer may be fined not more than five thousand dollars per offense. The Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation shall determine the amount of the penalty according to regulations promulgated by the department which base penalties on the size of the business of the violator, the gravity of the violation, the good faith of the employer, and any history of previous violations.

STATUS: Signed into law by the Governor on 6/9/98.

COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICES
911 EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SERVICE

The General Assembly passed S.778 which creates a monthly surcharge for commercial mobile radio service with funds to be used to enhance 911 emergency telephone services. Under the legislation, users of commercial mobile radio services (including cellular phone and personal communications service, PCS) pay a monthly charge the amount of which may not exceed the average monthly telephone 911 charge paid in South Carolina. This user fee is collected by the CMRS provider and deposited in a separate interest-bearing account within the State Treasurer's Office. The account is managed by the Budget and Control Board through the Office of Information Resources in conjunction with a Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency Telephone Advisory Committee, created under the legislation. The membership of the CMRS Emergency Telephone Services Advisory Committee is appointed by the Governor and composed of: the State Auditor, ex officio; the Director of the Office of Information Resources in the Budget and Control Board, ex officio; two licensed CMRS providers; two 911 system employees; and one local exchange access facility telephone service supplier. Committee members receive no reimbursement for expenses or per diem payments. Funds in the account are to be primarily expended to upgrade emergency services hardware and software, and distributed to Public Safety Answering Points to defray costs incurred in handling 911 calls.

STATUS: The bill became law without the signature of the Governor on 6/11/98.

CHECK-CASHING AND DEFERRED PRESENTMENT SERVICES

The General Assembly passed S.994 which provides for the regulation of Check-Cashing Services and Deferred Presentment Services. This legislation provides for the licensure and regulation of check-cashing services by the State Board of Financial Institutions. The legislation allows for two levels of licensure. Under Level I licensure, the license holder may also be licensed to engage in deferred presentment services. Under Level II licensure, deferred presentment services are not allowed. Under neither level of licensure may a licensee operate video poker. The legislation requires the licensee to keep written records for all transactions. A licensee must maintain liquid assets of at least fifty thousand dollars. A licensee must deposit a check no later than five days from the date the check is cashed. The legislation sets fees for check-cashing as follows: 2% of the face value or $3, whichever is greater, for State or Federal Government checks; 2% of face value or $3, whichever is greater, for printed payroll checks; and 7% of face value or $5, whichever is greater, for all other checks or money orders. The legislation regulates and requires the licensure of mobile check-cashing vehicles. The legislation imposes a two hundred fifty dollar application fee and a five hundred dollar investigation fee. Licenses expire annually and may be renewed upon payment of a two hundred fifty dollar fee plus a fifty dollar fee for each branch location.

This legislation establishes annual licensing under the State Board of Financial Institutions for those who offer deferred presentment services, and provides for the regulation of such services. Deferred presentment services involve accepting a fee in exchange for the service of accepting a dated check and holding that check for a period of time prior to presentment for payment or deposit. Among other restrictions, the legislation: sets a three hundred dollar limit on the amount of the check taken for deferred presentment (exclusive of fees); caps fees for presentment at fifteen percent of the face value of the check accepted; limits to thirty one days the amount of time a check may be held for deferred presentment; disallows the acceptance of post-dated, unprinted, or counter checks; forbids video poker on premises; and, requires conspicuous posting of fees for deferred presentment services. Under the bill, applicants for a license must disclose all other businesses in which they are involved. The Board of Financial Institutions is authorized to generate regulations to ensure that adequate records are maintained by those who engage in deferred presentment services.

STATUS: Became law without the Governor's signature on 6/11/98.

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

The General Assembly passed S.1167, the South Carolina Electronic Commerce Act. This legislation is designed to facilitate and promote public confidence in electronic commerce and online government by clarifying the legal status of electronic records and electronic signatures. The legislation provides that secure electronic records and signatures are as legally valid and admissible as other records and signatures written and recorded by more traditional means. Criteria is established by which electronic records and signatures may be considered "secure." The Budget and Control Board is authorized to make regulations to implement the use of electronic records, electronic signatures, and appropriate security procedures by the state's political subdivisions. The Secretary of State is authorized to implement the use of model procedures for all other purposes, including private commercial transactions and contracts.

STATUS: Signed into law by the Governor on 5/26/98.

ADVISORY SENTENCING GUIDELINES

The House passed H.3842, the bill extending the provisions of Truth in Sentencing to all crimes and establishing advisory sentencing guidelines for crimes with maximum penalties of one year or more. The bill provides that the court should consider the guidelines when determining the appropriate sentence for applicable criminal offenses. The advisory sentencing guidelines use a two-dimensional grid to determine the appropriate sentence for offenders. The intersection of the horizontal and vertical score (based on several factors concerning the crime and the offender) meet at the appropriate sentencing grid cell. Within each grid cell, there are three sentencing ranges - the presumptive range (for cases with no extraordinary circumstances), the aggravating range (for cases warranting a longer sentence because of aggravating sentences), and the mitigating range (for cases warranting a lesser sentence because of mitigating factors). The bill also gives the court discretionary authority to determine if a departure from the guidelines' recommendation is warranted. The court may consider such factors as whether the defendant assisted in the investigation or prosecution of another person, or whether the defendant caused the victim to suffer protracted physical or mental harm.

The bill also extends the provisions of Truth in Sentencing to all crimes. A prisoner convicted of a crime and sentenced to the Department of Corrections would not be eligible for early release, discharge, or community supervision until the prisoner has served 85% of the actual term of imprisonment imposed (the provisions of Truth in Sentencing currently apply only to "no parole offenses"). This percentage must be calculated without the application of earned work credits, education credits, and good time credits. All or part of these credits may be forfeited at the discretion of the Director of the Department of Corrections if the offender commits an offense or violates one of the rules of the institution.

STATUS - The House passed H.3842. The bill was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee but did not receive full Senate approval before the 1998 legislative session ended.

MAGISTRATES COURT REFORM

The House passed H.4378, the Magistrates Court Reform Act of 1998. This bill requires a magistrate appointed to office after July 1, 1999 to have a four-year baccalaureate degree (although a grandfathering provision exempts any magistrate serving on 7/1/99 from this provision). The South Carolina Court Administration, in cooperation with the technical college system, must administer an eligibility exam to test the basic skills of persons seeking an initial appointment as a magistrate after July 1, 1999. The senatorial delegation must use the results of the eligibility exams to assist in its selection of nominees (the Governor appoints magistrates with the advice and consent of the Senate). Persons may be exempted from taking the examination if certain prescribed educational equivalency requirements have been met. The bill also requires magistrates to observe 10 trials before presiding over a trial. Magistrates would be paid by the state through the SC Court Administration, and counties would be prohibited from supplementing the salaries of magistrates.

STATUS - H.4378 passed the House and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but was not reported out of that committee before the 1998 legislative session ended. The Senate's plan for magistrates court reform (S.885) was also reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee but did not receive full Senate approval before the 1998 legislative session ended.

MARRIAGE BAN REMOVAL

The General Assembly passed H. 4303, a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the State Constitution that would delete the language in the constitution which prohibits marriage between Caucasian and African-American persons. Such prohibitions were declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in the 1967 case Loving v. Virginia.

STATUS - The joint resolution was approved by the General Assembly this year. In November, voters will vote to approve the constitutional amendment.

SCHOOL SAFETY ACT OF 1998

The School Safety Act of 1998 provides the governing body of a municipality or county with the authority to designate school resource officers to work within the local government's school systems. The school resource officer will have statewide jurisdiction to arrest persons committing crimes in connection with a school activity or school-sponsored event. The bill also requires school administrators to contact law enforcement officers immediately upon notice that a person is engaging or about to engage in school-related crime. The failure of a school administrator to report the criminal conduct will subject the administrator and the school district to liability to pay a party's attorney's fees and the costs associated with an action to compel compliance with the reporting requirements. The bill also adds notification requirements if a student has been convicted of certain weapons or drug offenses. The appropriate agency (for example, the Department of Juvenile Justice) or the clerk of court (if the student is not sentenced to probation or incarceration) is required to provide immediate notice of the student's conviction or adjudication to the senior administrator of the school where the student is or was enrolled.

The provisions of the School Safety Act were added to a bill which revises the penalty for threatening the life of a public employee. This legislation prohibits anyone from knowingly and wilfully conveying to a public official, a teacher, or a principal any communication which contains a threat to take the life of or to inflict bodily harm upon the public employee or his immediate family if the threat is directly related to the public employee's professional responsibilities. Violators will be fined up to five thousand dollars and/or imprisoned up to five years. The legislation also prohibits a person from knowingly and wilfully conveying to a public employee (excluding teachers or principals) a writing or verbal or electronic communication which contains a threat to take the life of or to inflict bodily harm upon the public employee or members of his immediate family if the threat is directly related to the public employee's official responsibilities. Violators will be fined up to five hundred dollars and/or imprisoned up to thirty days.

STATUS - The provisions of H.4631, the School Safety Act of 1998, were added to H.4804 in the Senate. H.4804 was ratified on June 17, 1998.

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY INFORMATION

H.4805 concerns the release of sex offender registry information to the public. Sex offenders must register annually for life with the sheriff in the county where they reside. This legislation provides greater public access to the information contained by the sex offender registry by allowing a person to obtain from SLED (S.C. Law Enforcement Division) a list of registered sex offenders residing in a city, a county, a zip code zone, or a list of all registered sex offenders within the State. A person may request information regarding a specific person who is required to register under this article from SLED if the person requesting the information provides the name or address of the person about whom the information is sought. SLED must provide the person making the request with the full names of the requested registered sex offenders, any aliases, any other physical identifying characteristics, each offender's date of birth, a current home address, the offense for which the offender was required to register, and the date, city, and state of conviction.

A sheriff must release information regarding a specific person required to register to a member of the public if the request is made in writing. The legislation authorizes the sheriff to disseminate information from the registry regarding a specific person if the sheriff has reason to believe the release of the information will deter the criminal activity (deleting the requirement that the sheriff must be presented with facts giving rise to a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before releasing information about a specific person).

The bill also adds an additional requirement for offenders determined to be sexually violent predators. While sex offenders are required to register annually, this legislation requires a person adjudicated as a sexually violent predator to verify registration and be photographed every 90 days by the sheriff's department.

The act states that it is the duty of the offender to contact the sheriff in order to register. An offender may not knowingly and wilfully give false information when registering. These crimes are punishable by imprisonment.

STATUS - H.4805 was ratified on June 06, 1998. On June 12, 1998, the bill was signed by the Governor.

SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATOR ACT

H.4360, the Sexually Violent Predator Act, establishes procedures for determining if a person is a sexually violent predator and provides for the civil commitment of persons found to be sexually violent predators. A "sexually violent predator" is defined as a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in acts of sexual violence if the person is not confined in a secure facility.

The legislation requires the Director of the Department of Corrections to appoint a team to review the records to determine if a person is a sexually violent predator and to forward a report of the assessment to the prosecutor's review committee appointed by the Attorney General. If the prosecutor's review committee determines that probable cause exists to support the allegation that the person is a sexually violent predator, the Attorney General may file a petition with the court in the jurisdiction where the person committed the offense. The petition, which must be filed within thirty days of the probable cause determination by the prosecutor's review committee, will request the court to make a probable cause determination as to whether the person is a sexually violent predator. If a court determines that it is not safe for a sexually violent offender who is about to be released from prison to re-enter society, the offender may be committed in a secure environment until he is no longer a threat to the general public.

STATUS - H.4360 was ratified on June 04, 1998 and signed into law by the Governor on June 5, 1998.

ZERO TOLERANCE & D.U.I. LEGISLATION

S.174 requires the Department of Public Safety to suspend the driver's license of a person under the age of 21 who drives a motor vehicle and has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .02 or more. If a person under age 21 refuses to submit to a chemical test, the Department of Public Safety must suspend his license for 6 months (or for one year if the person within the five years preceding the violation of this section, has been convicted of driving under the influence). If a person under age 21 submits to a chemical test and the test result indicates a BAC of .02 or more, the department must suspend his license for 3 months (or 6 months if the person, within the 5 years preceding the violation of this section, has been convicted of DUI).

Additionally, the bill provides that a test may not be administered or samples taken unless the person has been informed in writing that he does not have to take the test or give the samples, but that his privilege to drive must be suspended or denied for at least 6 months if he refuses to submit to the tests and that his refusal may be used against him in court. The person must be informed that his privilege to drive will be suspended for at least 3 months if he takes the test or gives the samples and has an alcohol concentration of .02 or more; that he has the right to have a qualified person of his own choosing conduct additional independent tests at his expense; he has the right to request an administrative hearing within 10 days of the issuance of the notice of suspension; and that he must enroll in an Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program (ADSAP) within 10 days of the issuance of the notice of suspension.

The person may obtain a temporary alcohol restricted license, which allows the person to drive without any restrictive conditions pending the outcome of the administrative hearing, or the final decision or disposition of the matter (this license must be obtained within 10 days of the issuance of the notice of suspension). If the person does not ask for the administrative hearing within the 10 days, he waives his right to the hearing and his suspension must not be stayed. At the hearing, if the suspension is upheld, the person's driver's license must be suspended; if the suspension is overturned, the person must have his driver's license reinstated and is not required to complete ADSAP.

This legislation also encompasses a proposal to reexamine whether the state should continue to require bars and restaurants to serve their liquor from minibottles, which is required by our state constitution. Minibottles contain more alcohol than what would be poured in a normal mixed drink. If the voters decide to amend the constitution and end the use of minibottles in a referendum that would be held in the year 2000, the inference that someone was driving under the influence would drop to a .08 blood-alcohol level. The current law infers that a person is driving under the influence if he or she has a .10 blood-alcohol reading.

The legislation includes a proposal to ban the sale of any container of more than one liter of malt liquor. This ban would take effect July 1, 2000, unless the General Assembly enacts legislation based on a study committee's recommendations after the committee studies how malt liquor is marketed and sold.

STATUS: The Senate adopted the conference report on June 6, 1998, and the House adopted the conference report on June 16, 1998. The bill was ratified on June 17, 1998.

THE SC EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1998

Both the House and the Senate passed a plan for education accountability for grades K-12. A House-Senate conference committee worked out the differences between the two plans, and the result of their negotiations is the SC Education Accountability Act of 1998 ( S.850). This comprehensive legislation defines accountability as acceptance of the responsibility for improving student performance and taking actions to improve classroom performance by: the Governor, General Assembly, State Department of Education, colleges/universities, local boards of education, school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and communities.

The legislation requires establishment of detailed, grade level academic standards in specified subjects, and requires assessment of students' and schools' success in meeting these standards. The legislation provides for an academic plan for students who perform below standards and provides for retention of poorly performing students under certain conditions. Schools' performance on both meeting standards and on improvement from past performance ratings are graded annually as excellent, good, average, below average, and unsatisfactory. Standards and assessments must be reviewed every four years. Beginning in 2001, report cards on these ratings will be mailed to parents and advertised in the newspaper.

The legislation provides incentives for a school's high performance and provides for both technical and grant assistance, intervention, and in certain instances consequences, in schools that perform poorly, do not improve, and/or do not implement a plan for improvement. Teacher and principal on-site specialists, who will be paid a supplemental salary, are also provided to poorly performing schools, with the state paying their salaries plus a supplement for a specified initial period. The legislation provides for principal mentoring in poorly performing districts and provides for professional development for teachers employed in such districts and for principal training and assessment. The legislation provides competitive grants for alternative schools, for homework centers in poorly performing schools, and for an extended year or day for certain schools.

To provide oversight for overall implementation of the provisions of the legislation, the Education Oversight Committee is created, with membership representing the Governor, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the business community, and public education professionals. This committee will be staffed by employees of the Select Committee of the SC Education Improvement Act of 1984. Implementation of the legislation will be monitored and reported by the Division of Accountability, which will operate within the Education Oversight Committee and which will employ an executive director and other professional and support staff as necessary.

The legislation also adds instruction in phonics to the current list of subjects which are required to be taught, "as far as is practicable."

The legislation also includes provisions for reduction in class sizes in grades one through three, with funding going first to schools currently declared impaired, and later for schools rated as unsatisfactory. Funding for all other districts choosing to reduce class sizes will be allocated based on free and reduced lunch eligible students.

STATUS: S.850 has been ratified (R.412) and signed by the Governor. Funding for various initiatives in the Act is included in the 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill.

TUITION ASSISTANCE

The General Assembly passed H.4535, which establishes plans for tuition assistance through both a scholarship program and tuition tax credits. The scholarship plan, called Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence (LIFE), provides academic scholarships to assist with the cost of college/university attendance for college freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors who meet specified academic and residency requirements. The LIFE program offers $2,000 per year for full-time attendance at South Carolina four-year colleges, with a requirement that freshmen must have a minimum B average from high school, and a score of at least 1,000 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). For attendance at South Carolina's two year institutions, the scholarship offers $1,000 per year, with a requirement for a B average (and no minimum SAT score) for graduating high school seniors. College students qualify for both the two-year and the four-year scholarships by satisfying residency requirements and by completing at least thirty credit hours each year and earning and maintaining a B average. The 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill includes $26.5 million recurring revenue for the LIFE scholarship program.

H.4535 also provides a refundable individual income tax credit of 25% of college tuition and fees paid to South Carolina institutions, available to the person bearing the college costs for a full-time, in-state undergraduate student. The credit is capped at $850 for attendance at four-year institutions and $350 for attendance at two-year institutions. Students at two-year institutions must earn 15 credit hours each semester to remain qualified. Persons bearing the college cost for students who are Palmetto Fellow or LIFE scholarship recipients may not receive the tax credit. $7 million is included in the 1998-99 state budget to begin phasing in this credit, with an estimated 35,000 people eligible for Fiscal Year 1998-99. Full phase-in cost for the tax credit is estimated at $25 million.

STATUS - H.4535 passed both the House and the Senate and has been ratified (R535).

ACCESS TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE ACT

The General Assembly passed H.3889, the Access to Emergency Medical Care Act. This legislation requires medical personnel to initiate appropriate intervention to stabilize any emergency medical condition before requesting authorization for the treatment from a managed care organization. If, following emergency medical treatment, it is later determined that the insured patient's condition was not an actual emergency situation, the act prohibits a managed care organization from denying or reducing payments to medical care providers. A managed care organization would be able to deny or reduce payments in case of fraud or other specified situations. The act also requires a managed care organization to inform its insureds, enrollees, patients, and affiliated providers about all policies related to emergency medical care access, coverage, payment, and grievance procedures. Under the legislation, no managed care organization may engage in any practice which prohibits or discourages the appropriate use of the 911 emergency telephone system.

STATUS: Signed into law by the Governor on 6/8/98.

GENETIC INFORMATION

The General Assembly passed S.535 which provides for privacy of genetic Information with regard to insurance coverage. Supporters of the legislation contend that many individuals have been hesitant to undergo genetic testing for fear that the results of the tests will make it more difficult for them, and their blood relatives, to obtain affordable health insurance coverage. Proponents offer this legislation to encourage individuals to obtain potentially life-saving information from genetic tests without fear of an adverse impact on their insurance rates. To that end, this act prohibits insurers from denying or restricting coverage on an individual on the basis of information obtained in genetic tests. An accident or health insurer may not require a person to consent to disclosure of genetic information as a condition for obtaining accident and health insurance. Neither may an insurer charge rates which vary on the basis of information obtained from genetic tests.

Under the legislation, it is unlawful to perform a genetic test on blood, urine, or any other biological sample without consent, unless the test is performed: (1) by a law enforcement agency in a criminal investigation; (2) to identify a dead body; (3) in the course of a scientific study where the identities of test subjects are not disclosed; (4) to establish paternity; or (5) pursuant to statute or specific court order. Under the legislation, all genetic information is confidential, and such information may be released only: (1) if the information is necessary to a criminal investigation, inquest, or proceeding; to identify a dead body; (2) pursuant to a court order; (3) when disclosure of the genetic information of a deceased individual would assist medical diagnosis of blood relatives; (4) to establish paternity; or (5) as required by state or federal statute.

Civil remedies are provided for individuals harmed by unauthorized disclosure or use of genetic information. The act authorizes the following remedies: equitable relief, which may include a retroactive order, directing that health insurance be provided under the same terms and conditions as would have applied had the violation not occurred; actual damages; and, recovery of costs and reasonable attorney fees.

STATUS: Signed into law by the Governor on 5/26/98.

OMNIBUS HEALTH BENEFITS AND EDUCATION ACT OF 1998

The General Assembly passed H.3985, the Omnibus Health Benefits and Education Act of 1998. The legislation requires a health benefit plan to allow its female enrollees, who are at least thirteen years of age, a minimum of two visits each year, without prior approval, to a obstetrician-gynecologist ( OB/GYN ) in the health benefit plan. Should the OB/GYN find during these two visits that continued treatment is medically necessary, additional visits must be authorized by the health benefit plan. The health benefit plan must notify enrollees of these benefits. The act also requires that all health insurers which provide coverage for mastectomies, must provide coverage for hospitalization for at least forty-eight hours following the mastectomy. The act further requires that all health insurers which provide coverage for mastectomies, must provide coverage for prosthetic devices and restorative surgery following a mastectomy so as to produce a symmetrical appearance. Additionally, the act requires all health insurers to provide coverage for mammograms, annual pap smears, and prostate cancer examinations, screenings, and laboratory work.

STATUS: Signed into law by the Governor on 6/8/98.

PSYCHOLOGISTS, COUNSELORS, THERAPISTS,
AND PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL SPECIALISTS

The General Assembly passed S.718 which revises criteria and scope of practice for many providers of psychological and counseling services. The act prohibits the practice of psychology without a license from the Board of Psychology and revises the list of acts which are considered to be the practice of psychology. Under the act, an individual must have a doctoral degree in psychology in order to be licensed as a psychologist, and such licensure cannot be obtained with a doctoral degree in an allied field. The legislation revises exemptions to the licensure requirement and increases penalties for violating the requirement. The act exempts from the licensure requirement certain groups including: educators, day care providers, law enforcement officers, and hospital workers providing intervention within the scope of their employment; human resources professionals; business consultants; matriculated interns and students; local, state, or federal employees operating within the scope of their employment; SC Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse employees; and certified school psychologists. The act requires the Board of Psychology to report instances of possible violations to the county solicitor.

The act also conforms the licensure of professional counselors, associate counselors, and marital and family therapists to the uniform statutory framework for professional and occupational boards under the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The act provides for the licensing and regulation of professional counselors and marriage therapists and interns. The act provides for the licensure and regulation of alcohol and drug abuse counselors.

Additionally, the act establishes a new tier of licensure as a "Licensed Psycho-Educational Specialist" which may be obtained by an individual who has at least a master's degree in psychology and thirty additional hours of course work. Under current law, the "school psychologists" who are certified by the SC Department of Education to work in the public school system may not offer their services in private sector settings such as hospitals, clinics, private schools, etc. Such individuals may, by obtaining licensure as a Psycho-Educational Specialist as provided under this legislation, offer his services in a private sector setting. Guidelines for practice as a Licensed Psycho-Educational Specialist are established under the act. A Licensed Psycho-Educational Specialist is added to the Board of Examiners for the Licensure of Professional Counselors, Associate Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists. The act in no way requires insurance companies to pay for any services of Licensed Psycho-Educational Specialists.

STATUS: Became law without the signature of the Governor on 6/11/98.

PREGNANCY PREVENTION

The 1998-99 State Budget (Part II, Section 47) establishes the County Grants Fund for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives. This fund must be administered by The South Carolina Department of Social Services and county governments as provided in this new chapter. The stated purpose of the fund is to support local efforts to prevent early sexual activity and to measurably reduce the rate of adolescent pregnancy in each county and in the State and to ensure that these efforts reflect local community values. A local public or private agency or organization or combination of these agencies and organizations may apply to the county government for an allocation of funds to operate an adolescent pregnancy prevention initiative. All initiatives funded by the county government must emphasize premarital sexual abstinence and male responsibility. Money appropriated to the fund must not be used to pay for inpatient care, purchase or fund land improvements, purchase major equipment, fund abortions, provide transportation to or from abortion services, or provide anything of monetary value to a local participant or initiative.

Section 13.22 of the 1998-99 State Budget provides funding for the County Grants Fund for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives. DSS must allocate 10,500,000 of the 1997-98 surplus federal Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) program funds to the County Grant Fund, to be equally distributed as provided in Part II, Section 47 (of the budget) over a three year period. In any one year in which the total number of active welfare cases in June of the year exceeds by ten percent or more the average number of active welfare cases in June of the previous year, no TANF funds will be distributed to the County Grant Fund. Distribution of Funds will begin in the FY 1998-99.

Part II, Section 47 also includes the formula for distributing funds under the County Grants Fund for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives. Ten percent of the money must be used to evaluate the effectiveness of each initiative and the fund under guidelines provided by the bill; 15% must be allocated evenly among the counties; 15% must be allocated to the counties based on the size of their adolescent population; 20% must be allocated to counties based on their rate of adolescent pregnancy; 40% must be allocated to counties based on their number of adolescent pregnancies; and the county may retain up to 5% to cover the costs of administering the fund.

All grant funds received by the county must be allocated within two years of receipt. If the county does not designate an agency or organization to assume these responsibilities, DSS may designate another agency or organization within the county.

STATUS: H.4700 has been ratified.

SOUTH CAROLINA PATIENTS' INSURANCE AND BENEFITS PROTECTION ACT

The General Assembly passed S.310, the South Carolina Patients' Insurance and Benefits Protection Act. The legislation requires an employer who offers to at least fifty eligible employees only a closed panel health plan (for major medical, hospitalization, and surgical health insurance coverage) to also offer to eligible employees a "point-of-service" option. A closed panel health plan is a network plan which requires insured members to seek covered health care services or supplies exclusively from network providers (except in emergency cases). In contrast, a "point-of-service" option provides coverage under which insured members may obtain covered health care services/supplies from either network providers or from providers outside of the network. Under the legislation, the employer may require an employee who chooses the point-of-service option to pay for any difference in premiums or other payments in excess of the benefits provided under the closed panel plan. The bill provides that differences between the coinsurance percentages for in-network and out-of-network covered benefits in a point-of-service option plan may not exceed twenty percent, or, five percent in the case of services provided by dentists.

STATUS: Ratified on 6/17/98 ( R.529 ).

STATE LOTTERY

In April of 1998, The House Ways and Means Committee gave a report of favorable with amendment to H.4682, a joint resolution which proposed amending the South Carolina Constitution so as to establish a state lottery, the proceeds of which would be used to fund scholarships for in-state residents to attend South Carolina's postsecondary institutions. The joint resolution was subsequently recommitted to Ways and Means, where it remained when the legislative session ended.

STATUS: H.4682 was recommitted to the House Ways and Means Committee on 4/29/98 and was not reported out from that committee before the legislative session ended.

VIDEO POKER BAN

The House passed H.4577, which would have banned video poker in South Carolina, effective June 1, 1999. The Senate Finance Committee gave a majority favorable (minority unfavorable) report to H.4577, and the full Senate later adjourned debate on the bill.

The Senate Finance Committee gave a majority favorable (minority unfavorable) report to S.947, which also would have banned video poker effective June 1, 1999. The full Senate also adjourned debate on this bill. Both bills remained on the Senate calendar when the legislative session ended.

The video poker ban also was included in the House-passed 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill (H.4700), but the Senate conferees voted against including it in the final bill and the ban therefore was not included in the budget.

STATUS: Neither H.4577 nor S.947 passed the Senate before the General Assembly adjourned sine die. The video poker ban that the House included in its version of the budget (H.4700) was struck from the bill in conference committee and thus did not pass before the General Assembly adjourned sine die.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROHIBITION

The House passed H.4115, which prohibits the state of South Carolina and its political subdivisions from using race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin religion, age, or disability as criteria for either discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group in the state's system of public employment, education, or contracting. The legislation applies to actions taken following the enactment of the bill. The employment of quotas to achieve equality is prohibited. The bill also provides that no preferential treatment may be granted to the families of members of the General Assembly in public employment by the state or its political subdivisions.

STATUS - H.4115 was passed by the House and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and was not reported out from that committee before the legislative session ended.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

The General Assembly passed S.22, which revises the State Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The act specifies when a public body may hold a meeting closed to the public and that no action may be taken in executive session except to adjourn or to return to public session. Furthermore, the members of a public body may not commit the public body to a course of action by polling the members in executive session. The bill also exempts from disclosure by a public body the receipt of legal advice relating to a pending, threatened, or potential claim or other matters covered by the attorney-client privilege.

The bill states that a public body may (but is not required to) exempt from disclosure certain matters that are currently exempt - including trade secrets, law enforcement records, and certain compensation paid by public bodies. The act further specifies that a public body may exempt from disclosure documents incidental to a proposed contractual arrangement and documents incidental to proposed sales or purchases of property; however, these documents are not exempt from disclosure once a contract is entered into or the property is sold or purchased. A contract for the sale of real estate will remain exempt from disclosure until the deed is executed. Confidential proprietary information provided to a public body for economic development or contract negotiations purposes need not be disclosed. The act also exempts from disclosure certain materials gathered by a public body during a search to fill an employment position and certain data collected by staff at an education institution.

STATUS - The bill was ratified on June 10, 1998 and signed by the Governor on June 12, 1998.

INVESTMENT OF STATE EMPLOYEES' PENSION FUNDS

S.958 (R.356) is the implementing legislation for the 1996 amendment (ratified in 1997) to Article X, Section 16 of the SC Constitution, authorizing the investment and reinvestment of the funds of various state-operated retirement systems in equity securities.

The bill establishes the State Retirement Systems Investment Panel, consisting of five members - one each appointed by the Governor, the State Treasurer, the Comptroller General, and the chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. The bill provides for panel members' qualifications, terms of service, duties, and compensation, and provides for the authorities of the panel. The bill requires that the panel develop an annual investment plan for the retirement systems for the next fiscal year, which must be adopted and implemented by the State Budget and Control Board (the board), as trustee of the retirement system and its funds. The board must also provide the panel with a statement of actuarial assumptions and general investment objectives. The adopted plan must include components and meet requirements that are specified in the bill, including a requirement that the plan must provide the minimum and maximum portions of system assets that may be allocated to equity investments on an ongoing basis not to exceed forty percent and the minimum and maximum portions of system assets not to exceed ten percent that may be allocated to additional equity investment during the plan fiscal year. When investments in equities attain the maximum allocation allowed, up to forty percent of current member and employer contributions to the retirement system may be invested in equities. If, due to growth in value of equity investments, equity investments exceed forty percent of the total assets of the retirement system, the bill does not require the sale of equities to reduce the percentage of equities to forty percent. The plan must be reviewed and assessed by the panel at least once each fiscal year quarter, and implementation of the plan must be regularly reviewed by the board. The plan may be amended with the approval of the board. Costs of administering the panel's duties must be paid from investment earnings of the systems, and the expenses must be approved by the board. The bill also provides that the State Budget and Control Board, as trustee, may invest and reinvest the funds of the system in equity securities of a corporation within the United States that is registered on a national securities exchange as provided in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or a successor act, or quoted through the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotations System, or a similar service.

STATUS - S.958 has been ratified (R.356), and was signed by the Governor on 5/26/98.

SHORTENING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION

The House passed a joint resolution, H.3041, amending the State Constitution to allow the General Assembly to convene the second Tuesday in February during odd numbered years (currently the General Assembly begins each legislative year on the second Tuesday in January). The change would provide time for legislative committees to meet and begin debating legislation before the start of the session. This measure also requires the Senate to meet in an organization session in odd-numbered years to elect officers and prepare for the regular session.

The House also passed H.3042, which shortens the legislative session by scheduling the sine die adjournment date of the General Assembly on the second Thursday in May. Currently, sine die adjournment occurs on the first Thursday in June.

STATUS - The House passed H.3041 and H.3042. In the Senate, the bills were referred to the Judiciary Committee. Neither bill was reported out of that committee.

SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICTS

Last year, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that a special purpose district could not levy taxes if its governing board was appointed rather than elected. The Court stated that the power to tax may not be conferred to a purely appointive body because this amounted to taxation without representation. Since many of the special purpose districts in the state have governing boards appointed by legislators, the Supreme Court declared that their ruling would be applied prospectively beginning December 31, 1999. In response to the Court's decision, the General Assembly passed S.757, legislation that provides the mechanism for a referendum to decide whether a special purpose district board should be elected. The referendum would be held if fifteen percent of the voters petition for the referendum or if a majority of the governing body adopts a resolution requesting the referendum. The bill also provides a way to dissolve a special purpose district if forty percent of the voters petition for a referendum on the dissolution and at least two-thirds of the voters in the district vote to abolish it and transfer its assets and liabilities to a specified entity.

STATUS - S.757 was ratified on June 4, 1998 and signed by the Governor on June 10, 1998.

STATE EMPLOYEE PAY RAISE

The 1998-99 General Appropriation bill includes a 2.5% pay increase for state employees, effective July 1, 1998. Agencies must absorb $11.19 million of the increase. Also important to state employees, the budget bill includes an appropriation of $13.3 million for employer contributions to fund a health insurance rate increase for active and retired employees, public school employees, and new retiree growth.

STATUS: The state employee pay raise was approved by the General Assembly as a portion of the 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill (H.4700), which has been ratified (R536).

PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

The House passed and sent to the Senate H.4846 and H.4847. H.4846 proposed freezing personal property taxes (i.e. taxes on motor vehicles, boats, aircraft and business personal property) at their current levels. Upon authorization of such a freeze, H.4847 would have phased out motor vehicle property taxes in each county and then would have phased out the remaining personal property taxes.

H.4846 is a joint resolution which proposed an amendment to the South Carolina Constitution which would have frozen personal property taxes at their current (1998) levels. The freeze would have affected property taxes imposed on motor vehicles for tax years beginning after June, 1999, and all other personal property taxes for tax years beginning after 1998. Under the constitutional amendment, local taxing authorities would annually adjust millage rate, if necessary, so that the revenue raised by personal property taxes would not exceed the amount collected in 1998.

Had the above constitutional amendment been approved, H.4847 would have established a mechanism whereby expected growth in state revenue would be used to eliminate personal property taxes, reimbursing local taxing authorities for the revenue loss. The bill established as a separate fund in the State Treasury the Motor Vehicle and Personal Property Tax Relief Trust Fund into which 15% of new recurring State General Fund revenue growth would have been deposited each year. Revenue credited to this fund would have been disbursed to local taxing authorities which, in turn, would have reduced personal property tax bills accordingly. First priority was given to eliminating personal property taxes paid on motor vehicles, then all other personal property taxes would have been eliminated. When all personal property became wholly exempt, each taxing entity would have received a monthly reimbursement equal to one-twelfth of its local personal property base payment. The fund would have been used to reimburse local taxing authorities up to the maximum amount of an estimated $1.3 billion- that is, the amount collected in personal property taxes as of fiscal year 1998-99, when personal property taxes would have been frozen under the proposed constitutional amendment.

The Senate also discussed a constitutional freeze on personal property taxes, proposed in Joint Resolution S.941, and creation of a fund for eliminating personal property taxes, provided in S.940. Neither of these proposals passed the Senate.

The Senate passed Joint Resolution S.1055, which proposed amending the South Carolina Constitution so as to afford local taxing authorities an opportunity, but not an obligation, to provide taxpayers with relief on personal property taxes paid on cars, boats, motors, and aircrafts. Currently, the state constitution provides that such items of personal property must be taxed on an assessment of 10.5% of fair market value. S.1055 proposed an amendment to the state constitution allowing a county governing body, in consultation with all taxing entities in the county, to tax the personal property of cars, boats, motors, and aircrafts on an assessment of no more than 10.5% and no less than 6%.

STATUS: The House passed H.4846 and H.4847 and sent them to the Senate where they were referred to the Finance Committee. Neither bill was reported out of that committee. S.1055 was passed by the Senate and sent to the House, where it was referred to the Ways and Means Committee. The bill was not reported out of that committee.

DRIVER'S LICENSE QUALIFICATIONS

The General Assembly passed H.3300, which provides that a person who holds a valid restricted driver's license on July 1, 1998, may obtain a regular driver's license before the age of seventeen if, after one year from the date of issuance of the special restricted driver's license, the driver has not been convicted of a point-assessable traffic offense posted to his driver's record during that time. The bill also repeals SC Code Section 56-1-141, which concerns the equivalence of successful completion of a qualified school driver's education program with meeting standards for a driver's permit or license.

STATUS: H.3300 has been ratified (R532).

SPEED LIMITS

The House passed H.3150, which defines the highways encompassed by the interstate highway system and the state highway primary system, and revises the speed limits to seventy miles an hour on the interstate highway system and other officially posted freeways; sixty miles an hour on officially posted multilane divided primary highways; fifty-five miles an hour in other locations or on other sections of highways. Maximum speed in an "urban district" is thirty miles an hour, and speed limits on unpaved roads are limited to forty-five miles an hour. The bill also revises the language on signs posted in a work zone and provides that the penalty displayed on signs posted in a work zone are in addition to other penalties for speeding. The bill also provides that manufactured modular or mobile homes must not be transported at a speed in excess of ten miles below the posted speed limit when the posted limit is in excess of forty-five miles per hour, and never in excess of fifty-five miles an hour. The bill also provides that a local authority, under certain conditions, may determine that the maximum speed limit permitted is less than thirty miles an hour in an urban district.

STATUS - H.3150 passed the House and was reported favorable with amendment from the Senate Transportation Committee; however, the bill did not receive full Senate approval before the 1998 legislative session ended.

H.4700, the 1998-99 General Appropriation Bill reflects the House of Representatives' continuing emphasis on education -- both kindergarten through grade twelve and higher education. $26.5 million is included in the bill for the Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence (LIFE) scholarship program, and $7 million is included to provide income tax credits for college tuition and fees (for more information on both the scholarship program and the tax credit plan, see "Tuition Assistance" in this document).

Public education appropriations include an increase of $35.4 million for Education Finance Act funding, which covers inflation, an increase in the base student cost, and a 2.55% salary increase for teachers. The final year phase-in for full-day kindergarten is funded at $13.6 million. $36.2 million is appropriated for implementation of initiatives provided in the SC Education Accountability Act of 1998 (see summary of this act above, under "Education K-12"). This figure includes $19.6 million dedicated to reducing lower grades classroom size in impaired districts.

Issues of particular contention in the budget conference committee negotiations included the House-passed video poker ban; the Senate-passed "wish list," which appropriated $47.9 million in uncertified funds; and the Senate-passed $101.3 million capital improvement bond authorization. The Senate conferees voted against including the video poker ban in the bill, but agreed not to appropriate the $52.4 million in video poker revenue. The Senate's "wish list" and the Senate's bond bill were excluded from the bill.

Property tax relief continues to be a budget priority, with an additional $30 million appropriated for 1998-99 to annualize and maintain the current homeowner property tax relief program. This additional funding brings the total appropriation for homeowner's property tax relief to $240 million. The Senate budget conferees also agreed to the House's permanent proviso establishing the Trust Fund for Tax Relief, which will pay for property tax relief rebates directly, with a portion of the income tax. This trust fund is also intended to guarantee the residential property tax exemption, the homestead exemption for persons over age 65 or disabled, business inventory tax exemption, and manufacturers' additional depreciation reimbursement. Monies in the fund for 1998-99 total $354 million.

Also included in the 1998-99 budget plan is a 2.5% state employee pay increase, effective July 1, 1998. Also important to state employees, the budget bill includes an appropriation of $13.3 million for employer contributions to fund a health insurance rate increase for active and retired employees, public school employees, and new retiree growth.

South Carolina's most vulnerable senior citizens will benefit from $4.7 million appropriated for an additional 570 nursing home beds, and from an additional $6.3 million allotted to fund a phase-in of 4,322 additional community long-term care slots to assist the frail and elderly in their homes.

STATUS: H.4700 has been ratified (R536).

CAPITAL RESERVE FUND APPROPRIATIONS

The General Assembly also passed H.4702, a joint resolution appropriating $86.9 million from the Capital Reserve Fund for fiscal year 1997-98. Highlights of that funding include, but are not limited to: $5 million to the State Department of Education for textbooks; $5.1 million to the State Budget and Control Board for school technology; $38.8 million for higher education institutional funding; $2.5 million for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR); and $3 million to the State Department of Education for the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities.

STATUS: H.4702 has been ratified (R537).

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