House Week in Review

NOTE: THESE SUMMARIES ARE PREPARED BY THE STAFF OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND ARE NOT THE EXPRESSION OF THE LEGISLATION'S SPONSOR(S) OR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THEY ARE STRICTLY FOR THE INTERNAL USE AND BENEFIT OF MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND ARE NOT TO BE CONSTRUED BY A COURT OF LAW AS AN EXPRESSION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT.

Returning under an extended session of the General Assembly, the House of Representatives undertook redistricting, the process of reconfiguring election districts that is required every ten years in order to reflect populations changes reported in the latest U.S. Census. Legislators are charged with approving plans for redrawing the election districts of the General Assembly and the state’s congressional districts that take into account the population shifts recorded in the 2010 census and address such concerns as compliance with federal Voting Rights Act requirements for minority representation. The House approved and sent to the Senate H.3991, the REDISTRICTING PLAN FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES and H.3992, the CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING PLAN. The state’s population growth having warranted an additional seat for South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, the redistricting plan approved by the House creates a seventh congressional district that is centered in Horry County and runs along the North Carolina border.

The House voted to override the Governor’s veto on S.232 to allow the bill to become law. The legislation includes NARCOTIC TREATMENT PROGRAMS among the health care facilities that are required to obtain a certificate of need from the Department of Health and Environmental Control. The legislation restores DHEC’s regulatory oversight of narcotic treatment programs, such as methadone clinics, under the provisions of the State Certification of Need and Health Facility Licensure Act.

The Legislative Update is on the Worldwide Web. Visit the South Carolina General Assembly Home Page (http://www.scstatehouse.gov) and click on "Publications," then click on "Legislative Update." This will list all of the Legislative Updates by date. Click on the date you need. Also available on the website is a bill summary index, where bills referenced in one or more issues of the Legislative Update are listed in numeric order. Links to the specific text of the Legislative Update issue are provided in the bill summary index.

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