Senate Journal for 6/14/2023 - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
125th Session, 2023-2024
Journal of the Senate

NO. 1

JOURNAL

OF THE

SENATE

OF THE

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

EXTRAORDINARY SESSION BEGINNING
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2023

_________

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2023

Wednesday, June 14, 2023
(Extraordinary Session)

~~Indicates Matter Stricken~~
Indicates New Matter

The Extraordinary Session of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, begun and holden at Columbia on the second Wednesday in June, being the 14th day of the month.

The Senate assembled at 12:00 Noon, the hour to which it stood adjourned, and was called to order by the PRESIDENT.

A quorum being present, the proceedings were opened with a devotion by the Chaplain as follows:

Matthew 25:40

We read in Matthew's Gospel: "The King will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' "
Please bow with me as we pray: Most gracious and loving God, You have given huge responsibility to each of these leaders who yet again gather in this Chamber to labor on behalf of the residents of our State. Truly, every woman, man and child in South Carolina is counting on these Senators and their aides to achieve results that are absolutely fair and worthy of praise. Therefore, we fervently pray that You, O God, will bless and direct each one of these servants to do just that: to work diligently toward securing a bold and meaningful future for every single one of our citizens. And in addition, as always, we pray that You will bless our women and men in uniform wherever they happen to serve as they strive to bring peace to this battle-weary world. All of this, dear Lord, we humbly pray in Your loving name. Amen.

The PRESIDENT called for Petitions, Memorials, Presentments of Grand Juries and such like papers.

Call of the Senate

Senator PEELER moved that a Call of the Senate be made. The following Senators answered the Call:

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Corbin                    Cromer
Davis                     Fanning                   Gambrell
Garrett                   Grooms                    Gustafson
Hembree                   Jackson                   Johnson, Michael
Kimbrell                  Loftis                    Malloy
Massey                    McElveen                  Peeler
Reichenbach               Rice                      Setzler
Shealy                    Stephens                  Talley
Turner                    Verdin                    Williams
Young

A quorum being present, the Senate resumed.

MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR

The following appointments were transmitted by the Honorable Henry Dargan McMaster:

Local Appointments

Reappointment, Berkeley County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Brian B. West, 223 North Live Oak Drive, Moncks Corner, SC 29461-3705

Reappointment, Charleston County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Martelle T. Morrison, 3215 Boach Road, Hollywood, SC 29449-6132

Reappointment, Charleston County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Tiffany R. Spann-Wilder, 6977 Dorchester Road, North Charleston, SC 29418-3422

Reappointment, Dorchester County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Janice Y. Simmons, 262 Mallard Road, Summerville, SC 29483-7937

Reappointment, Horry County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Aaron Butler, 1830 Spivey Avenue, Conway, SC 29527-5559

Reappointment, Richland County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Michael Scott, 3521 Greenway Dr., Columbia, SC 29206-3415

Reappointment, Richland County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Donald J. Simons, Post Office Box 9246, Columbia, SC 29290-0246

RATIFICATION OF ACTS

Pursuant to an invitation the Honorable Speaker and House of Representatives appeared in the Senate Chamber on May 24, 2023, at 12:00 Noon and the following Act and Joint Resolution were ratified:

(R88, S. 474 (Word version)) -- Senators Grooms, Massey, Kimbrell and Adams: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING ARTICLE 6 OF CHAPTER 41, TITLE 44, RELATING TO THE FETAL HEARTBEAT AND PROTECTION FROM ABORTION ACT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ABORTIONS MAY NOT BE PERFORMED IN THIS STATE AFTER A FETAL HEARTBEAT HAS BEEN DETECTED, WITH EXCEPTIONS FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, RAPE, INCEST, OR FATAL FETAL ANOMALIES; TO CHANGE CERTAIN DEFINITIONAL TERMS; TO CREATE CRIMINAL PENALTIES; TO ESTABLISH CERTAIN RECORDKEEPING AND RECORD RETENTION REQUIREMENTS FOR PHYSICIANS AND OWNERS OF MEDICAL RECORDS; TO REQUIRE PHYSICIANS TO REPORT CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS OF RAPE OR INCEST TO LAW ENFORCEMENT; TO PROHIBIT CRIMINAL PROSECUTION OF ANY WOMAN WHO SEEKS OR OBTAINS AN ABORTION; TO CREATE A CIVIL RIGHT OF ACTION BY CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE ARTICLE; TO REQUIRE PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE AGAINST PHYSICIANS IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; BY ADDING SECTIONS 44-41-90, 63-17-325, AND 38-71-146 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF STATE FUNDING FOR ABORTION-RELATED EXPENSES, TO REQUIRE CHILD SUPPORT FROM THE DATE OF CONCEPTION, AND TO REQUIRE HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS TO PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR CONTRACEPTIVES, RESPECTIVELY; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 44-41-10, 44-41-60, 44-41-70, 44-41-80, AND 44-41-330, ALL RELATING TO ABORTION, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY REQUIRING THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BENEFIT AUTHORITY AND THE STATE HEALTH PLAN TO PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR CONTRACEPTIVES; BY AUTHORIZING THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO INTERVENE ON BEHALF OF THEIR RESPECTIVE BODY IN CERTAIN COURT ACTIONS; BY REPEALING SECTION 2 OF ACT 1 OF 2021, SECTION 44-41-20, AND ARTICLE 5, CHAPTER 41, TITLE 44 ALL RELATING TO ABORTION; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
L:\COUNCIL\ACTS\474VR125.DOCX

(R89, H. 4299 (Word version)) -- Reps. Bannister, G.M. Smith, Pope, Hiott and Rutherford: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONTINUING AUTHORITY TO PAY THE EXPENSES OF STATE GOVERNMENT IF THE 2023-2024 FISCAL YEAR BEGINS WITHOUT A GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR THAT YEAR IN EFFECT, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.
L:\COUNCIL\ACTS\4299DG125.DOCX

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator RICE, at 12:19 P.M., Senator CASH was granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator STEPHENS, at 12:19 P.M., Senators HUTTO, K. JOHNSON and KIMPSON were granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator HEMBREE, at 12:19 P.M., Senator BENNETT was granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator RICE, at 12:19 P.M., Senator SENN was granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator CLIMER, at 12:19 P.M., Senator MARTIN was granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator SABB, at 12:19 P.M., Senator HARPOOTLIAN was granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator McLEOD, at 12:19 P.M., Senator MATTHEWS was granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator FANNING, at 2:55 P.M., Senator SABB was granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Leave of Absence

On motion of Senator YOUNG, at 3:00 P.M., Senators TURNER and TALLEY were granted a leave of absence for the balance of the day.

Expression of Personal Interest

Senator McELVEEN rose for an Expression of Personal Interest.

Remarks to be Printed

On motion of Senator CAMPSEN, with unanimous consent, the remarks of Senator McELVEEN, when reduced to writing and made available to the Desk, would be printed in the Journal.

Expression of Personal Interest

Senator JACKSON rose for an Expression of Personal Interest.

Remarks to be Printed

On motion of Senator McELVEEN, with unanimous consent, the remarks of Senator JACKSON, when reduced to writing and made available to the Desk, would be printed in the Journal.

Expression of Personal Interest

Senator MALLOY rose for an Expression of Personal Interest.

Remarks to be Printed

On motion of Senator JACKSON, with unanimous consent, the remarks of Senator MALLOY, when reduced to writing and made available to the Desk, would be printed in the Journal.

Expression of Personal Interest

Senator SHEALY rose for an Expression of Personal Interest.

Remarks to be Printed

On motion of Senator DAVIS, with unanimous consent, the remarks of Senator SHEALY, when reduced to writing and made available to the Desk, would be printed in the Journal.

Motion to Ratify Adopted

At 12:31 P.M., Senator PEELER asked unanimous consent to make a motion to invite the House of Representatives to attend the Senate Chamber for the purpose of ratifying Acts at a mutually convenient time.

There was no objection and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS

The following were introduced:

S. 821 (Word version) -- Senator Alexander: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE THE DANIEL HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER TEAM, COACHES, AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS ON AN OUTSTANDING SEASON AND TO HONOR THEM FOR WINNING THE SOUTH CAROLINA CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
sr-0416km-hw23.docx : 4b8471d7-fa21-4dda-9a77-7e0f8fa3909d

The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 822 (Word version) -- Senator Alexander: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE DUKE ENERGY'S OCONEE NUCLEAR STATION UPON THE OCCASION OF ITS FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY AND TO COMMEND THE STATION FOR ITS MANY YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE TO OCONEE COUNTY AND THE PEOPLE AND THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 823 (Word version) -- Senator Alexander: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE THE SENECA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD TEAM, COACHES, AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS ON AN OUTSTANDING SEASON AND TO HONOR THEM FOR WINNING THE SOUTH CAROLINA CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
sr-0418km-hw23.docx : b81acaa2-8abe-4577-b152-899da2fb76ed

The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 824 (Word version) -- Senator Cromer: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR KENNY CRAVEN FOR BECOMING THE IMPERIAL POTENTATE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF SHRINERS CHILDREN'S.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 825 (Word version) -- Senator Jackson: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE HONORABLE DAVID A. ADAMS FOR HIS YEARS OF OUTSTANDING AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO RICHLAND COUNTY AS COUNTY TREASURER, AND TO WISH HIM MUCH SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
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The Concurrent Resolution was adopted, ordered sent to the House.

S. 826 (Word version) -- Senator Jackson: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE HONORABLE DAVID A. ADAMS FOR HIS YEARS OF OUTSTANDING AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO RICHLAND COUNTY AS COUNTY TREASURER, AND TO WISH HIM MUCH SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 827 (Word version) -- Senator Reichenbach: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE HANNAH-PAMPLICO HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL TEAM, COACHES, AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY SEASON AND TO CONGRATULATE THEM FOR WINNING THE 2023 SOUTH CAROLINA CLASS A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 828 (Word version) -- Senator Davis: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE COMMUNITY AND PEOPLE OF THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND TO CONGRATULATE THEM AS THEY CELEBRATE THE THREE HUNDRED SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE ISLAND BY SIR WILLIAM HILTON AND THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INCORPORATION OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND AS A TOWN.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 829 (Word version) -- Senator Fanning: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE UPON THE PASSING OF AGNES LOUISE AYCOCK LOVE OF YORK COUNTY AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HER LARGE AND LOVING FAMILY AND HER MANY FRIENDS.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 830 (Word version) -- Senator Fanning: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPON THE PASSING OF AGNES LOUISE AYCOCK LOVE OF YORK COUNTY AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HER LARGE AND LOVING FAMILY AND HER MANY FRIENDS.
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The Concurrent Resolution was adopted, ordered sent to the House.

S. 831 (Word version) -- Senator Massey: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE JUNE 2023 AS "B.R.A.V.E. FOR JIA MONTH" IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 832 (Word version) -- Senator McLeod: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE UPON THE PASSING OF CYRUS MONROE CARMACK-BELTON OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHIES TO HIS LARGE AND LOVING FAMILY AND HIS MANY FRIENDS.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 833 (Word version) -- Senator Verdin: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-440 SO AS TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN CONCEPTS IN A COURSE OF INSTRUCTION, CURRICULUM, ASSIGNMENT, INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM, INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL, SURVEYS OR QUESTIONNAIRES, PRESENTATIONS, PERFORMANCES, SCHOOL POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS OR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR DEVELOPMENT OR TRAINING IN HIGHER EDUCATION; AND TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR EACH COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TO IMPLEMENT POLICIES TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE; BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-450 SO AS TO ESTABLISH WHAT CONSTITUTES DISCRIMINATION IN CERTAIN SETTINGS; BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-460 SO AS TO ESTABLISH CERTAIN DEFINITIONS AND TO FURTHER PROHIBIT ADMISSION AND EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS BY A PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING CONDITIONED UPON SUPOORT OR DISAGREEMENT WITH ANY POLITICAL IDEOLOGY OR MOVEMENT; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-101-470 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT UNDULY BURDEN A PERSON'S STATE AND FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
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Read the first time and referred to the Committee on Education.

S. 834 (Word version) -- Senators Corbin, Rice, Kimbrell and Verdin: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 36-1-201, RELATING TO GENERAL COMMERCIAL CODE DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF MONEY TO PROVIDE THAT CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY IS NOT CONSIDERED MONEY FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 36-1-201, RELATING TO GENERAL COMMERCIAL CODE DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY.
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Read the first time and referred to the Committee on Banking and Insurance.

S. 835 (Word version) -- Senator Fanning: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "COMPREHENSIVE TAX REFORM ACT"; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 12-36-60, 12-36-70, 12-36-90, 12-36-110, AND 12-36-130, ALL RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE SALES TAX, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE SALES OF SERVICES; BY ADDING SECTION 12-36-160 SO AS TO DEFINE "SERVICES"; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-140, RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF "STORAGE", SO AS TO REMOVE COOPERATIVE DIRECT MAIL PROMOTIONAL ADVERTISING MATERIALS; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-910, RELATING TO THE FIVE PERCENT STATE SALES TAX RATE, SO AS TO REDUCE THE SALES TAX RATE; BY ADDING SECTION 12-36-915 SO AS TO SPECIFY THE MANNER IN WHICH TO CALCULATE THE REDUCTION IN THE SALES AND USE TAX RATE; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-920, RELATING TO THE STATE ACCOMMODATIONS TAX, SO AS TO REDUCE THE RATE; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-940, RELATING TO AMOUNTS THAT MAY BE ADDED TO SALES PRICES TO ACCOUNT FOR TAX, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS; BY REPEALING ARTICLE 11 OF CHAPTER 36, TITLE 12 RELATING TO THE ADDITIONAL ONE PERCENT SALES AND USE TAX; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 12-36-1310 AND 12-36-1320, BOTH RELATING TO THE USE TAX, SO AS TO MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE BY REDUCING THE RATE; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-1710, RELATING TO THE CASUAL EXCISE TAX, SO AS TO MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE BY REDUCING THE RATE; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-2110, RELATING TO ITEMS SUBJECT TO A MAXIMUM SALES TAX, SO AS TO REMOVE CERTAIN ITEMS; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-2120, RELATING TO SALES TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO REMOVE THE EXEMPTION ON CERTAIN ITEMS; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-2530, RELATING TO TAXES ON ITEMS DELIVERED OUT OF STATE, SO AS TO MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 12-36-2620, 12-36-2630, AND 12-36-2640, ALL RELATING TO THE CREDITING OF CERTAIN TAXES, SO AS TO CREDIT SUCH TAXES IN THE SAME PROPORTION AS THEY WERE CREDITED BEFORE THE RATE REDUCTION; BY REPEALING SECTION 12-36-2646 RELATING TO THE TAX EXCLUSION FOR INDIVIDUALS AT LEAST EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE; BY ADDING SECTION 11-11-270 SO AS TO CREATE THE "TAX REFORM RESERVE FUND" AND TO SPECIFY ITS PURPOSE; BY ADDING ARTICLE 11 TO CHAPTER 10, TITLE 4 SO AS TO PROPORTIONALLY REDUCE LOCAL SALES AND USE TAXES IN THE SAME MANNER AS THE STATE SALES AND USE TAX; BY ADDING SECTION 58-9-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE A MAXIMUM TAX THAT MAY BE IMPOSED ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES; BY AMENDING SECTION 6-1-320, RELATING TO THE LIMITATION ON MILLAGE INCREASES, SO AS TO ALLOW THE LIMITATION TO BE EXCEEDED UPON A POSITIVE MAJORITY VOTE OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE JURISDICTION; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-37-251, RELATING TO MILLAGES, SO AS TO REQUIRE A REIMBURSEMENT TO THE TRUST FUND FOR TAX RELIEF FOR THE FIRST ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF VALUE ON AN OWNER-OCCUPIED RESIDENCE; BY AMENDING SECTION 11-11-150, RELATING TO BUDGETARY REIMBURSEMENTS, SO AS TO MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-37-220, RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO REMOVE THE SCHOOL OPERATING EXEMPTION ON OWNER-OCCUPIED HOMES; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 12-6-510, RELATING TO THE PERSONAL INCOME TAX, SO AS TO REDUCE THE TOP MARGINAL RATE BASED ON CERTAIN REVENUE COLLECTIONS.
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Read the first time and referred to the Committee on Finance.

S. 836 (Word version) -- Senators Malloy, Adams, Alexander, Allen, Bennett, Campsen, Cash, Climer, Corbin, Cromer, Davis, Fanning, Gambrell, Garrett, Goldfinch, Grooms, Gustafson, Harpootlian, Hembree, Hutto, Jackson, K. Johnson, M. Johnson, Kimbrell, Kimpson, Loftis, Martin, Massey, Matthews, McElveen, McLeod, Peeler, Rankin, Reichenbach, Rice, Sabb, Scott, Senn, Setzler, Shealy, Stephens, Talley, Turner, Verdin, Williams and Young: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE JULY 30, 2023 AS "SENATOR CLEMENTA PINCKNEY DAY OF SERVICE" IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 837 (Word version) -- Senators Sabb, Adams, Alexander, Allen, Bennett, Campsen, Cash, Climer, Corbin, Cromer, Davis, Fanning, Gambrell, Garrett, Goldfinch, Grooms, Gustafson, Harpootlian, Hembree, Hutto, Jackson, K. Johnson, M. Johnson, Kimbrell, Kimpson, Loftis, Malloy, Martin, Massey, Matthews, McElveen, McLeod, Peeler, Rankin, Reichenbach, Rice, Scott, Senn, Setzler, Shealy, Stephens, Talley, Turner, Verdin, Williams and Young: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND COMMEND THE HONORABLE MARLON E. KIMPSON FOR HIS YEARS OF COMMITTED SERVICE AS A MEMBER OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE AND TO WISH HIM ALL THE BEST IN THE YEARS TO COME.
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The Senate Resolution was adopted.

S. 838 (Word version) -- Senators Setzler, Massey and Young: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE COUNCILMAN WILLAR H. HIGHTOWER, JR. UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM AIKEN COUNTY COUNCIL, TO COMMEND HIM FOR HIS OVER FORTY YEARS OF DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVICE, AND TO WISH HIM MUCH HAPPINESS AND FULFILLMENT IN THE YEARS AHEAD.
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H. 4486 (Word version) -- Reps. Burns, Long, Ott, Pope and Hiott: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 44-55-655 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TO CREATE A PILOT PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS CERTAIN SEPTIC TANK INSTALLERS TO CONDUCT SEPTIC TANK FIELD EVALUATION TESTS FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
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Read the first time and referred to the Committee on Medical Affairs.

H. 4524 (Word version) -- Reps. Jefferson, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bernstein, Blackwell, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Carter, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Connell, B. J. Cox, B. L. Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Dillard, Elliott, Erickson, Felder, Forrest, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Henegan, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Hosey, Howard, Hyde, J. E. Johnson, J. L. Johnson, S. Jones, W. Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, King, Kirby, Landing, Lawson, Leber, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Magnuson, May, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, Mitchell, J. Moore, T. Moore, A. M. Morgan, T. A. Morgan, Moss, Murphy, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Nutt, O'Neal, Oremus, Ott, Pace, Pedalino, Pendarvis, Pope, Rivers, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sandifer, Schuessler, Sessions, G. M. Smith, M. M. Smith, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Tedder, Thayer, Thigpen, Trantham, Vaughan, Weeks, West, Wetmore, Wheeler, White, Whitmire, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE VICTORIA ESTELLE "DOLLY" GRANT OF BERKELEY COUNTY ON THE OCCASION OF HER ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY AND TO WISH HER A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MUCH HAPPINESS IN THE DAYS AHEAD.
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The Concurrent Resolution was adopted, ordered returned to the House.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the Senate to:

H. 3503 (Word version) -- Reps. Gilliam, Pope, Taylor, Chumley, Haddon, McCravy, Oremus, Hiott, Burns, Wooten, Hixon, Bailey, Caskey, Thayer, Trantham, Forrest, Yow, S. Jones, Sessions, Guffey, Lawson, Chapman, Leber, O'Neal, Vaughan, Robbins, B.J. Cox, M.M. Smith, Davis, Brewer, Murphy, Whitmire, Ligon, Felder, Mitchell, Hager, Connell, Carter, West, Calhoon, B. Newton, Neese, Landing, Blackwell, Pedalino, Willis and W. Newton: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-190, RELATING TO SCHEDULE I SUBSTANCES, SO AS TO ADD FENTANYL-RELATED SUBSTANCES; BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-370, RELATING TO PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALTIES, SO AS TO ADD AN OFFENSE FOR TRAFFICKING IN FENTANYL; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 16-1-60, RELATING TO VIOLENT CRIMES, SO AS TO ADD TRAFFICKING IN FENTANYL.
and has ordered the Bill enrolled for Ratification.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the Senate to:

H. 3553 (Word version) -- Reps. G.M. Smith, Erickson, Crawford, Hewitt, Davis, T. Moore, McCravy, B. Newton, West, Burns, Mitchell, Pace, S. Jones, White, Hixon, Hiott, Oremus, M.M. Smith, Landing, W. Newton, Robbins, Brewer, Cromer, Weeks, Wheeler, Magnuson, Yow and Pope: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-9-750, RELATING TO FINAL ADOPTION HEARINGS, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE MANDATORY NINETY-DAY WAITING PERIOD TO FINALIZE AN ADOPTION.
and has ordered the Bill enrolled for Ratification.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has sustained the veto by the Governor on R.62, H. 4413 by a vote of 41 to 50:

(R62, H4413 (Word version)) -- Rep. Bamberg: AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 104 OF 2021, RELATING TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE BAMBERG COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD CONSISTS OF SEVEN MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE BAMBERG COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION TO FOUR-YEAR TERMS BEGINNING JULY 1, 2024, AND TO PROVIDE A SUNSET PROVISION.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has overridden the veto by the Governor on R.63, S. 31 by a vote of 72 to 33:

(R63, S31 (Word version)) -- Senators Hutto and K. Johnson: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 5-7-240, RELATING TO INDEPENDENT AUDITS OF MUNICIPAL FINANCIAL RECORDS AND TRANSACTIONS, SO AS TO ALLOW MUNICIPALITIES WITH LESS THAN $500,000 IN TOTAL REVENUES TO PROVIDE A COMPILATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS; BY AMENDING SECTION 14-1-208, RELATING TO FINES AND ASSESSMENTS, SO AS TO INCLUDE REFERENCES TO FILING A COMPILATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 4-9-150, RELATING TO AUDITS OF COUNTY RECORDS, SO AS TO ALLOW FOR A FILING EXTENSION IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that the Report of the Committee of Conference having been adopted by both Houses, and this Bill having been read three times in each House, it was ordered that the title thereof be changed to that of an Act and that it be enrolled for Ratification:

S. 96 (Word version) -- Senators Campsen, Davis, McElveen, Cromer, Kimpson and Hutto: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 50-21-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR THE EQUIPMENT AND OPERATION OF WATERCRAFT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE DEFINITION OF PERSONAL WATERCRAFT; BY AMENDING SECTION 50-21-90, RELATING TO THE BOATING SAFETY AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO ISSUE A BOATING SAFETY CERTIFICATE UPON THE COMPLETION OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS; TO AMEND ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 21, TITLE 50, RELATING TO THE EQUIPMENT AND OPERATION OF WATERCRAFT, BY ADDING SECTION 50-21-95, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO OPERATE CERTAIN WATERCRAFT ON THE WATERS OF THIS STATE WITHOUT HAVING POSSESSION OF A BOATING SAFETY CERTIFICATE, WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS; TO REPEAL SECTION 50-21-870(A)(1), RELATING TO THE DEFINITION FOR THE TERM "PERSONAL WATERCRAFT"; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 50-21-870(B)(9), RELATING TO THE OPERATION OF CERTAIN WATERCRAFT BY PERSONS YOUNGER THAN SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., May 17, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it refuses to concur in the amendments proposed by the Senate to:

H. 3728 (Word version) -- Reps. Felder, A.M. Morgan, Leber, Magnuson, Haddon, Harris, Taylor, S. Jones, Landing, McCravy, Lowe, Jordan, Bradley, Herbkersman, Bannister, W. Newton, Elliott, B.J. Cox, Willis, Hewitt, West, Long, Burns and T.A. Morgan: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "SOUTH CAROLINA TRANSPARENCY AND INTEGRITY IN EDUCATION ACT"; BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 29, TITLE 59 SO AS TO EXPRESS RELATED INTENTIONS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, TO PROVIDE NECESSARY DEFINITIONS, TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN CONCEPTS FROM BEING INCLUDED IN PUBLIC SCHOOL INSTRUCTION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, TO PROVIDE MEANS FOR ADDRESSING VIOLATIONS, AND TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC REVIEW OF PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 59-28-180, RELATING TO PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS IN THE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION ACT, SO AS TO PROVIDE PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN REGARDING MORALS, ETHICS, AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY, AND TO PROVIDE A PARENTAL PLEDGE OF EXPECTATIONS MUST BE PROVIDED TO PARENTS AS PART OF THE REGISTRATION AND ENROLLMENT PROCESS.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

H. 3728--SENATE INSISTS ON THEIR AMENDMENTS

On motion of Senator HEMBREE, the Senate insisted upon its amendments to H. 3728 and asked for a Committee of Conference.

H. 3728--CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPOINTED

Whereupon, Senators JACKSON, MASSEY and HEMBREE were appointed to the Committee of Conference on the part of the Senate and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has appointed Reps. Erickson, Adam Morgan and Alexander to the Committee of Conference on the part of the House on:

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has appointed Rep. Rutherford to replace Rep. Weeks to the Committee of Conference on the part of the House on:

H. 4300 (Word version) -- Ways and Means Committee: A BILL TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS AND TO PROVIDE REVENUES TO MEET THE ORDINARY EXPENSES OF STATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2023, TO REGULATE THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH FUNDS, AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE OPERATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has appointed Rep. Rutherford to replace Rep. Weeks to the Committee of Conference on the part of the House on:

H. 4301 (Word version) -- Ways and Means Committee: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROPRIATE MONIES FROM THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023, AND TO ALLOW UNEXPENDED FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO BE CARRIED FORWARD TO SUCCEEDING FISCAL YEARS AND EXPENDED FOR THE SAME PURPOSES.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

HOUSE CONCURRENCE

S. 812 (Word version) -- Senators Young, Adams, Alexander, Allen, Bennett, Matthews, Campsen, Cash, Climer, Corbin, Cromer, Davis, Fanning, Gambrell, Garrett, Goldfinch, Grooms, Gustafson, Harpootlian, Hembree, Hutto, Jackson, K. Johnson, M. Johnson, Kimbrell, Kimpson, Loftis, Malloy, Martin, Massey, McElveen, McLeod, Peeler, Rankin, Reichenbach, Rice, Sabb, Scott, Senn, Setzler, Shealy, Stephens, Talley, Turner, Verdin and Williams: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE CLAY KILLIAN UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AS AIKEN COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, TO COMMEND HIM FOR HIS FORTY YEARS OF DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVICE, AND TO WISH HIM MUCH HAPPINESS AND FULFILLMENT IN THE YEARS AHEAD.

Returned with concurrence.

Received as information.

HOUSE CONCURRENCE

Returned with concurrence.

Received as information.

HOUSE CONCURRENCE

Returned with concurrence.

Received as information.

THE SENATE PROCEEDED TO A CALL OF THE UNCONTESTED LOCAL AND STATEWIDE CALENDAR.

ORDERED ENROLLED FOR RATIFICATION

The following Bills were read the third time and, having received three readings in both Houses, it was ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act and enrolled for Ratification:

H. 3360 (Word version) -- Reps. Pope, Gilliam, Wooten, McCravy, Felder, Williams, Erickson, Bradley, Mitchell, Forrest, B. Newton and Caskey: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING ARTICLE 17 TO CHAPTER 23, TITLE 23 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE CENTER FOR SCHOOL SAFETY AND TARGETED VIOLENCE WITHIN THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION.

H. 4217 (Word version) -- Reps. W. Newton, Herbkersman, Erickson, Bradley and Hager: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 7-7-110, RELATING TO DESIGNATION OF VOTING PRECINCTS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, SO AS TO REVISE THE NAMES OF CERTAIN PRECINCTS, ADD NEW PRECINCTS, AND TO REDESIGNATE THE MAP NUMBER ON WHICH THESE PRECINCTS MAY BE FOUND ON FILE WITH THE REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OFFICE.

THE SENATE PROCEEDED TO A CONSIDERATION OF THE VETOES.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 7, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has overridden the veto by the Governor on R.85, H. 3890 by a vote of 94 to 4:

(R85, H3890 (Word version)) -- Reps. Rose, Murphy, Brewer, Mitchell, Robbins, Schuessler, Guest, King and B. Newton: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 22-5-920, RELATING TO YOUTHFUL OFFENDER ELIGIBILITY FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF CERTAIN OFFENSES, SO AS TO ALLOW EXPUNGEMENT FOR CONVICTIONS INVOLVING A DRIVING UNDER SUSPENSION OFFENSE OR A DISTURBING SCHOOLS OFFENSE.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

Motion Adopted

On motion of Senator SABB, the Senate agreed to waive the provisions of Rule 32A requiring the veto to be printed on the Calendar.

The veto of the Governor was taken up for immediate consideration.

VETO OVERRIDDEN

Senator SABB moved that the veto of the Governor be overridden.

The question was put, "Shall the Act become law, the veto of the Governor to the contrary notwithstanding?"

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 34; Nays 2

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    McElveen                  McLeod
Rankin                    Reichenbach               Rice
Sabb                      Scott                     Setzler
Shealy                    Stephens                  Talley
Turner                    Verdin                    Williams
Young

Total--34

NAYS

Massey                    Peeler

Total--2

The necessary two-thirds vote having been received, the veto of the Governor was overridden, and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

THE SENATE PROCEEDED TO A CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF COMMITTEES OF CONFERENCE AND FREE CONFERENCE.

ACTING PRESIDENT PRESIDES

Senator SHEALY assumed the Chair.

H. 4300--REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE ADOPTED

On motion of Senator PEELER, with unanimous consent, the Report of the Committee of Conference was taken up for immediate consideration.

Senator PEELER spoke on the report.

The question then was adoption of the Report of Committee of Conference.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 36; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36

NAYS

Total--0

The Committee of Conference Committee was adopted as follows:

H. 4300--Conference Report
The General Assembly, Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:
(H 4300) -- Ways and Means Committee: A BILL TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS AND TO PROVIDE REVENUES TO MEET THE ORDINARY EXPENSES OF STATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2023, TO REGULATE THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH FUNDS, AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE OPERATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Beg leave to report that they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend:

That the same do pass with the following amendments: (Reference is to Printer's Version 05/09/23.)

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:

Amend title to conform.

/s/Sen. Harvey Peeler Jr.         /s/Rep. Bruce Bannister
/s/Sen. Thomas Alexander          /s/Rep. William Herbkersman
/s/Sen. Nikki Setzler             Rep. James Rutherford
On Part of the Senate.            On Part of the House.

, and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has adopted the Report of the Committee of Conference on:

Received as information.

H. 4300--REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE
ENROLLED FOR RATIFICATION

The Report of the Committee of Conference having been adopted by both Houses, ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act, and the Act enrolled for Ratification.

A message was sent to the House accordingly.

H. 4301--REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE ADOPTED

On motion of Senator PEELER, with unanimous consent, the Report of the Committee of Conference was taken up for immediate consideration.

Senator PEELER spoke on the report.

The question then was adoption of the Report of Committee of Conference.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 36; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36
NAYS

Total--0

The Committee of Conference Committee was adopted as follows:

H. 4301--Conference Report

The General Assembly, Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:

H. 4301 (WORD VERSION) - Ways and Means Committee. TO APPROPRIATE MONIES FROM THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023, AND TO ALLOW UNEXPENDED FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO BE CARRIED FORWARD TO SUCCEEDING FISCAL YEARS AND EXPENDED FOR THE SAME PURPOSES.
Beg leave to report that they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend:
That the same do pass with the following amendments:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
SECTION 1. In accordance with the provisions of Section 36(B)(2) and (3), Article III, Constitution of South Carolina, 1895, and Section 11-11-320(C) and (D) of the S. C. Code, there is appropriated from the monies available in the Capital Reserve Fund for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 the following amounts:
(1) H090 The Citadel

Engineering Building $11,499,994
(2) H120 Clemson University

Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $10,000,000
(3) H150 University of Charleston

Maintenance, Renovation, Replacement, and

Expansion $9,000,000
(4) H170 Coastal Carolina

(a) Maintenance, Renovation, and

Replacement $3,500,000
(b) Edwards Humanities Building Renovation $4,000,000
(5) H180 Francis Marion University
(a) Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $1
(b) Founders Hall Renovation $9,000,000
(6) H210 Lander University
(a) Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $1
(b) Nursing Building $4,000,000
(c) Information Technology Security $3,500,000
(7) H240 South Carolina State University
(a) Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $1
(b) Turner Hall Replacement $10,000,000
(8) H270 USC Columbia
(a) Science and Technology Center $15,000,000
(b) Rural Brain Health Network and

Brain Health Institute $1
(9) H290 USC Aiken
(a) Maintenance, Renovation, and

Replacement $2,000,000
(b) Etherredge Center HVAC Upgrades $2,000,000
(10) H340 USC Upstate
(a) Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $5,000,000
(b) Health Education Complex Mechanical

Repairs $5,000,000
(11) H360 USC Beaufort
Convocation Center $10,000,000
(12) H370 USC Lancaster
Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $5,000,000
(13) H380 USC Salkehatchie
Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $5,000,000
(14) H390 USC Sumter
Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $8,000,000
(15) H400 USC Union
Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $5,000,000
(16) H470 Winthrop University
Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $2,500,000
(17) H510 Medical University of South Carolina
Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement $5,000,000
(18) H590 Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education
Maintenance, Renovation, and Replacement

(a) Aiken Technical College $3,000,000

(b) Central Carolina Technical College $1

(d) Florence-Darlington Technical College $2,000,000

(e) Greenville Technical College $7,000,000

(f) Midlands Technical College $10,000,000

(g) Horry-Georgetown Technical College $1,000,000

(h) Northeastern Technical College $1,000,000

(i) Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College $2,000,000

(j) Piedmont Technical College $6,500,000

(k) Spartanburg Community College $6,000,000

(l) Technical College of the Lowcountry $1,500,000

(m) Tri-County Technical College $7,000,000

(n) Trident Technical College $2,500,000

(o) Williamsburg Technical College $1,000,000

(p) York Technical College $4,000,000
(q) Central Carolina Technical College

Sumter County $8,694,430
(19) H590 Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education
(a) Horry Georgetown Technical College

Marine Technology Center $2,000,000
(b) Trident Technical College
Electric Vehicle Institute $5,000,000
(c) Trident Technical College

Workforce Training $5,000,000
(d) readySC $1
SECTION 2. The Comptroller General shall post the appropriations contained in this joint resolution as provided in Section 11-11-320(D) of the S.C. Code. Unexpended funds appropriated pursuant to this joint resolution may be carried forward to succeeding fiscal years and expended for the same purposes.
SECTION 3. This joint resolution takes effect thirty days after the completion of the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year in accordance with the provisions of Section 36(B)(3)(a), Article III, Constitution of South Carolina, 1895, and Section 11-11-320(D)(1) of the S.C. Code.
Amend title to conform.

/s/Sen. Peeler                    /s/Rep. Bannister
/s/Sen. Alexander                 /s/Rep. Herbkersman
/s/Sen. Setzler                   Rep. Rutherford
On part of the Senate.            On part of the House.

, and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has adopted the Report of the Committee of Conference on:

Received as information.

H. 4301--REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE
ENROLLED FOR RATIFICATION

The Report of the Committee of Conference having been adopted by both Houses, ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act, and the Act enrolled for Ratification.

A message was sent to the House accordingly.

PRESIDENT PRESIDES

The PRESIDENT assumed the Chair.

H. 3532--FREE CONFERENCE POWERS GRANTED
FREE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPOINTED
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF FREE CONFERENCE ADOPTED

H. 3532 (Word version) -- Reps. G.M. Smith, Pope, McCravy, B. Newton, West, Chapman, Burns, Wooten, Haddon, O'Neal, Carter, W. Newton, M.M. Smith, Davis, Pace, B.L. Cox, Gilliam, Thayer, Bailey, Hardee, Blackwell, Leber, Mitchell, Chumley, Ligon, Hiott, Yow, Landing, Hixon, Taylor, Oremus, Cromer and J.E. Johnson: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-270 SO AS TO PROVIDE SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS FOR PERSONS WHO COMMIT CERTAIN ADDITIONAL CRIMES WHILE ON PRETRIAL RELEASE ON BOND; BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-280 SO AS TO PROHIBIT PRETRIAL RELEASE ON BOND FOR PERSONS CHARGED WITH COMMITTING CERTAIN ADDITIONAL CRIMES AND TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING IF ADDITIONAL CHARGES ARE PENDING; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 17-15-15, RELATING TO THE DEPOSIT OF A CASH PERCENTAGE IN LIEU OF BOND, SO AS TO REQUIRE A FULL CASH BOND FOR PERSONS CHARGED WITH CERTAIN CRIMES.

On motion of Senator MALLOY, with unanimous consent, the Report of the Committee of Conference was taken up for immediate consideration.

Senator MALLOY spoke on the report.

H. 3532--Free Conference Powers Granted
Free Conference Committee Appointed

Senator MALLOY asked unanimous consent to be granted Free Conference Powers.

The question then was granting of Free Conference Powers.

Free Conference Powers were granted.

Whereupon, Senators HEMBREE, MALLOY and ADAMS were appointed to the Committee of Free Conference on the part of the Senate and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

The question then was adoption of the Report of the Committee of Free Conference.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 36; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36

NAYS

Total--0

The Report of Free Conference was adopted.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has requested and was granted Free Conference Powers and has appointed Reps. Jeff Johnson, Robbins and Wetmore to the Committee of Free Conference on the part of the House on:

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has adopted the Report of the Committee of Free Conference on:

Received as information.

On motion of Senator MALLOY, the Report of the Committee of Free Conference to H. 3532 was adopted as follows:

H. 3532--Free Conference Report
The General Assembly, Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:

H. 3532 (WORD VERSION) - Reps. G.M. Smith, Pope, McCravy, B. Newton, West, Chapman, Burns, Wooten, Haddon, O'Neal, Carter, W. Newton, M.M. Smith, Davis, Pace, B.L. Cox, Gilliam, Thayer, Bailey, Hardee, Blackwell, Leber, Mitchell, Chumley, Ligon, Hiott, Yow, Landing, Hixon, Taylor, Oremus, Cromer and J.E. Johnson: TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-270 SO AS TO PROVIDE SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS FOR PERSONS WHO COMMIT CERTAIN ADDITIONAL CRIMES WHILE ON PRETRIAL RELEASE ON BOND; BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-280 SO AS TO PROHIBIT PRETRIAL RELEASE ON BOND FOR PERSONS CHARGED WITH COMMITTING CERTAIN ADDITIONAL CRIMES AND TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING IF ADDITIONAL CHARGES ARE PENDING; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 17-15-15, RELATING TO THE DEPOSIT OF A CASH PERCENTAGE IN LIEU OF BOND, SO AS TO REQUIRE A FULL CASH BOND FOR PERSONS CHARGED WITH CERTAIN CRIMES.

Beg leave to report that they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend:
That the same do pass with the following amendments:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
SECTION 1. Chapter 15, Title 17 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 17-15-270. (A) It is unlawful for a person to commit a violent crime while under a bond order or other pretrial release order for a previous violent crime. If the person is convicted of the subsequent violent crime, and is thereafter convicted of a violation of this section, the person is guilty of a felony and must be imprisoned not more than five years. The sentence may be imposed concurrently or consecutively to the punishment for the principal offense.

(B) For purposes of this section:

(1) a violent crime is defined as those contained in Section 16-1-60;

(2) a subsequent violent crime is one that occurs at a later date and time than the offense that resulted in the imposition of the bond order or other pretrial release order.
SECTION 2. Section 17-15-15 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 17-15-15. (A) Except as provided in subsection (D), in lieu of requiring actual posting of bond as provided in ~~subsection (A) of~~ Section 17-15-10(A), the court setting bond may permit the defendant to deposit in cash with the clerk of court an amount not to exceed ten percent of the amount of bond set, which amount, when the defendant fulfills the condition of the bond, ~~shall~~ must be returned to the defendant by the clerk except as provided in subsection (C).

(B) The cash deposit provided for in subsection (A) ~~shall~~ must be assignable at any time after it is posted with the clerk of court by written assignment executed by the defendant and delivered to the clerk. After assignment and after the defendant fulfills the condition of his bond, the clerk shall return the cash deposit to the assignee ~~thereof~~.

(C) In the event the cash deposit is not assigned but the defendant is required by the court to make restitution to the victim of his crime, ~~such~~ the deposit may be used for the purpose of ~~such~~ restitution.

(D) The provisions of this section do not apply if the defendant is charged with a violent offense, as defined by Section 16-1-60, or any felony offense involving a firearm while out on bond or other pretrial release. If the court, pursuant to the limitations of Section 17-15-30, finds that such defendant may be released pending trial, bond must be set at the full United States currency cash bond to the exclusion of all other forms of bond whether the bond is posted by the defendant or with a bondsman. After the defendant fulfills the conditions of the bond, the clerk shall return the cash bond amount paid to the defendant. However, in the event the defendant is required by the court to make restitution to the victim of his crime, the cash bond may be used for the purpose of such restitution.

Any currency cash bond must be conditioned on the person charged personally appearing before the court specified to answer the charge or indictment and to do and receive what is enjoined by the court, and not to leave the State, and be of good behavior toward all the citizens of the State, or especially toward a person or persons specified by the court. Additionally, the court may impose any other conditions allowed under Chapter 15 , Title 17, and any other provision of law.
SECTION 3. Section 17-15-30 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 17-15-30. (A) In determining conditions of release that will reasonably assure appearance, or if release would constitute an unreasonable danger to the community or an individual, a court may, on the basis of the following information, consider the nature and circumstances of an offense charged and the charged person's:

(1) family ties;

(2) employment;

(3) financial resources;

(4) character and mental condition;

(5) length of residence in the community;

(6) record of convictions; and

(7) record of flight to avoid prosecution or failure to appear at other court proceedings.

(B) A court ~~shall~~ must consider:

(1) a person's criminal record;

(2) any current charges pending against a person and any prior charges against a person at the time release is requested;

(3) all incident reports generated as a result of an offense charged;

(4) whether a person is an alien unlawfully present in the United States, and poses a substantial flight risk due to this status; ~~and~~

(5) whether the charged person appears in the state gang database maintained at the State Law Enforcement Division; and

(6) whether a person is currently out on bond for another offense.

(C)(1) Prior to or at the time of a hearing, the arresting law enforcement agency ~~shall~~ must provide the court with the following information:

(a) a person's criminal record;

(b) any charges pending against a person at the time release is requested;

(d) any other information that will assist the court in determining conditions of release to include, but not be limited to, notification of any existing bonds for another offense.

(2) The arresting law enforcement agency shall inform the court if any of the information is not available at the time of the hearing and the reason the information is not available. Failure on the part of the law enforcement agency to provide the court with the information does not constitute grounds for the postponement or delay of the person's hearing. Notwithstanding the provisions of this item, when a person is charged with a violation of Chapter 25, Title 16, the bond hearing may not proceed without the person's criminal record and incident report or the presence of the arresting officer. The bond hearing for a violation of Chapter 25, Title 16 must occur within twenty-four hours after the arrest.

(D) A court hearing these matters has contempt powers to enforce the provisions of this section.
SECTION 4. Chapter 15, Title 17 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 17-15-35. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Approved active electronic monitoring device" and "monitoring device" means a body worn or non-body worn device or mobile phone application approved by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division which records or transmits oral or wire communications or an auditory sound, visual images, or information regarding the person's location and activities, that must verify live biometric, photographic, or videographic identification information, and that timely records and reports the person's location.

(2) "Approved electronic monitoring agency" means a law enforcement agency, licensed bondsman or bonding company, or electronic monitoring company that is certified by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to supply, maintain, and monitor electronic monitoring devices to participants ordered by the court to wear electronic monitoring devices under the provisions of this section.

(3) "SLED" means the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

(4) "Monitoring agency" or "agency" means an approved electronic monitoring agency.

(5) "Participant" means a person, ordered by the court or as a condition of bond to wear or possess an approved electronic monitoring device.

(B)(1) The court, in its discretion, may, for a person charged with a violation of criminal offense under the jurisdiction of the court of general sessions or any offense where the court finds sufficient evidence of a concern for the victim's safety or the safety of any member of the public, order that the person be placed on surveillance via an approved active electronic monitoring device which must be worn or possessed at all times for the duration specified by the court, either in lieu of setting or requiring the posting of bond or as an additional condition of the release on bond.

(2) For pretrial bond consideration, the judge is not limited to nonviolent offenses, but must take into consideration all concerns relating to the setting of an appropriate bond under Section 22-5-510, Sections 17-15-10, et seq., and Section 16-25-120. The device must be capable of recording the person's location at all times. If the court orders a device, before the participant is allowed to leave custody, the detention facility where the defendant is located, in coordination with the approved monitoring agency, must ensure the participant is fitted with an approved active electronic monitoring device, and that all appropriate bond paperwork, including the agreement with the bonding and electronic monitoring companies acknowledging the terms and restrictions of the bond, is completed.

(3) The participant who is ordered on supervision must:

(a) wear an approved device at all times to verify his compliance with the conditions of his detention or if the device is not body worn, must maintain possession of his approved device on or near his person at all times for the duration of the detention and must verify his identity and location at any time required by the order of the court and must maintain the monitoring device on or near his person at all times for the duration of the detention, subject to the order of the court and reasonable orders of an agent or employee of the monitoring agency in order to effectuate the conditions of the monitoring order. For purposes of this subsection, "near" means within hearing distance of the device's notification or call alerts but not farther than thirty feet. In areas of the State where cellular coverage requires the use of an alternate device, the approved electronic monitoring company may use an alternate approved device with approval of the court;

(b) charge and maintain the monitoring device in working order and must report any damage, destruction, or noticeable malfunction of the active monitoring device, whether the incident was accidental or intentional, and including the device having a dead battery, to at least one of the following parties within two hours of the incident: the monitoring agency, the appropriate law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the underlying offense, or any other party specified in the order;

(c) abide by other terms and conditions set forth by the approved electronic monitoring agency with regard to the monitoring device and electronic monitoring program;

(d) turn himself in to custody of the appropriate detention facility upon the order of the monitoring agency, or the appropriate law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the offense; and

(e) pay for the cost of the approved active electronic monitoring device and the operation of the monitoring device for the duration of the time the person is required to be electronically monitored, subject to an order of indigency by the court. The summary court or circuit court has jurisdiction upon motion of the defendant to consider exempting a person from the payment of a part or all of the cost during a part or all of the duration of the time the person is required to be electronically monitored, if it is determined that exceptional circumstances exist such that these payments cause a severe hardship to the person who is deemed indigent. If the indigency hearing is held at a time and date separate from the initial bond hearing, the defense must notify the prosecutor, the bondsman, and the monitoring agency of the date, time, and location of the hearing subject to the notice requirements of the court.

The payment of the cost must be a condition of supervision of the person and a delinquency of two weeks or more in making payments may operate as a violation of a term or condition of the electronic monitoring and bond. No person shall be denied the privilege of electronic monitoring under this statute based on inability to pay upon a finding by the court that the defendant meets the qualifications for indigency. The State shall allocate funds to be housed in an indigency fund under the control of the Department of Public Safety to be distributed to the monitoring companies as appropriate to cover the cost of indigent participants.

(C) A participant ordered by the court to be monitored under the provisions of this section, who fails to comply with any of the provisions of this section or who fails to comply with any additional condition of the court order including location restrictions, may have his bond revoked or may be punished for contempt at the discretion of the court.

(D) It is unlawful for any person, knowingly and without authority, to remove, tamper with, damage, destroy, shield the signal from, or otherwise circumvent an active electronic monitoring device, or to aid or assist a person ordered by the court to be electronically monitored under the provisions of this section to remove, tamper with, damage, destroy, shield the signal from, or otherwise circumvent a monitoring device and, upon conviction, the person must be punished under the provisions of Section 24-13-425. This subsection does not apply to a person or agent of the electronic monitoring agency or bonding company, or a member of law enforcement acting under the authority of and with compliance to the court order.

(E)(1) Upon violation of any of these requirements and a showing by affidavit and supporting records by the electronic monitoring company on a domestic violence bond or general sessions bond or where emergency circumstances exist on any other bond, the approved electronic monitoring company may approach a summary court judge for a bench warrant if one is not already provided for in the bond paperwork or other court order. Law enforcement shall immediately attempt to locate and incarcerate the defendant upon notice of the bench warrant. After incarceration, the prosecutor must be notified and the defendant must be brought before a summary court judge within three calendar days or before a circuit court judge within three business days, whichever has jurisdiction of the underlying charge, to determine whether the bond is to be reconsidered or bond conditions amended. The prosecution must provide the defense with any relevant evidence regarding the alleged violation within a reasonable time before the hearing and the hearing may be continued for cause.

(2) Nothing in this section shall reduce any duty of the bondsman to pick up the offending bailee and immediately incarcerate him for violation of bond conditions. Failure to do so may lead to bond estreatment for failure to enforce bond conditions by the bondsman and possible other administrative or criminal action.

(3) Nothing in this section may be used to hold the electronic monitoring agency civilly liable for any criminal acts of the defendant committed while being monitored.
SECTION 5. Chapter 15, Title 17 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 17-15-37. (A) The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division may promulgate regulations to effectuate the intent of Section 17-15-35 and this section, develop standards for the use and approval of active electronic monitoring devices, and shall certify electronic monitoring agencies, including law enforcement agencies, electronic monitoring companies, and bondsmen and bonding companies. SLED must keep a public list of those companies that are certified.

(B) The approved electronic monitoring agency must:

(1) provide active electronic monitoring devices or mobile phone applications approved by SLED that must provide verifiable identity and location information at regular and random intervals throughout the day, and that timely record and report the person's presence near or within a prohibited area or the person's departure from a specified geographic location;

(2) allow any law enforcement agency, including the prosecutor's office, to have access to real-time monitoring, if possible, and any reports requested by law enforcement or the prosecution must be provided within twenty-four hours of the request;

(3) notify the solicitor having jurisdiction over the participant and the bondsman within forty-eight hours when he becomes aware or should have become aware that the participant has violated any provision of the court's order for electronic monitoring, or the participant has been surrendered to the custody of law enforcement; and

(4) immediately notify local law enforcement and make reasonable attempts to immediately notify the victim if the participant violates any exclusion zones related to the victim.

(C) Failure of the electronic monitoring agency to maintain compliance with regulations established by SLED, the order of the court, or any applicable statute shall be reported to SLED by the solicitor for administrative action. SLED may impose a fine, or suspend or revoke the certification for any approved agency who demonstrates a failure to maintain the standards and reporting requirements set forth under the regulations and appropriate statutes.
SECTION 6. Section 17-15-55 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 17-15-55. (A)(1) The circuit courts, at their discretion, may review and reconsider bond for general sessions offenses set by summary court judges. Also, the circuit courts may consider motions regarding reconsideration of bond for general sessions offenses set by summary court judges upon motions filed with the clerks of court. Hearings on these motions must be scheduled. The rules of evidence do not apply to bond hearings.

(2) After a circuit court judge has heard and ruled upon a defendant's motion to reconsider a bond set by a summary court judge, further defense motions to reconsider may be heard by the circuit court only upon the defendant's prima facie showing of a material change in circumstances which relate to the factors provided in Section 17-15-30, and which have arisen since the prior motion to reconsider. In addition, the circuit court may hear further defense motions to reconsider based on the length of time the defendant has been held for trial after six months. The chief judge shall schedule a hearing or if such showing is not set forth in the written motion, deny the motion for failure to make a prima facie showing of a material change in circumstances. A defendant shall be advised of his right to a speedy trial. ~~Information regarding the defendant's guilt or innocence does not qualify as a change in circumstances for purposes of reconsidering bond absent the solicitor's consent.~~Notwithstanding another provision of law, nothing prevents a solicitor or the defendant from filing a motion for a speedy trial or requesting the court to set a date certain for trial based on the facts and circumstances in the case. If either party fails to comply with the terms of an order granting a speedy trial, the court may reconsider the terms of the defendant's bond, may consider sanctions and may grant other just and proper relief as the court determines.

(B)(1) Motions by the State to revoke or modify a bond must be made in writing, state with particularity the grounds for revocation or modification, and set forth the relief or order sought. The motions must be filed with the clerks of court, and a copy must be served on the chief judge, defense counsel of record, and bond surety, if any. The court must have a hearing and rule on the state's motion within thirty days of the filing.

(2) After a circuit court judge has heard and ruled upon the state's motion to reconsider a bond set by a summary court judge, further state motions to reconsider may be heard by the circuit court only upon the state's prima facie showing of a material change in circumstances which have arisen since the prior motion to reconsider. The chief judge shall schedule a hearing or if such showing is not set forth in the written motion, deny the motion for failure to make a prima facie showing of a material change in circumstances.

(3) If the state's motion to revoke or modify bond includes a prima facie showing of imminent danger to the community, imminent danger to the defendant, or flight by the defendant, the chief judge or presiding judge shall conduct or order an emergency bond hearing to be conducted by the circuit court judge within forty-eight hours of receiving service of the state's motion or as soon as practical. The chief judge shall order the solicitor to notify the defense counsel of record and bond surety of the time and date of the hearing, and the solicitor shall provide proof that reasonable efforts were made to affect the notice. Upon notice by the State, the defense counsel of record and bond surety shall make reasonable efforts to notify the defendant of the emergency hearing. The court may proceed with the hearing despite the absence of the defendant or bond surety. The court may not proceed with the hearing if the defense counsel of record is not present. If an emergency bond hearing is held without the presence of the defendant and bond is revoked, the judge having heard the matter may conduct the hearing on the defendant's motion to reconsider the revocation. Defense motions to reconsider revocation must be filed with the clerk of court and served on the solicitor and bond surety.

(C) If a person commits a violent ~~crime~~offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60, or any felony offense involving a firearm, which was committed when the person was already out on bond for a previous violent ~~crime~~ offense or any felony offense involving a firearm and the subsequent ~~violent crime~~ offense did not arise out of the same series of events as the previous ~~violent crime~~offense, then:

(1) the bond ~~hearing~~ for the ~~subsequent violent crime~~original offense must be revoked by operation of law and a hearing for the subsequent violent offense or any felony offense involving a firearm must be held in the circuit court within thirty days;

(2) during the bond hearing for the subsequent violent offense or felony offense involving a firearm, the court must issue findings of fact and conclusions of law addressing the revocation of bond for the original offense, whether a new bond is issued for the previous offense as well as if bond is appropriate for the subsequent violent offense or felony offense involving a firearm;

(3) Iif the court finds that certain conditions of release on bond will ensure that the person is unlikely to flee or pose a danger to any other person or the community and the person will abide by the terms of release on bond, the judge shall consider bond in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and set or amend bond accordingly. Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 17-15-15, any bond set for a violent offense or felony offense involving a firearm committed when the person was already out on bond for a previous violent offense or felony offense involving a firearm must be deposited to the court in cash or its equivalent in full, notwithstanding if posted by the person, his representative, or by a bond surety;

(4) Iif the court finds no such conditions will ensure that the person is unlikely to flee or not pose a danger to the community, the court shall not set a bond for the instant offense and must revoke all previously set bonds; and

~~(D)~~ (5)Iif a person commits a violent ~~crime~~offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60, or felony offense involving a firearm which was committed when the person was already out on bond for a previous violent ~~crime~~offense or felony offense involving a firearm, and the subsequent ~~violent crime~~ offense did not arise out of the same series of events as the previous ~~violent crime~~ offense, then the arresting law enforcement agency must transmit notice of the second arrest, implicating this subsection ~~(C)~~, to the solicitor of the circuit in which the ~~crime~~ offense was committed and the administrative chief judge of the circuit in which the ~~crime~~ offense was committed. The prosecuting agency must notify any victims of the initial or subsequent ~~crimes~~ offenses pursuant to Chapter 3, Title 16 of any bond hearings.

(D) If a person commits a violent offense, as defined in Section 16-1-60, or felony offense involving a firearm which was committed when the person was already out on bond for two or more previous separate violent offenses or felony offenses involving a firearm for which separate bonds were set, and the subsequent offense did not arise out of the same series of events as the two or more previous separate offenses, and the court determines that under the totality of the circumstances the previous bonds should not be revoked and another bond should be set, any bond set by the court must be deposited in full and may not be posted by any bond surety company.

(E) Notwithstanding subsection (C)(2), if the original bond was set in another judicial circuit, that prosecution agency shall be notified of the revocation and any finding the court makes pursuant to this subsection. The prosecution agency having jurisdiction over the subsequent charge must make the notification required in this subsection within forty-eight hours of the conclusion of the preceding. The presiding judge has jurisdiction to make a finding on record to deny a new bond on the original charge or may order a new bond hearing to be scheduled on the original charge in the judicial circuit where the charges are pending. This hearing must be scheduled within thirty days by the prosecution agency having jurisdiction over the original charges.

(F) For the purpose of bond revocation only, a summary court has concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court for ~~ten~~ thirty days from the date bond is first set on a charge by the summary court or the date of the grand jury indictment whichever occurs first to determine if bond should be revoked.
SECTION 7. Section 22-5-510 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 22-5-510. (A) Magistrates may admit to bail a person charged with an offense, the punishment of which is not death or imprisonment for life; provided, however, with respect to violent offenses as defined by the General Assembly pursuant to Section 15, Article I of the Constitution of South Carolina, 1895, magistrates may deny bail giving due weight to the evidence and to the nature and circumstances of the event, including, but not limited to, any charges pending against the person requesting bail. "Violent offenses" as used in this section means the offenses contained in Section 16-1-60. If a person under lawful arrest on a charge not bailable is brought before a magistrate, the magistrate shall commit the person to jail. If the offense charged is bailable, the magistrate shall take recognizance with sufficient surety, if it is offered, in default whereof the person must be incarcerated.

(B) A person charged with a bailable offense must have a bond hearing within twenty-four hours of his arrest and must be released within a reasonable time, not to exceed four hours, after the bond is delivered to the incarcerating facility.

(C) In determining conditions of release that will reasonably assure appearance, or if release would constitute an unreasonable danger to the community or an individual, a court, on the basis of the following information, may consider the nature and circumstances of an offense charged and the charged person's:

(1) family ties;

(2) employment;

(3) financial resources;

(4) character and mental condition;

(5) length of residence in the community;

(6) record of convictions; and

(7) record of flight to avoid prosecution or failure to appear at other court proceedings.

(D) A court ~~shall~~ must consider:

(1) a person's criminal record;

(2) any charges pending against a person at the time release is requested;

(3) all incident reports generated as a result of an offense charged;

(4) whether a person is an alien unlawfully present in the United States, and poses a substantial flight risk due to this status; ~~and~~

(5) whether the charged person appears in the state gang database maintained at the State Law Enforcement Division; and

(6) whether a person is currently out on bond for another offense.

(E) Prior to or at the time of the bond hearing, the arresting law enforcement agency ~~shall~~ must provide the court with the following information:

(1) the person's criminal record;

(2) any charges pending against the person at the time release is requested;

(3) all incident reports generated as a result of the offense charged; and

(4) any other information that will assist the court in determining conditions of release to include, but not be limited to, notification of any existing bonds for another offense.

(F) The arresting law enforcement agency shall inform the court if any of the information required in subsections (C), (D), and (E) is not available at the time of the hearing and the reason the information is not available. Failure on the part of the law enforcement agency to provide the court with the information does not constitute grounds for the postponement or delay of the person's bond hearing. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, when a person is charged with a violation of Chapter 25, Title 16, the bond hearing may not proceed without the person's criminal record and incident report or the presence of the arresting officer. The bond hearing for a violation of Chapter 25, Title 16 must occur within twenty-four hours after the arrest.

(G) A court hearing this matter has contempt powers to enforce these provisions.
SECTION 8. Section 24-13-40 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 24-13-40. The computation of the time served by prisoners under sentences imposed by the courts of this State must be calculated from the date of the imposition of the sentence. However, when (a) a prisoner shall have given notice of intention to appeal, (b) the commencement of the service of the sentence follows the revocation of probation, or (c) the court shall have designated a specific time for the commencement of the service of the sentence, the computation of the time served must be calculated from the date of the commencement of the service of the sentence. In every case in computing the time served by a prisoner, full credit against the sentence must be given for time served prior to trial and sentencing, and may be given for any time spent under monitored house arrest. Provided, however, that credit for time served prior to trial and sentencing shall not be given: (1) when the prisoner at the time he was imprisoned prior to trial was an escapee from another penal institution; or (2) when the prisoner is serving a sentence for one offense and is awaiting trial and sentence for a second offense in which case he shall not receive credit for time served prior to trial in a reduction of his sentence for the second offense; (3) when the prisoner commits a subsequent crime while out on bond; or (4) has bond revoked on any charge prior to trial or plea.
SECTION 9. Section 24-13-425 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 24-13-425. (A) For the purposes of this section:

~~(1)~~ "electronic monitoring device" includes any device ordered by a court or pursuant to any statute that is utilized to track the location of a person.

~~(2) "Person" includes any public or private agency or entity providing electronic monitoring services.~~

(B) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly and without authority remove, destroy, or circumvent the operation of an electronic monitoring device which is being used for the purpose of monitoring a person who is:

(1) complying with the Home Detention Act as set forth in Article 15, Title 24;

(2) wearing an electronic monitoring device as a condition of bond or pretrial release;

(3) wearing an electronic monitoring device as a condition of probation, parole, or community supervision; or

(4) wearing an electronic monitoring device as required by any other provision of law.

(C) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly and without authority request or solicit any other person to remove, destroy, or circumvent the operation of an electronic monitoring device which is being used for the purposes described in subsection (B).

(D) This section does not apply to an employee or agent of the electronic monitoring company, bonding company, or law enforcement entity who removes or replaces an active electronic monitoring device in order to perform maintenance and repair on the device, who removes and replaces a non-working device, who removes the device once the person is placed into secure custody or if the underlying charges have been dismissed, or who otherwise is acting under the authority of the court order.

(E) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of the misdemeanor offense of tampering with the operation of an electronic monitoring device and shall be imprisoned for not more than three years, or fined up to three thousand dollars, or both.
SECTION 10. Chapter 15, Title 17 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 17-15-500. (A) There is established the South Carolina Pretrial Reform Commission composed of fifteen members as follows:

(1) three members to be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee;

(2) three members to be appointed by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee;

(3) three members of the judiciary to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court;

(4) three members of the executive branch to be appointed by the Governor; and

(5) three members of the directly impacted community, including one crime survivor, one person that has been through the pretrial system, and a community member at large to be jointly appointed by the Chairmen of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

(B) The members of the commission may begin meeting when at least a quorum has been appointed and shall elect one member to serve as chairman. A quorum shall consist of at least eight members.

(C) The primary duty of the South Carolina Pretrial Reform Commission is to prepare a comprehensive report that reviews and recommends:

(1) appropriate changes to the current pretrial system for all criminal offenses;

(2) maintaining, amending, or abolishing the current system for determining pretrial release or detention; and

(3) guidelines for legislation to improve the processing of cases in the court of general sessions, community safety, and court appearance outcomes.

(D) The purpose of the report is to enable the General Assembly to consider the Pretrial Reform Commission's findings and determine whether state laws should be amended.

(E) In making its recommendations, the commission must consider current case processing and correctional resources including, but not limited to, the capacities of local jails, community-based service providers, and state courts.

(F) The Pretrial Reform Commission must deliver its report and recommendations to the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee no later than July 1, 2024, and the commission shall terminate when the report is made.

(G) The Supreme Court shall provide appropriate staff for the commission. The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee may provide additional staff for the Senate members, and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee may provide additional staff for the House members.

(H) Members of the Pretrial Reform Commission may receive per diem, subsistence, and mileage as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions.
SECTION 11. Section 38-53-10(12) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(12) "Surety bondsman" means any person who is approved by and licensed by the director or his designee as ana property and casualty insurance agent, appointed by an insurer by power of attorney to execute or countersign bail bonds for the insurer in connection with judicial proceedings, and receives or is promised money or other things of value for the execution or countersignature.
SECTION 12. Section 38-53-10 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(15) "Electronic monitoring" means monitoring a person by the use of a device which records or transmits oral or wire communications or an auditory sound, visual images, or information regarding the person's activities.
SECTION 13. Section 38-53-50(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(B) If the circumstances warrant immediate incarceration of the defendant to prevent imminent violation of one of the specific terms of the bail bond, or if the defendant has violated one of the specific terms of the bond, the surety may take the defendant to the appropriate detention facility for holding until the court orders that the surety be relieved. The surety, within three business days following recommitment, must file with the detention facility and the court an affidavit clocked in with the clerk of court on a form provided by the Division of Court Administration stating the facts to support the surrender of the defendant for good cause. Nonpayment of premium fees alone is not sufficient cause to warrant immediate incarceration of the defendant. When the defendant and the affidavit are presented at the appropriate detention facility, the facility shall take custody of the defendant. When the affidavit is filed with the court, the surety also shall file a motion to be relieved on the bond pursuant to subsection (A). A surety who surrenders a defendant and files an affidavit which does not show good cause is subject to penalties imposed for perjury as provided for in Article 1, Chapter 9, Title 16.
SECTION 14. Section 38-53-70 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 38-53-70. If a defendant ~~fails to appear at a court proceeding to which he has been summoned~~violates the conditions of release on bond, the court shall issue a bench warrant for the defendant. The court ~~shall~~must ~~make available for pickup by the surety or the representative of the surety who executed the bond on their behalf, a true copy~~provide written or electronic notice of the issuance of the bench warrant within ~~seven~~thirty days of its issuance ~~at the clerk of court's office~~to every party bound in the recognizance. If the surety fails to surrender the defendant or place a hold on the defendant's release from incarceration, commitment, or institutionalization within ninety days of the issuance of the bench warrant, the bond is forfeited. At any time before execution is issued on a judgment of forfeiture against a defendant or his surety, the court may direct that the judgment be remitted in whole or in part, upon conditions as the court may impose, if it appears that justice requires the remission of part or all of the judgment. In making a determination as to remission of the judgment, the court shall consider the costs to the State or a county or municipality resulting from the necessity to continue or terminate the defendant's trial and the efforts of law enforcement officers or agencies to locate the defendant. The court, in its discretion, may permit the surety to pay the estreatment in installments for a period of up to six months; however, the surety shall pay a handling fee to the court in an amount equal to four percent of the value of the bond. If at any time during the period in which installments are to be paid the defendant is surrendered to the appropriate detention facility and the surety complies with the recommitment procedures, the surety is relieved of further liability.
SECTION 15. Chapter 53, Title 38 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 38-53-84. (A) A person engaged in electronic monitoring of a defendant must, within forty-eight hours, notify the solicitor having jurisdiction over the defendant when he becomes aware or should have become aware that the defendant has violated any provision of the court's order for electronic monitoring. Failure of a defendant to timely pay the bondsman the full monthly electronic monitoring fee associated with the cost of the electronic monitoring device and the associated cost of the monitoring service shall, in and of itself, constitute good cause for the bondsman to file a motion to be relieved on the bond and to surrender the defendant to the custody of the appropriate detention facility pursuant to Section 38-53-50.

(B) Failure of the bondsman to maintain compliance with the reporting requirement of subsection (A) shall be reported to the South Carolina Department of Insurance by the solicitor for administrative action whereby the bondsman's license may be fined, suspended, or revoked.
SECTION 16. Section 38-53-170(e) and (f) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(e) accept anything of value from a principal except the premium, which may not exceed fifteen percent of the face amount of the bond, with a minimum fee of ~~twenty-five~~one hundred dollars or ten percent of the bond, whichever is greater, that must be charged and collected by the bondsman before the execution of the bond. Conditions of the bond which expressly or implicitly require payment of monies in excess of the premium, as a cost of satisfying the condition of the bond, shall not be considered part of the bondsman's premium, and are not affected by this code provision. The bondsman may collect these fees from the defendant and is not limited by any language requirements of this code provision.

However, the bondsman is permitted to enter into a payment agreement by attaching a statement of bondsman to the bond proceeding form and this agreement shall require the principal on the bail bond or any indemnitor to make a minimum down payment of one hundred dollars. This payment agreement may not be altered and must not exceed eighteen months after the date on which the bond was executed. If the payment has not been made for two consecutive months, the bondsman must send a certified notice to the last known address of the principal and indemnitor demanding payment be made within ten days to bring the agreement current. If no payment is received by the end of the notice period, the bondsman must surrender the principal to the proper detention facility for holding and file a motion to be relieved as provided in Section 38-53-50(A) or (B), at which time the agreement must be accelerated, and the balance paid in full, before or at the motion hearing for the principal to be rereleased on bond. The bondsman may accept collateral security or other indemnity from the principal which must be returned ~~upon~~ within ten days after final termination of liability on the bond unless a bench warrant has been issued. The bondsman shall identify who is paying the premium and shall represent that the collateral security or other indemnity has not been obtained from any person who has a greater interest in the principal's disappearance than appearance for trial. The collateral security or other indemnity required by the bondsman must be reasonable in relation to the amount of the bond. If the bond is forfeited, a bondsman may not convert collateral described in the collateral receipt to cash until he has provided a ten-day notice of this pending conversion to the depositor. This notice must be sent by certified mail to the last known address of the depositor. After the conversion, the bondsman must disclose the actual amount received to the depositor and must return any amount received that exceeds the final judgement or consent amount, less any reasonable expenses. These reasonable expenses include apprehension and legal costs incurred as a result of the violation of the bond. The bondsman must provide the depositor copies of all receipts and, if applicable, the overage money within three days after settlement;

(f) solicit business in any of the courts or on the premises of any of the courts of this State, in the office of any magistrate, or in or about any place where prisoners are confined. Law enforcement officers and jailers shall report any violations of this provision to the court. Any action taken pursuant to this provision resulting in a conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere pursuant to Section 38-53-340 must be reported to the director or his designee by the court within thirty days; or
SECTION 17. Section 38-53-310 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 38-53-310. (A) Each professional bondsman shall by the fifteenth of each month file with the clerk of court of the county of his principal place of business and any other county where he is doing business a written report in a form prescribed by the director or his designee regarding all bail bonds on which he is liable as of the first day of each month ~~showing:~~.

(B) Each surety bondsman shall, within thirty days of executing a bail bond, file with their respective insurance provider a written or electronic report in a form approved by the director or his designee detailing all bail bonds on which he has cause to be executed.

~~(a)~~(1) each individual bonded;

~~(b)~~(2) the date the bond was given;

~~(c)~~(3) the principal sum of the bond;

~~(d)~~(4) the state or local official with whom the bond was filed;

~~(e)~~(5) the fee charged for the bonding service in each instance; ~~and~~

~~(f)~~(6) all pending bonds; and

(7) any current data on monies to be collected and retained as an express condition of the bond, whether for electronic monitoring or otherwise.

(D) In lieu of the monthly submission of a written report to the clerk of court, the bondsman may utilize a data management software system, which contains the above required current information, and is capable of providing the appropriate clerk of court or his designee with real-time access to the data management system through a portal, website, or other data access system through which the clerk of court can confirm he has access to the required information.
SECTION 18. Chapter 53, Title 38 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 38-53-55. When a person engaged in electronic monitoring of a defendant charged with a violent offense as defined by Section 16-1-60 becomes aware that the defendant has had contact with the alleged victim of the violent offense or with the immediate family of the alleged victim of the violent offense, he must immediately or within twenty-four hours, notify law enforcement, the solicitor, and the court having jurisdiction over the defendant of the contact.
SECTION 19. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor; however, the provisions of Sections 17-15-35 and 17-15-37 take effect six months after approval by the Governor, and the provisions of Section 38-53-10(12) take effect July 1, 2024.
Amend title to conform.

/s/Sen. Malloy                    /s/Rep. J.E. Johnson
/s/Sen. Hembree                   /s/Rep. Robbins
/s/Sen. Adams                     /s/Rep. Wetmore
On part of the Senate.            On part of the House.

, and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

H. 3532--REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE
ENROLLED FOR RATIFICATION

The Report of the Committee of Conference having been adopted by both Houses, ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act, and the Act enrolled for Ratification.

A message was sent to the House accordingly.

S. 108--FREE CONFERENCE POWERS GRANTED
FREE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPOINTED
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF FREE CONFERENCE ADOPTED

S. 108 (Word version) -- Senators Davis, Scott, Kimbrell, Climer, Senn, Young, Fanning, Reichenbach, Peeler, Alexander, Cash, Malloy, Garrett, Rice, Cromer, McElveen, Loftis, Stephens, Corbin, Campsen and Adams: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 9-1-1770, RELATING TO PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFIT PROGRAMS UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A DEATH BENEFIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE BENEFIT, TO PROVIDE WHO SHALL RECEIVE THE DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT, AND TO PROVIDE THE SOURCE OF THE REVENUE FOR THE PAYMENT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 9-11-120, RELATING TO A PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFIT PROGRAM UNDER THE POLICE OFFICERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A DEATH BENEFIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE BENEFIT, TO PROVIDE WHO SHALL RECEIVE THE DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT, AND TO PROVIDE THE SOURCE OF THE REVENUE FOR THE PAYMENT.

On motion of Senator DAVIS, with unanimous consent, the Report of the Committee of Conference was taken up for immediate consideration.

Senator DAVIS spoke on the report.

S. 108--Free Conference Powers Granted
Free Conference Committee Appointed

Senator DAVIS asked unanimous consent to be granted Free Conference Powers.

The question then was granting of Free Conference Powers.

Free Conference Powers were granted.

Whereupon, Senators DAVIS, K. JOHNSON and TURNER were appointed to the Committee of Free Conference on the part of the Senate and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has requested and was granted Free Conference Powers and has appointed Reps. Hyde, Gagnon and Howard to the Committee of Free Conference on the part of the House on:

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has adopted the Report of the Committee of Free Conference on:

Received as information.

The question then was adoption of the Report of the Committee of Free Conference.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 36; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36

NAYS

Total--0

On motion of Senator DAVIS, the Report of the Committee of Free Conference to S. 108 was adopted as follows:

S. 108--Free Conference Report

The General Assembly, Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:

S. 108 (WORD VERSION) -- Senators Davis, Scott, Kimbrell, Climer, Senn, Young, Fanning, Reichenbach, Peeler, Alexander, Cash, Malloy, Garrett, Rice, Cromer, McElveen, Loftis, Stephens, Corbin, Campsen and Adams: TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 9-1-1770, RELATING TO PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFIT PROGRAMS UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A DEATH BENEFIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE BENEFIT, TO PROVIDE WHO SHALL RECEIVE THE DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT, AND TO PROVIDE THE SOURCE OF THE REVENUE FOR THE PAYMENT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 9-11-120, RELATING TO A PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFIT PROGRAM UNDER THE POLICE OFFICERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A DEATH BENEFIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE BENEFIT, TO PROVIDE WHO SHALL RECEIVE THE DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT, AND TO PROVIDE THE SOURCE OF THE REVENUE FOR THE PAYMENT.

Beg leave to report that they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend:
That the same do pass with the following amendments:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
SECTION 1. Section 9-1-1770(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(D)(1) ~~RESERVED~~ For the purposes of this subsection, a first responder is defined by Section 42-7-90(3)(a) who is an active member of the retirement system. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to expand the eligibility requirements for membership in the system.

(2) Upon receipt by the system of the satisfactory proof of death of a member of the system whose employer participates in the Preretirement Death Benefit Program and whose death was a natural and proximate result of an injury by external accident or violence incurred while undergoing a hazard peculiar to the member's employment as a first responder while in the actual performance of his duty, provided that his death is not the result of the member's wilful negligence, suicide, or intentionally self-inflicted bodily injury, there must be paid to the member's designated beneficiary a one-time, lump sum benefit payment of seventy-five thousand dollars.

(3) The amount of the benefit provided for in item (2) is increased to a total of one hundred fifty thousand dollars if the member is killed in the line of duty as defined above and the member's death is either:

(a) the result of an unlawful and intentional act of another person; or

(b) the result of an accident that occurs:

(i) as a result of the member's response to fresh pursuit, defined as the pursuit of a person who has committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed a felony, misdemeanor, traffic infraction, or violation of a county or municipal ordinance;

(ii) as a result of the member's response to what is reasonably believed to be an emergency;

(iii) at the scene of a traffic accident to which the member has responded; or

(iv) while the member is enforcing what is reasonably believed to be a traffic law or ordinance.

(4) Payments made pursuant to this subsection must be paid to the beneficiary designated for this benefit by the member in writing and filed with the system during the member's lifetime. If no designation is made, then the payment must be paid to the member's surviving spouse. If there is no surviving spouse, the payment must be paid to the member's surviving children in equal portions. If there is no surviving spouse or child, the benefit is payable to the member's surviving parents in equal portions. If a beneficiary is not designated and there is no surviving child, spouse, or parent, then the sum must be paid to the member's estate. The payments required by this subsection are in addition to any other benefit set forth in this chapter or otherwise in law, including worker's compensation, and are exempt from the claims and demands of creditors of the member.

(5) Payments made pursuant to this subsection must be paid from the contributions made by participating employers to the Preretirement Death Benefit Program. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board may adjust the required contributions to the Preretirement Death Benefit Program as necessary to fund these benefits on the basis of the program's actual experience and the recommendation of the system's actuary.

(6) Any benefits paid pursuant to this subsection are not subject to subrogation, assignment, set-off, or lien claimed pursuant to Section 42-1-560.
SECTION 2. Section 9-11-120(E) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(E)(1) ~~[Reserved]~~ For the purposes of this subsection, a first responder is defined by Section 42-7-90(3)(a) who is an active member of the retirement system. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to expand the eligibility requirements for membership in the system.

(a) the result of an unlawful and intentional act of another person; or

(b) the result of an accident that occurs:

(ii) as a result of the member's response to what is reasonably believed to be an emergency;

(iii) at the scene of a traffic accident to which the member has responded; or

(iv) while the member is enforcing what is reasonably believed to be a traffic law or ordinance.

(6) Any benefits paid pursuant to this subsection are not subject to subrogation, assignment, set-off, or lien claimed pursuant to Section 42-1-560.
SECTION 3. Section 42-7-90 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(3) first responder line of duty death benefit.

(a) For the purposes of this item, the term "first responder" means:

(i) an emergency medical technician as defined in Section 44-61-20(12);

(ii) a law enforcement officer as defined in Section 23-23-10(E)(1);

(iii) a corrections officer as described in Section 23-1-145 or Section 24-1-280;

(iv) reserves as defined in Section 23-28-10(A);

(v) constables appointed pursuant to Section 23-1-60;

(vi) a fire department worker who serves on a paid or voluntary basis for a firefighting agency, fire department, or a volunteer fire department and who performs duties related to rescue, fire suppression, and public safety; or

(vii) a coroner as defined in Section 17-5-5(3) or a deputy coroner as defined in Section 17-5-5(5) who directly engages in examining, treating, or directing persons during an emergency.

(b) Upon receipt by the State Accident Fund of the satisfactory proof of death of a first responder as defined in subitem (a) whose death was a natural and proximate result of an injury by external accident or violence incurred while undergoing a hazard peculiar to the first responder's employment as a first responder while in the actual performance of his duty, provided that his death is not the result of the first responder's wilful negligence, suicide, or intentionally self-inflicted bodily injury, there must be paid from the State Accident Fund to the designated beneficiary a one-time, lump sum benefit payment of seventy-five thousand dollars.

(c) The amount of the benefit provided for in subitem (b) is increased to a total of one hundred fifty thousand dollars if the first responder is killed in the line of duty as defined above and the first responder's death is either:

(i) the result of an unlawful and intentional act of another person; or

(ii) the result of an accident that occurs:

(A) as a result of the first responder's response to fresh pursuit, defined as the pursuit of a person who has committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed a felony, misdemeanor, traffic infraction, or violation of a county or municipal ordinance;

(B) as a result of the first responder's response to what is reasonably believed to be an emergency;

(D) while the first responder is enforcing what is reasonably believed to be a traffic law or ordinance.

(d) Payments made pursuant to this item must be paid to the beneficiary designated for this benefit by the first responder in writing and filed with the State Accident Fund in a manner prescribed by the agency during the first responder's lifetime. If no designation is made, then the payment must be paid to the first responder's surviving spouse. If there is no surviving spouse, the payment must be paid to the first responder's surviving children in equal portions. If there is no surviving spouse or child, the benefit is payable to the first responder's surviving parents in equal portions. If a beneficiary is not designated and there is no surviving child, spouse, or parent, then the sum must be paid to the first responder's estate. The payments required by this subsection are in addition to any other benefit set forth in this chapter or otherwise in law, including worker's compensation, but excluding first responder death benefit payments made to a member of a retirement system, and are exempt from the claims and demands of creditors of the first responder.

(e) Any benefits paid pursuant to this item are not subject to subrogation, assignment, set-off, or lien claimed pursuant to Section 42-1-560.

(f) Within thirty days after a written determination of the State Accident Fund regarding payment, a person or representative of the estate, as set out in subitem (d), may seek relief by requesting a contested case hearing before the Administrative Law Court in accordance with its rules. A hearing may be requested to contest any part of the decision made pursuant to this section.
SECTION 4. Article 1, Chapter 7, Title 42 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 42-7-220. There is established, within the office of the State Accident Fund, the South Carolina First Responder Line of Duty Death Benefit Fund. This fund is separate and distinct from the general fund of the State and all other funds. Earnings and interest on this fund must be credited to it and any balance in this fund at the end of the fiscal year carries forward in the fund in the succeeding fiscal year. This fund is created to ensure payment of line of duty death benefits to first responders as defined in Section 42-7-90 and only may be used for that purpose. The fund must be administered by the Director of the State Accident Fund who shall establish procedures to implement this section. Upon request from the Director of the State Accident Fund, the State Treasurer shall transfer from general funds of the State into the separate fund such sufficient amounts to pay claims that are owing and due pursuant to this section. The State Accident Fund, in coordination with the Office of State Treasurer, shall provide a report on an annual basis on the claims from the fund to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect on May 11, 2023.
Amend title to conform.

/s/Sen. Davis                     /s/Rep. Gagnon
/s/Sen. Turner                    /s/Rep. Hyde
/s/Sen. K Johnson                 /s/Rep. Howard
On part of the Senate.            On part of the House.

, and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

S. 108--REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE
ENROLLED FOR RATIFICATION

The Report of the Committee of Conference having been adopted by both Houses, ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act, and the Act enrolled for Ratification.

A message was sent to the House accordingly.

H. 4023--REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE ADOPTED

H. 4023 (Word version) -- Reps. S. Jones, Erickson, Henegan, Alexander, Bradley, J.L. Johnson, White, Ott, Gilliam, Beach, Gibson, O'Neal, Cromer, McGinnis, McDaniel, Vaughan, Bauer, A.M. Morgan, Leber, T.A. Morgan, Chumley, McCravy, McCabe, Landing, Ballentine, Haddon, Hartnett, Herbkersman, Oremus and Willis: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-60, RELATING TO LOCAL FIRST STEPS PARTNERSHIP BOARDS, SO AS TO REVISE THE COMPOSITION, MANNER OF APPOINTMENT, AND TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARDS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE TERMINATION OF CERTAIN CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRANSITION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN TASKS BY LOCAL FIRST STEPS PARTNERSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-70, RELATING TO LOCAL PARTNERSHIP BOARDS, SO AS TO INCLUDE PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTICOUNTY PARTNERSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-150, RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF A STANDARD FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM FOR LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, SO AS TO REVISE PROVISIONS CONCERNING COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR PROCUREMENT; BY ADDING SECTION 63-11-1726 SO AS TO PROVIDE ALL PUBLICLY FUNDED EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVING AGENCIES AND ENTITIES SHALL PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN DATA SHARING INITIATIVES SUPPORTED BY THE ADVISORY COUNCIL; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1720, RELATING TO THE FIRST STEPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SO AS TO ADD THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AS A TRUSTEE; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1725, RELATING TO THE FIRST STEPS ADVISORY COUNCIL, SO AS TO REVISE DATA GOVERNANCE POLICIES, TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES TO BUILD PARENT KNOWLEDGE, AND TO REQUIRE THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND REVIEW OF AN OVERALL STRATEGIC PLAN; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1730, RELATING TO OVERSIGHT DUTIES OF THE FIRST STEPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SO AS TO INCLUDE PROVISIONS CONCERNING LOCAL PARTNERSHIP PERSONNEL POLICIES; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-10, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THE AUTHORIZING ACT ARE PERMANENT AND FUTURE REAUTHORIZATIONS ARE NOT REQUIRED; AND BY AMENDING ACT 99 OF 1999, RELATING TO THE TIMES AT WHICH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS ACT TAKES EFFECT AND IS REPEALED UNLESS REAUTHORIZED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, SO AS TO REMOVE THE AUTOMATIC REPEAL PROVISION AND REAUTHORIZATION REQUIREMENT.

On motion of Senator HEMBREE, with unanimous consent, the Report of the Committee of Conference was taken up for immediate consideration.

Senator HEMBREE spoke on the report.

The question then was adoption of the Report of Committee of Conference.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 36; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36

NAYS

Total--0

The Committee of Conference Committee was adopted as follows:

H. 4023--Conference Report

The General Assembly, Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:

H. 4023 (WORD VERSION) -- Reps. Erickson, S Jones, Tedder, Scott, Hembree and Turner: TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-60, RELATING TO LOCAL FIRST STEPS PARTNERSHIP BOARDS, SO AS TO REVISE THE COMPOSITION, MANNER OF APPOINTMENT, AND TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARDS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE TERMINATION OF CERTAIN CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRANSITION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN TASKS BY LOCAL FIRST STEPS PARTNERSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-70, RELATING TO LOCAL PARTNERSHIP BOARDS, SO AS TO INCLUDE PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTICOUNTY PARTNERSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-150, RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF A STANDARD FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM FOR LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, SO AS TO REVISE PROVISIONS CONCERNING POLICES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES; BY ADDING SECTION 63-11-1726 SO AS TO PROVIDE ALL PUBLICLY FUNDED EARLY CHILDHOOD-SERVING AGENCIES AND ENTITIES SHALL PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN DATA SHARING INITIATIVES SUPPORTED BY THE ADVISORY COUNCIL; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1720, RELATING TO THE FIRST STEPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SO AS TO ADD THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AS A TRUSTEE; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1725, RELATING TO THE FIRST STEPS ADVISORY COUNCIL, SO AS TO REVISE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL, TO REVISE DATA GOVERNANCE POLICIES, TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES TO BUILD PARENT KNOWLEDGE, AND TO REQUIRE THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND REVIEW OF AN OVERALL STRATEGIC PLAN; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1730, RELATING TO OVERSIGHT DUTIES OF THE FIRST STEPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SO AS TO INCLUDE PROVISIONS CONCERNING LOCAL PARTNERSHIP PERSONNEL POLICIES; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-10, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THE AUTHORIZING ACT ARE PERMANENT AND FUTURE REAUTHORIZATIONS ARE NOT REQUIRED.

Beg leave to report that they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend:
That the same do pass with the following amendments:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
SECTION 1.A. Section 59-152-60 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 59-152-60. (A) Each county must be represented by on a Local First Steps Partnership Board and each local board must provide services within every county it represents. A local partnership board must be comprised of individuals with resources, skills, knowledge, and interest in improving the readiness of young children for school. A list of all local partnership board members must be published in the partnership's annual report, be reported annually to the local legislative delegation, and be on file with the Office of First Steps.

(B) The South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees must establish bylaws for use by each local partnership board. These bylaws must, in addition to other requirements provided in this section, require that a meeting or election of a local partnership board comply with all Freedom of Information Act and IRS disclosure requirements.

(C) In accordance with the bylaws established by the board of trustees, appointed members shall comprise a voting majority of the board.

(1) No more than four may be elected to sit on a First Steps Partnership Board.

(2) Each county legislative delegation ~~may~~ shall appoint ~~up to four~~ six members to a local partnership board. In multicounty partnerships, the legislative delegations shall modify their appointments based on the plan approved by the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees pursuant to Section 59-152-70(E).

(3) Each of the following entities located within a particular First Steps Partnership coverage area shall ~~designate~~ recommend one member to the legislative delegation for appointment by the delegation to serve as a member of the local First Steps Partnership Board:

(a) ~~county~~ Department of Social Services;

(b) ~~county~~ Department of Health and Environmental Control; and

~~(d) county library; and~~

~~(e) each of the school districts in the county.~~

(4) The county public library system staff located within a particular First Steps Partnership coverage area shall recommend one employee of the system for appointment by its county council to serve as a member of the partnership, and the council either shall make the appointment or reject the appointment and ask the library staff to make another recommendation.

(5) Each public school district board located within a particular First Steps Partnership coverage area shall appoint one of its employees to serve as a member of the local First Steps Partnership.

(6) The legislative delegation may by resolution delegate some or all of its appointments to county council.

(D) In conjunction with the independent external program evaluation established in Section 59-152-160, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees shall conduct a formal review of the membership categories for First Steps Partnership Board composition. Upon completion of the review, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees shall submit to the General Assembly a statement either verifying the continued applicability and appropriateness of the composition categories for First Steps Partnership Boards in place at that time, or recommending any appropriate and necessary changes.

(E)(1) Members who miss more than three consecutive meetings without excuse ~~or members who resign must be replaced from the same categories as their predecessor~~ are considered terminated from membership and a vacancy is created.

(2) When any membership vacancy occurs, the vacancy timely must be filled with a person from the same category and in the same manner of election or appointment as the vacated member.

(3) The terms of the members of a local First Steps Partnership Board are for four years; however, excluding all appointed members, membership on the board may not exceed eight consecutive years. Elected members may not serve in a holdover capacity after their term ends.

(F) The chairman of a local partnership board must be elected by majority vote of the board. The chairman shall serve a one-year term; however, the chairman may be elected to subsequent terms not to exceed a total of four consecutive years.

(G) A local First Steps Partnership board must have policies and procedures for conducting meetings and disclosing records comparable to those provided for in the Freedom of Information Act. Prior to every vote taken by the board, members must abstain from voting if the issue being considered would result in a conflict of interest. The abstention must be noted in the minutes of the meeting.
B. The terms of all local First Steps Partnership members designated pursuant to Section 59-152-60(C)(3) terminate on July 1, 2023. The South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees shall design and implement a transition plan setting forth the tasks to be accomplished by local First Steps Partnerships in compliance with the requirements of this act. This plan shall be fully implemented by July 1, 2024.
SECTION 2. Section 59-152-70 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 59-152-70. (A) A First Steps Partnership Board shall, among its other powers and duties:

(1) adopt bylaws as established by the First Steps to School Readiness Board to effectuate the provisions of this chapter which must include the creation of a periodic meeting schedule;

(2) coordinate a collaborative effort at the county or multicounty level which will bring the community together to identify the area needs related to the goals of First Steps to School Readiness; develop a strategic long-term plan for meeting those needs; develop specific initiatives to implement the elements of the plan; and integrate service delivery where possible;

(3) coordinate and oversee the implementation of the comprehensive strategic plan including, but not limited to, direct service provision, contracting for service provision, and organization and management of volunteer programs;

(4) effective July 1, 2016, each partnership's comprehensive plan shall include the following core functions:

(a) service as a local portal connecting families of preschool children to community-based services they may need or desire to ensure the school readiness of their children;

(b) service as a community convener around the needs of preschool children and their families; and

(5) update a needs assessment every three years;

(6) implement fiscal policies and procedures as required by the First Steps office and as needed to ensure fiscal accountability of all funds appropriated to the partnership;

(7) keep accurate records of the partnership's board meetings, board member's attendance, programs, and activities for annual submission to the First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees;

(8) collect information and submit an annual report by October first to the First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees, and otherwise participate in the annual review and the three-year evaluation of operations and programs. Before December 1, 2017, and annually before December first thereafter, the Office of South Carolina First Steps shall publish each local partnership's comprehensive plan and annual report on the office's website. Reports must include, but not be limited to:

(a) determination of the current level and data pertaining to the delivery and effectiveness of services for young children and their families, including the numbers of preschool children and their families served;

(b) strategic goals for increased availability, accessibility, quality, and efficiency of activities and services for young children and their families which will enable children to reach school ready to succeed;

(d) report on implementation activities;

(e) recommendations for changes to the strategic plan which may include new areas of implementation;

(f) evaluation and report of program effectiveness and client satisfaction before, during, and after the implementation of the strategic plan, where available; and

(g) estimation of cost savings attributable to increased efficiency and effectiveness of delivery of services to young children and their families, where available.;

(9) submit for approval by the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees requests to hire a local First Steps partnership executive director. Such a request should provide the rationale for the request and include such information as qualifications of applicants, current and requested salaries of applicants, resumes of candidates, and any information to justify the salary requested;

(10) submit for approval by the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees justification of and recommendations for the salary and any salary increases for the local First Steps partnership executive director;

(11) implement and document an annual performance evaluation for the local First Steps partnership executive director. The completed document shall be submitted annually to the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees.

(B) Each local partnership may, in the performance of its duties, employ or acquire staff pursuant to the local partnership bylaws established by the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees. Overhead costs of a First Step partnership's operations may not exceed ~~eight~~ thirteen percent of the total state funds appropriated for partnership grants. The South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees shall contract with an independent cost accountant to provide recommendations as to an adequate, and not excessive, overhead cost rate for individual partnerships no later than July 1, 2017. Once these recommendations are received, the First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees may adjust the overhead percentage for the local partnership. Once the overhead rates are established, the rates may not be amended or revised for at least five years, and the board may not grant a waiver from this provision to the local partnership. Local partnerships that are not part of a multicounty partnership and exceed the overhead cost rate are ineligible to receive state funds.

(C) Each First Steps partnership may apply for, receive, and expend federal, state, and local funds, grants, and other funding in order to improve programs as provided in Section 59-152-25(A).

(D) To be designated a First Steps partnership, the local partnership must be a ~~private~~ nonprofit corporation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(E)(1) Multiple First Steps local partnerships may collaborate in a manner they determine will maximize the efficient and effective provision of First Steps services and programs to children and their families and best enable the partnerships to execute their duties and powers established in this chapter. In such a collaboration, partnerships may merge or work in concert with one or more of their ~~program~~programs, administrative, or development functions or establish multicounty partnerships. ~~The decision to collaborate in the manner permitted in this subsection rests entirely with the local partnership boards of directors involved.~~

(2) To establish a multicounty partnership, the partnerships shall submit a joint proposal to the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees including, but not limited to, a plan to ensure each county in the partnership coverage area is equally represented on the local partnership board. In furtherance of this process, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees shall have the authority to set aside the local First Steps Partnership board requirements listed within Section 59-152-60(C)(1)-(6), as is necessary to establish a multicounty partnership. No multicounty partnership shall be established nor separated without prior approval by the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees.

(F) As a condition of receiving state funds, each local partnership must be subject to performance reviews by South Carolina First Steps, including, but not limited to, local board functioning and collaboration and compliance with state standards and fiscal accountability. If any significant operational deficiencies or misconduct is identified within the partnership, the South Carolina First Steps Board of Trustees must identify a remedy with input from the local legislative delegation.
SECTION 3. Section 59-152-150(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(A) The Office of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness shall develop and require local partnerships to adopt and implement a standard fiscal accountability system including, but not limited to, a uniform, standardized system of accounting, internal controls, payroll, fidelity bonding, chart of accounts, and contract management and monitoring. accountability system shall require competitive bids for the purchase or procurement of goods and services of ten thousand dollars or more. A bid other than the lowest bid may be accepted by a majority vote of the partnership board if other considerations outweigh the cost factor; however, written justification must be filed with the Office of First Steps. The Office of First Steps, in consultation with the Office of State Procurement, must adopt and develop procurement policies and procedures. Local partnerships must adopt these policies and procedures for the purchase of goods and services. The Office of First Steps may contract with outside firms to develop and ensure implementation of this standard fiscal accountability system, and the Office of First Steps may inspect fiscal and program records of partnerships and developing partnerships to ensure their compliance with the required system. The Office of First Steps may contract with a state entity with existing means for developing contracts and disbursing funds in order to make use of the existing infrastructure, if it is efficient and not administratively burdensome to partnerships.
SECTION 4. Article 17, Chapter 11, Title 63 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 63-11-1726. All publicly funded early childhood-serving agencies and entities shall participate in data-sharing initiatives supported by the advisory council in furtherance of the requirements listed in Section 63-11-1725.
SECTION 5. Section 63-11-1720(C) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(1) the Governor shall appoint one member from each of the following sectors:

(a) parents of young children;

(b) business community;

(d) medical providers;

(e) child care and development providers; and

(f) the General Assembly, one member from the Senate and one member from the House of Representatives;

(2) the President of the Senate shall appoint one member from each of the following sectors:

(a) parents of young children;

(b) business community;

(d) medical or child care and development providers;

(3) the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member from each of the following sectors:

(a) parents of young children;

(b) business community;

(d) medical or child care and development;

(4) the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee or his designee;

(5) the Chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee or his designee; and

(6) the chief executive officer of each of the following shall serve as an ex officio voting member:

(a) Department of Social Services;

(b) Department of Health and Environmental Control;

(d) Department of Disabilities and Special Needs;

(e) State Head Start Collaboration Officer; ~~and~~

(f) Children's Trust of South Carolina; and

(g) Department of Mental Health.
SECTION 6. Section 63-11-1725(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(B) The membership of the advisory council is composed of the membership of the Board of Trustees of the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Initiative. Each voting and nonvoting member shall serve as a voting member of the South Carolina Advisory Council, concurrent with his service on the board. In addition, two executive directors from local First Steps Partnerships must serve as voting members on the advisory council with one appointed by the House Education and Public Works Committee and one appointed by the Senate Education Committee.
SECTION 7. Section 63-11-1725(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(D) The State Director of First Steps shall coordinate the activities of the advisory council. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 9837b(b)(1)(D)(i), the advisory council shall:

(1) conduct a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the quality and availability of early childhood education and development programs and services for children from birth to the age of school entry, including an assessment of the availability of high-quality prekindergarten services for low income children in the State;

(2) identify opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration and coordination among federally funded and state-funded child development, child care, and early childhood education programs and services, including collaboration and coordination among state agencies responsible for administering these programs;

(3) develop recommendations for increasing the overall participation of children in existing federal, state, and local child care and early childhood education programs, including outreach to underrepresented and special populations;

(4) develop, ~~recommendations regarding the establishment of~~ maintain, and serve as the governing body for a unified and integrated data collection system ~~for public early childhood education and development programs and services throughout the State~~, implement sound data governance policies that protect privacy, and maintain a comprehensive infrastructure for integrated, and when applicable, longitudinal data for public early childhood education and development programs, and services, and state, local, and federal funding sources throughout the State;

(5) develop and maintain parent knowledge-building activities, including web-based portals to inform parents of all publicly funded early childhood programs and services which include, but are not limited to, an eligibility screener and common application;

(6) develop recommendations regarding statewide professional development and career advancement plans for early childhood educators in the State;

~~(6)~~(7) assess the capacity and effectiveness of two-year and four-year public and private institutions of higher education in the State for supporting the development of early childhood educators, including the extent to which these institutions have in place articulation agreements, professional development and career advancement plans, and practice or internships for students to spend time in a Head Start or prekindergarten program;

(8) prepare an overall strategic plan at least once every five years that establishes clearly defined goals, objectives, strategies, and key measures of progress for optimizing the state's early childhood system. Following creation of such plan, the council shall periodically review the implementation of the plan and review any changes in the state's needs;

~~(7)~~(9) make recommendations for improvements in state early learning standards and undertake efforts to develop high-quality comprehensive early learning standards, as appropriate;

~~(8)~~ (10) develop and publish, using available demographic data, an indicators-based measure of school readiness at the state and community level;

~~(9)~~(11) incorporate, within the periodic statewide needs assessments required in 42 U.S.C. Section 9837b, any data related to the capacity and efforts of private sector providers, Head Start providers, and local school districts to serve children from birth to age five, including fiscal, enrollment, and capacity data; and

~~(10)~~(12) perform all other functions, as permitted under federal and state law, to improve coordination and delivery of early childhood education and development to children in this State.
SECTION 8. Section 63-11-1730 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 63-11-1730. To oversee and be accountable for the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Initiative, in accordance with the APA, the board shall:

(1) develop and promulgate a comprehensive long-range initiative for improving early childhood development and increasing school readiness and literacy, which shall include the specific requirements of Chapter 152, Title 59;

(2) in accordance with the APA, promulgate regulations and establish guidelines, policies, and procedures for the continued implementation of the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative;

(3) provide oversight on the continued implementation and evaluation of the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative at the state and local levels;

(4) establish and promulgate grant qualification requirements and a formula by which allocations for qualifying partnership grants shall be calculated;

(5) ensure the provision of technical assistance, consultation services and support to First Steps Partnerships including: the creation and annual revision of county needs assessments; the prioritization, implementation, and evaluation of each First Steps Partnership's strategic plans based on needs assessments; and the identification of assets from other funding sources;

(6) assess and develop recommendations: for ensuring coordination and collaboration among service providers at both the state and county level, for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of state programs and funding and other programs and funding sources, as allowable, as necessary to carry out the First Steps to School Readiness initiative, including additional fiscal strategies, redeployment of state resources, and development of new programs;

(7) establish and promulgate results-oriented measures and objectives and assess whether services provided by First Steps Partnerships to children and families are meeting the goals and achieving the results established for the First Steps initiative pursuant to Chapter 152, Title 59;

(8) receive gifts, bequests, and devises for deposit for awarding grants to First Steps Partnerships;

(9) report annually to the General Assembly by January first on activities and progress to include recommendations for changes and legislative initiatives and results of program evaluations;

(10) establish and promulgate internal policies and procedures to allow the board to operate optimally, which shall include, but not be limited to, an established and consistent process for decision making;

(11) develop, implement, and document an annual performance process for the Director of the Office of South Carolina First Steps;

(12) establish and promulgate bylaws for adoption by local First Steps Partnerships;

(13) establish core personnel policies and procedures for adoption by local First Steps Partnerships;

(14) develop a standard process by July 1, 2024, for reviewing submissions made by local partnerships as it relates to the hiring, salaries, and annual performance evaluations of local partnership executive directors pursuant to Chapter 152, Title 59;

(15) establish and promulgate internal evaluation policies and procedures for local partnerships for annual review pursuant to Chapter 152, Title 59; and

~~(14)~~ (16) arrange for the conduction of an independent external program evaluation pursuant to Chapter 152, Title 59.
SECTION 9. Section 59-152-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 59-152-10. (A) There is established the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, a comprehensive, results-oriented initiative for improving early childhood development by providing, through local partnerships, public and private funds, and support for high-quality early childhood development and education services for children by providing support for their families' efforts toward enabling their children to reach school ready to succeed.

(B) The provisions of the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, as enacted by Act 99 of 1999, and as subsequently amended, and this chapter are permanently enacted, and future reauthorization is not necessary.
SECTION 10. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Amend title to conform.

Sen. Scott                        /s/Rep. Erickson
/s/Sen. Hembree                   /s/Rep. S. Jones
/s/Sen. Turner                    Rep. Tedder
On part of the Senate.            On part of the House.

, and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has adopted the Report of the Committee of Conference on:

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

Received as information.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., May 16, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it refuses to concur in the amendments proposed by the Senate to:

S. 330 (Word version) -- Senators Rankin, Alexander, Verdin and Garrett: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-11-740, RELATING TO MALICIOUS INJURY TO TELEGRAPH, TELEPHONE, OR ELECTRIC UTILITY SYSTEM, SO AS TO ADD TIERED PENALTIES FOR DAMAGE TO A UTILITY SYSTEM.
Very respectfully,
Speaker of the House

Received as information.

S. 330--SENATE INSISTS ON THEIR AMENDMENTS

On motion of Senator RANKIN, the Senate insisted upon its amendments to S. 330 and asked for a Committee of Conference.

S. 330--CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPOINTED

Whereupon, Senators RANKIN, SABB and TALLEY were appointed to the Committee of Conference on the part of the Senate and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has appointed Reps. Weston, Newton, Bailey and Bernstein to the Committee of Conference on the part of the House on:

Received as information.

S. 330--REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE ADOPTED

On motion of Senator RANKIN, with unanimous consent, the Report of the Committee of Conference was taken up for immediate consideration.

Senator RANKIN spoke on the report.

The question then was adoption of the Report of Committee of Conference.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 36; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36

NAYS

Total--0

The Committee of Conference Committee was adopted as follows:

S. 330--Conference Report

The General Assembly, Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:

S. 330 (WORD VERSION) -- Senators Rankin, Alexander, Verdin and Garrett: TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-11-740, RELATING TO MALICIOUS INJURY TO TELEGRAPH, TELEPHONE, OR ELECTRIC UTILITY SYSTEM, SO AS TO ADD TIERED PENALTIES FOR DAMAGE TO A UTILITY SYSTEM.

Beg leave to report that they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend:
That the same do pass with the following amendments:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
SECTION 1. Section 16-11-740 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 16-11-740. (A) For purposes of this section only, "electric utility system" means all plants, facilities, assets, and equipment owned, leased, or operated for the generation, transmission, distribution, or storage of electricity, regardless of generation source, and all natural gas facilities, including natural gas pipeline infrastructure.

(B)(1) It is unlawful for a person, without the consent of the owner, to wilfully and maliciously:

~~(1)~~ (a) destroy, damage, or in any way injure a telegraph, telephone, electric utility system, satellite dish, or cable television system, including poles, cables, wires, fixtures, antennas, amplifiers, or other apparatus, equipment, or appliances;

~~(2)~~ (b) obstruct, impede, or impair their services or transmissions; or

~~(3)~~ (c) aid, ~~agree with,~~ employ, or conspire with a person to do or cause to be done any of the acts mentioned in this ~~sections~~subsection.

(2) A person who violates the provisions of this ~~section~~subsection is guilty of a ~~felony~~ misdemeanor and, upon conviction,:

(a) if the amount of the damage or loss is less than ten thousand dollars, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than ten years., or both;

(b) if the amount of the damage or loss is ten thousand dollars or more but less than twenty-five thousand dollars, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than fifteen years, or both;

(c) if the amount of the damage or loss is twenty-five thousand dollars or more, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

(3) A person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a felony if the destruction or damage results in the death or bodily injury of a person, or an imminent danger to the life, health, or safety of a person, and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned for not more than twenty-five years, or both.

(4) Evidence of the amount of damages or loss shall be calculated to include the cost of the repair or replacement of equipment, buildings, or structures damaged, the estimated lost revenue caused by the destructive acts, and any related damages than can reasonably be associated with the interruption of service to affected, dedicated utility customers.

(C)(1) It is unlawful for a person, without consent of the owner, to wilfully and maliciously by means of or use of a firearm or destructive device as defined by Section 16-23-710, to:

(a) destroy, damage, or in any way injure:

(i) an electric utility system; or

(ii) a gasoline, natural gas, or propane utility system, including poles, cables, wires, pipelines, storage containers, fixtures, or other apparatus, equipment, or appliances; or

(iii) a telegraph, telephone, satellite dish, or cable television system, including poles, cables, wires, fixtures, antennas, amplifiers, or other apparatus, equipment, or appliances;

(b) obstruct, impede, or impair their services or transmissions; or

(2) A person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than twenty-five years and may be fined in the discretion of the court.

(D) Any person whose property or person is injured by reason of a violation of this section shall have a right of action on account of such injury done against the person who committed the violation and any person who acts as an accessory before or after the fact, aids or abets, solicits, conspires, or lends material support to the violation of this section. If damages are assessed in such case the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover damages fixed by the verdict, together with costs, including attorneys' fees and, in the discretion of the court, punitive damages. The rights and remedies provided by this subsection are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law. For purposes of this subsection, "damages" includes actual and consequential damages.
SECTION 2. The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Amend title to conform.

/s/Sen. Rankin                    /s/Rep. Bailey
/s/Sen. Sabb                      /s/Rep. Bernstein
/s/Sen. Talley                    /s/Rep. W. Newton
On part of the Senate.            On part of the House.

, and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

Received as information.

THE SENATE PROCEEDED TO A CONSIDERATION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS RETURNED FROM THE HOUSE.

NONCONCURRENCE

S. 397 (Word version) -- Senators Shealy, Setzler and Kimbrell: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO REPEAL CHAPTER 75, TITLE 44 RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL; AND BY ADDING ARTICLE 11, CHAPTER 47, TITLE 40, SO AS TO TRANSFER REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS TO THE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS.

The House returned the Bill with amendments, the question being concurrence in the House amendments.

Senator SHEALY explained the amendments.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 0; Nays 36

AYES

Total--0

NAYS

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36

On motion of Senator SHEALY, the Senate nonconcurred in the House amendments and a message was sent to the House accordingly.

Message from the House

Columbia, S.C., June 14, 2023

Mr. President and Senators:

The House respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has receded from its amendments to:

ENROLLED FOR RATIFICATION

The following Bill was read the third time and, having received three readings in both Houses, it was ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act and enrolled for Ratification.

A message was sent to the House accordingly.

CONCURRENCE

S. 407 (Word version) -- Senators Shealy and Senn: A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-361(A), RELATING TO PRESCRIPTIONS FOR OPIOID ANTIDOTES, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR IT TO BE OFFERED CONSISTENT WITH THE EXISTING STANDARD OF CARE AND THE FDA.

The House returned the Bill with amendments, the question being concurrence in the House amendments.

Senator SHEALY explained the amendments.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 36; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Sabb
Scott                     Setzler                   Shealy
Stephens                  Talley                    Turner
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--36

NAYS

Total--0

On motion of Senator SHEALY, the Senate concurred in the House amendments and a message was sent to the House accordingly. Ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act and the Act enrolled for Ratification.

Motion Adopted

On motion of Senator Massey, the Senate agreed to stand adjourned to pursuant to the call of the PRESIDENT; however, if and when the PRESIDENT, in consultation with the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, determines that the Senate's business is concluded for the year, then the Extraordinary Session will stand adjourned sine die.

Motion Adopted

On motion of Senator MASSEY, with unanimous consent, the Senate agreed to go into Executive Session prior to adjournment.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On motion of Senator MASSEY, the seal of secrecy was removed, so far as the same relates to appointments made by the Governor and the following names were reported to the Senate in open session:

STATEWIDE APPOINTMENTS
Confirmations

Having received a favorable report from the Education Committee, the following appointment was confirmed in open session:

Initial Appointment, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, with the term to commence July 1, 2022, and to expire July 1, 2024
Independent College:
Gene C. Fant, 7801 North Tigerville Road, Tigerville, SC 29688-9700 VICE Mark A. Smith

On motion of Senator HEMBREE, the question was confirmation of Gene C. Fant.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 33; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Scott
Setzler                   Shealy                    Stephens
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--33

NAYS

Total--0

The appointment of Gene C. Fant was confirmed.

Having received a favorable report from the Judiciary Committee, the following appointments were confirmed in open session:

Initial Appointment, Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Service Authority, with the term to commence January 1, 2023, and to expire January 1, 2027
1st Congressional District:
Charles Samuel Bennett II, 31 Governors Road, Hilton Head, SC 29928-3028 VICE William A. Finn

On motion of Senator RANKIN, the question was confirmation of Charles Samuel Bennett II.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 33; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Scott
Setzler                   Shealy                    Stephens
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--33

NAYS

Total--0

The appointment of Charles Samuel Bennett II was confirmed.

Initial Appointment, Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Service Authority, with the term to commence January 1, 2023, and to expire January 1, 2027
Berkeley County:
John Samuel West, 202 McCants Drive, Moncks Corner, SC 29461-1869 VICE Peggy H. Pinnell

On motion of Senator RANKIN, the question was confirmation of John Samuel West.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 33; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Scott
Setzler                   Shealy                    Stephens
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--33

NAYS

Total--0

The appointment of John Samuel West was confirmed.

Initial Appointment, Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Service Authority, with the term to commence January 1, 2022, and to expire January 1, 2026
4th Congressional District:
Charles E. Dalton, 11 Harvest Court, Greenville, SC 29601-4409 VICE Barry D. Wynn

On motion of Senator RANKIN, the question was confirmation of Charles E. Dalton.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 33; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Scott
Setzler                   Shealy                    Stephens
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--33

NAYS

Total--0

The appointment of Charles E. Dalton was confirmed.

Initial Appointment, Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Service Authority, with the term to commence January 1, 2022, and to expire January 1, 2026
2nd Congressional District:
Stacy K. Taylor, 124 Harding St., Chapin, SC 29036-9458 VICE Jack Wolf
On motion of Senator RANKIN, the question was confirmation of Stacy K. Taylor.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 33; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Scott
Setzler                   Shealy                    Stephens
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--33

NAYS

Total--0

The appointment of Stacy K. Taylor was confirmed.

Initial Appointment, Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Service Authority, with the term to commence January 1, 2024, and to expire January 1, 2028
6th Congressional District:
Alyssa Richardson, 1049 Buist Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405-4909 VICE John Calhoun Land IV

On motion of Senator RANKIN, the question was confirmation of Alyssa Richardson.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 33; Nays 0

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Allen
Campsen                   Climer                    Corbin
Cromer                    Davis                     Fanning
Gambrell                  Garrett                   Grooms
Gustafson                 Hembree                   Jackson
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Malloy                    Massey                    McElveen
McLeod                    Peeler                    Rankin
Reichenbach               Rice                      Scott
Setzler                   Shealy                    Stephens
Verdin                    Williams                  Young

Total--33

NAYS

Total--0

The appointment of Alyssa Richardson was confirmed.

Initial Appointment, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, with the term to commence July 1, 2022, and to expire July 1, 2024
Four-Year Institutions:
Oran P. Smith, 466 East Columbia Ave., Leesville, SC 2900-7317 VICE Linda L. Dolny

Senator STEPHENS moved to carry over the appointment confirmation of Oran P. Smith.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 7; Nays 22

AYES

Allen                     Fanning                   Jackson
McLeod                    Scott                     Stephens
Williams

Total--7

NAYS

Adams                     Alexander                 Campsen
Climer                    Corbin                    Cromer
Davis                     Gambrell                  Garrett
Grooms                    Gustafson                 Hembree
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Massey                    Peeler                    Reichenbach
Rice                      Shealy                    Verdin
Young

Total--22

The Senate refused to carry over the candidate.

On motion of Senator MASSEY, with unanimous consent, the debate time limit required prior to making a motion under Rule 15A was waived.

Senator MASSEY moved under Rule 15A to bring the debate on the matter to a close.

The "ayes" and "nays" were demanded and taken, resulting as follows:

Ayes 22; Nays 10

AYES

Adams                     Alexander                 Campsen
Climer                    Corbin                    Cromer
Davis                     Gambrell                  Garrett
Grooms                    Gustafson                 Hembree
Johnson, Michael          Kimbrell                  Loftis
Massey                    Peeler                    Reichenbach
Rice                      Shealy                    Verdin
Young

Total--22

NAYS

Allen                     Fanning                   Jackson
Malloy                    McElveen                  McLeod
Scott                     Setzler                   Stephens
Williams

Total--10

The motion failed to receive the necessary votes.

Motion Adopted

Senator MASSEY asked unanimous consent, with Senator STEPHENS retaining the floor, that the Senate stand adjourned.

LOCAL APPOINTMENTS
Confirmations

Having received a favorable report from the Senate, the following appointments were confirmed in open session:

Reappointment, Berkeley County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Brian B. West, 223 North Live Oak Drive, Moncks Corner, SC 29461-3705

Reappointment, Charleston County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Tiffany R. Spann-Wilder, 6977 Dorchester Road, North Charleston, SC 29418-3422

Reappointment, Charleston County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Martelle T. Morrison, 3215 Boach Road, Hollywood, SC 29449-6132

Reappointment, Richland County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Donald J. Simons, Post Office Box 9246, Columbia, SC 29290-0246

Reappointment, Horry County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Aaron Butler, 1830 Spivey Avenue, Conway, SC 29527-5559

Reappointment, Richland County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Michael Scott, 3521 Greenway Dr., Columbia, SC 29206-3415

Reappointment, Dorchester County Magistrate, with the term to commence April 30, 2023, and to expire April 30, 2027
Janice Y. Simmons, 262 Mallard Road, Summerville, SC 29483-7937

REMARKS

ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator MALLOY were ordered printed in the Journal of February 23, 2023:

Remarks by Senator MALLOY

Senator ALEXANDER and members of the Senate, I come before you to briefly speak about what had happened on this specific amendment to S. 120. I have noted that there are some fallacies surrounding it that I want to address. I want to make certain that everyone is clear that nothing in this Bill carves out a person's will or desire for a person to die at the hands of the State. Please know that any categorization of this amendment as one of those issues is patently false. Many of us have represented clients or know those that have represented clients that began as a death penalty case and is not a trial by a judge, but instead, a trial by a jury of their peers. There are often disparities in these cases, so please do not take this vote or support anything as it relates to this issue as to a person's own stance. Those opinions belong to the individual and do not belong in this discussion.
Simply put, the State cannot get the drug used for lethal injection. Do you believe it is more humane to use lethal injection to execute the death penalty? However, one could conceivably argue that no form of execution is humane, depending on where one may stand on this issue. Let's look at what's been happening on the subject of the death penalty in other states, as well as what is happening here in South Carolina. There has been much discussion nationwide about whether innocent people have been executed and we can all agree that yes, innocent people have been executed. Are there innocent people now on death row? Yes, there are. Are there a disproportionate number of those on death row that are poor? Yes, there are. Is there a disproportionate percentage of African Americans on death row? Yes, there are. In South Carolina, we have thirty-four people on death row, and you may be surprised to learn that seventeen are black and seventeen are white. Conversely, there is one person on death row in California. When you begin looking at the numbers as it relates to population, there is still a disparity.
My other point is this -- you've heard me talk a great deal about our prison population and what we do with our inmates. If you look at what has happened with our prison population in recent years, you will see a significant decline in numbers. In 2014, it went down by 365 inmates. In 2015, it went down by another 542. In 2017, it went down an additional 159, and the next year another 890. In 2018, it went down 829 and in 2020, it went down by 581. Then there was a big jump, down 2,434 inmates, and now South Carolina is down to between 15,000 and 16,000 inmates. We have effectively changed the trajectory of incarceration, and we could begin to consider closing prisons. While the death penalty is certainly the ultimate punishment, views on it have evolved over time. There are many reasons for this, but as we continue to consider this issue, let's be sure that we understand that different countries have different punishments. There are some that rarely utilize the death penalty at all and let me be clear, this is not a bright line test on the death penalty.
In this State, there should be an aggravating circumstance for the death penalty as a result of a hate crime, but we don't have it. We don't even have a definition of a hate crime in this State. For example, we had to prosecute Dylan Roof in federal court, where he was convicted and sentenced to death. He pled to a life sentence here in state court -- a life sentence as the consequence for his heinous acts.
If you look at where these inmates on death row are from, and there are only 34, you will see that there is also a disparity in counties that implement the death penalty. If we are truly going to have an issue on this, it must be fair. Senator McLEOD attempted to put up an amendment yesterday regarding whether or not the State should video executions. And while the public may perceive this as a good idea, and maybe it is, it is a difficult issue. There were concerns around whether such videos would be leaked to the public. Let us understand that in particularly heinous cases -- attorneys keep crime scene photos out of the mainstream media -- could you imagine what would happen if those pictures made it into the public? So while Senator McLEOD's idea is good and sincere, as a practical matter, we must consider whether or not we want unfettered access to such videos in the mainstream media. What we currently have in place is the written transcript of events to reproduce actual events to give the media the ability to fairly report upon the proceedings afterwards, once they have left the facility.
For those that have had the opportunity to witness such a proceeding, many wish they had not. Some have represented individuals that become very genteel toward the very end. I have personally seen very heinous cases where their sentences have been commuted to life. The law of the land in South Carolina is the death penalty, but it will change as it evolves around the country. There will one day be a time where South Carolina will no longer have the death penalty. There will be a time when the United States of America will no longer incarcerate people at the rate they currently do. Twenty-five percent of the world's prison population is in the United States of America. We have more prison beds than dorm room beds in this country. In forty-two states, we have more prisoners than we have students in universities and colleges. We are a lock 'em up society, not a rehabilitative society.
And so I come to my last point, then I will take some questions. This is not political football, so if you ask someone how they feel about this issue -- I will say that I am conflicted a little bit myself, depending on whether I just left Sunday School, or whether someone has caused suffering to my family. I have looked into Dylan Roof's face, and I don't know how he deserves existence in this world. Will he ever be executed? No.
So, in conclusion, this is not a political football, so please don't take it that way. We had some discussion yesterday about how execution is set up in this State. The people that are in attendance are not clothed in uniforms that cover their faces or anything of the like. That doesn't happen. As the process has evolved in this State over time -- have had past debates over using a firing squad and bringing the electric chair back. From what we read, there are a lot of botched executions, particularly in the electric chair. If you read up on this, even within the execution drug cases, the firing squad is the least botched. But no one can truly fathom a firing squad becoming a reality in this State.
So I will conclude by saying that I have been asked why I would vote for this Legislation. I have a hard time explaining that, so my first response was that it is the law of the land, and while it's more accepted if you will, I don't believe that it is entirely accepted. If you are going to keep the death penalty, do you take the option of having the electric chair or firing squad or the lethal injection? The Senate has chosen that it would implement this shield law to accept the lethal injection drugs and make it the law of the land in South Carolina. As we move forward, I want to make certain that we don't use this issue as a dividing point for the ultimate issue -- the death penalty -- that you could be challenged on yourself and your belief system, not just your policy. This is about human decency and the people affected by our decisions.

***

ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator PEELER were ordered printed in the Journal of March 14, 2023:

Remarks by Senator PEELER

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT and members of the Senate. This Finance Committee amendment deals with the Scout Motors infrastructure incentive package. Senator ALEXANDER, members of the Senate, this is the most transparent economic development project in history. You may want to talk about what is transparency. Senators, what does transparency mean in our talk in Columbia? Let me explain it to you. See the glass windows in those doors and windows there? You can see through them. It's transparent. You can see through those glass windows. When you look through those glass windows in the doors, let me tell you what you see. You see our Secretary of Commerce, Harry Lightsey III, and his Department of Commerce team. They are available here to answer any questions or concerns that Senators may have like they have from the get-go of this project. This incentive package we're talking about is a total cost of $1.291 billion. That's a huge sum. I'll admit it. It's a huge sum. It's also a huge project for this State and especially for the Midlands of this State. Let me tell you what else is huge. Our competition for businesses like this. The states of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee seem to outbid us time after time after time. But this is one that we have won. We landed it with the hard work of our Department of Commerce and leaders of this Senate and the House of Representatives. $1.291 billion -- the funding source for this money -- it's totally paid in cash. Although we could have borrowed money, we decided to pay cash for it. To me and the members of the committee we feel like this is the most prudent way to be able to fund this.

Why did we have this cash? In large part because we kept our doors open when many states did not, and thanks to the prudent and wise funding decisions of this Senate and House of Representatives, we have surplus money to be able to pay cash for this project. What's the break down for this $1.291 billion? First, $650 million is for the construction of a new I-77 interchange. It pays for road improvements to mitigate traffic problems for the residents of that area. It pays for the construction of the railroad bridge, water and wastewater infrastructure and mass grading and wetlands mitigation. A $400 million grant for hard assets needed, $16 million to acquire property to connect the class one rail mainline, $25 million to build a training center, publicly owned by Midlands Technical College to train South Carolinians for employment with Scout Motors and a $200 million loan to Scout Motors repayable with interest.

Now let's talk about what Scout Motors brings to this State. It brings $2 billion in capital out lay. It brings 4,000 jobs. Scout Motors is backed by Volkswagen on all the incentives and loans. Volkswagen in my era-- you think of that little bug with the engine in the back. Let me tell you about Volkswagen, it's one of the largest companies in the world. They're backing this.

And last, but not least, clawbacks are in place. Clawbacks -- they've been lawyered by two of the best lawyers and in Senate -- Senator RICHARD HARPOOTLIAN and Senator MICHAEL JOHNSON. They have lawyered this thing up. They are among the best -- not just two. They've lawyered this about as much as you can lawyer it. This project with Scout Motors has the potential of becoming the BMW of the Midlands. I shared with the Finance Committee about what BMW means to the Upstate. Senator THOMAS ALEXANDER and Senator NIKKI SETZLER, you all remember when Governor Carroll Campbell asked for our help to get BMW into the State of South Carolina? We had critics back then, many, many critics about what it took to bring BMW to South Carolina. Back then, when we brought BMW to Greer, one of the best jobs you could get in Greer was changing flat tires at Verne Smith's tire company. That was one of the best jobs you could get. But now you try to take BMW from the Upstate? Somebody would get their feelings hurt. Senator THOMAS ALEXANDER, I'm here to speak in favor of the Scout Motors incentive package.

***

ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator SHEALY were ordered printed in the Journal of April 26, 2023:

Remarks by Senator SHEALY

For the record, I don't plan on filibustering the Bill, just thought I would tell you all that. It's been said that doing the same thing over and over again -- y'all have heard this -- and expecting a different result is a sign of insanity. How many times is this now? You can change what you call it, but it is still the same. This time we are calling it the Human Life Protection Act, before it was Personhood. It's been called the Heartbeat Bill, it's been called a lot of things. The biggest proponents of the Human Life Protection Act are also the same proponents of constitutional carry, school choice, parental rights, and regulating vaccines for everyone, especially children. These are the folks that don't want the government regulating masks or licensing any business. They all think the government should leave our property alone. All these things are clear human rights, rights to privacy. I believe, in most of these cases, they are right. They should leave them alone.

But when it comes to a woman's body, when she becomes pregnant, she suddenly belongs to the government. Once somebody rapes her or she becomes a victim of incest, she would now belong to the government. Once a woman became pregnant for any reason, she would now become property of the State of South Carolina. If the Human Life Protection Act were to come into law, she could no longer make decisions on her own or at the advice of her well-trained doctor. Every female, regardless of her age, would suddenly become subject to the power of a code book regarding her health.

Maybe I'm confused about this Legislation or maybe the men who wrote it know more about pregnancy than the women in this Chamber or across this State or the country who can actually get pregnant and give birth. Women don't want to get raped. They don't want to get pregnant from living in the horror of an incestuous family. Women don't have sex just so they can go have an abortion. Just like men, I don't think they have sex to get pregnant every time. They don't want to go out every night and have sex just to get a woman pregnant, maybe, I don't know. If the House of Representatives wants to cut the number of abortions happening in this State, they have Legislation we sent them earlier this year that gives a ban on abortions after a fetus heartbeat is detected. That is the same thing this Bill is doing. I hate to break it to y'all, actually this gives a time certain. If you are saying you can tell when a fetus is detectable or you can tell when it is viable, it is not going to be until there is a heartbeat. This is giving a time certain of six weeks.

The House doesn't want to save lives, the House just wants to prove a point. One of their very own loudest advocates has said, and I heard it so I'm not making this up, if a house were on fire and there are six children on the first floor and four on the second and they knew they could only save those on the first floor, they would have to let all the children burn up because they couldn't save them all. That is exactly what they are doing. They don't care about the children. They care about a victory, if they were to receive it. Say this passes and a thousand more babies are born a year in South Carolina, or maybe two thousand, they will forget about them after they are born. They will not want to feed them or educate them or fill their needs in foster care if a mother or family cannot care for them. Once they are no longer the unborn and are the born, they will walk away unless let's just say, except those waiting in line to adopt a newborn, yes, only a newborn will do. You must be a newborn. Even though there are hundreds of children up for adoption in South Carolina right now, only a newborn will do.

I went to the zoo this year with the heart gallery. If y'all haven't done that, you need to do it. I walked around with some children who were looking for their forever home through DSS. All they want is a loving family, but no one wants to adopt them because they aren't a newborn. I walked around with three little boys, they are all brothers, one looked at me and said, "Lady, all I want is a dad. I just want a dad but nobody wants me because I'm too old."

Last week I was given a spine by one of these lobbying groups, one of the organizations pushing this Bill. I found that to be an inspiration to stand up in support of all issues that have no huge lobbying groups to support them. Lobbying groups for foster care, lobbying groups for free lunch and lobbying groups for children who were abducted by human trafficking. The kids I support don't threaten you if you don't support them. They don't send you hate filled letters or protest in front of your church calling you nasty names in front of your family. They don't send gifts, because they can't afford that. They look at you with sad eyes or heart felt hope for a better day when maybe, just maybe they can have a dad -- a dad to walk around with them, a dad who can play baseball with them, a dad who can throw them the football. They are not a newborn though. They want a day when somebody will want them, not just a newborn. Just stop and look at what you are doing. Don't call me a baby killer. That is the worst insult anybody's ever said to me. It's been said to me many times when I walk up and get off the escalator and someone stands there and calls me a baby killer. Call me a child saver, I have worked with and saved more lives my eleven years here than most of you could do in a lifetime just by working with DSS, DJJ and the disabled or the underserved. You just want to have a newborn for a friend or a family member to adopt. God, that is a great thing. Adoption is wonderful. People want to do it and I'm thankful for those people who want to. Remember the House Bill, as the House right now has a Bill to save lives that we sent over that possibly could get past the Supreme Court. They could have already saved over 2,500 lives if they had passed that Bill in February. H. 3774 will have no chance of standing up before the courts and once again, they will make us look like the whipping posts for the House in the lobby. This Bill will be just another kick of the mule. That mule is starting to hurt, thank you.

***
ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator GUSTAFSON were ordered printed in the Journal of April 26, 2023:

Remarks by Senator GUSTAFSON

Here we are again for the third time discussing how to restrict abortions in South Carolina. Both the South Carolina House and Senate have offered multiple Bills, but all of them died due to restrictions on some level. I would like to usually start whatever I am saying with some consensus building so we can at least start on some basic agreement on some things. So, I am an optimist, I usually focus on the positive. I will start with that.
I think everyone can acknowledge the fact that overnight South Carolina has become a destination abortion state. You may not like that term and that is fine, but it is happening in scary numbers. Over half of the people who have gotten an abortion since are not from our State, which is where the destination part comes from. From what I heard from Senator MASSEY, we are tracking about 12,000 or more abortions taking us back to numbers we saw in 1990s, that is over 30 years ago. We can agree on things as Republicans or Democrats. We can agree on things as women and men. We can also agree that there are too many unwanted pregnancies today. We can agree that adoption law sometimes inhibits procedures, we can agree that this is an extremely difficult topic, but one we must come to some conclusion to as a South Carolina Legislature. That is our job, and we must do it. Emotions run high and political companies are built upon major concerns such as these. Unfortunately, some of these considerations have turned very personal. I have been disappointed. I have to say this. I have been disappointed in the attacks, the mailers, and the attitudes of those so entrenched in their stances that they no longer listen to anything.
Even at this point, I am still listening, but I must admit that part is challenging for me too. So, what I'm going to try to do so I don't tune anybody out or make anyone mad from the get-go and divide the room immediately, I'm going to try to frame my statement in a nondevisive, nonjudgmental manner. With that I must say I respect our colleagues, I respect our constituents, and I respect our God too. As our Senate Majority Leader pointed out yesterday, yes, I agree. I think we do have a responsibility as Christians to restrict abortions, but we are Legislators. Most of us are not preachers, so we legislate. Whereas I am one of the few nonlawyers in this Body, in this Chamber. I can fully embrace the possibility that this Legislation can and will be challenged in South Carolina Supreme Court, just like S.1, and we thought S. 1 was a good solid Bill. I voted for that. I voted for the Senate Bill we passed six or eight weeks ago. I voted for that one too. So, what we need to do -- needs to be strong for the State and needs to be strong legally. First, I am going to talk about the basics. Let us get beyond abortion or let us look behind abortion because all we hear is abortion, abortion, abortion -- kill a baby, let the baby live. It is a very black and white kind of remark, so this may seem elementary to some of you, but we all know fewer pregnancies prevent abortions. The only thing that leads to abortion is a pregnancy. Three things can affect and prevent pregnancy. I am going to go through this and be incredibly detailed in my remarks. I am not filibustering; I am speaking to the Bill and fully explaining how I feel. I did not do this on S. 1 when I was first elected. I deferred to female legislators; I do not think I spoke at all the first time.
This is daunting for all of you out there, this is not easy, but this is what I was elected to do, and this is what we are here to do. I am going to talk about some things. What can prevent pregnancies -- contraception, access to contraception, and education. Not the kind of education that promotes to certain sexual persuasion but about biology. There are two kinds of birth control -- reversible and permanent. Reversible birth control includes long-acting birth control such as an IUD. I know there are people who have no idea what an IUD is. It is made of copper and plastic, the copper in it is the spermicide that prevents pregnancy. Women can get an implantable rod that contains the hormone progestin, and it is put under the skin just underneath the upper arm. It keeps ovaries from releasing eggs, because you must have an egg to be fertilized. Then, there are shots we could get -- injections of progestin about every three months. I have never used any of those personally. Another kind of reversible birth control includes a short-acting birth control, where hormones are used. This is what people know about most. We have the birth control pill; those contain either estrogen and progestin or just progestin. I was on birth control pills for decades. There is also a birth control patch a woman can wear; it is used in a four-week cycle -- wear for three weeks and comes off for a week. Then there is something called a vaginal ring, a small flexible plastic ring placed in a woman's body. There are barrier methods, these are also reversible.
I finally get to talk about a male, there is a male condom. There is a diaphragm and a cervical cap, there are also female condoms, and there is a sponge with spermicide. So, those are reversible and temporary types of birth control. There's permanent birth control too including tubal ligation, which is when your tubes are tied, so to speak. Except when I went to school with a Dr. Charlie Monteith, he was a brilliant boy in high school, now a brilliant doctor because he can reverse a tubal ligation. One of the few in the United States that can do that, so I am not so sure that is permanent. There are vasectomies too, which is cutting or tying or blocking the vas deferens, the two tubes that carry sperm to the penis. I have described twelve ways to prevent pregnancy and there are a few more, so I will add those to the list. Abstinence. The only 100% effective way to protect against pregnancy. This is the number one thing we should be preaching and teaching to our teenagers and preteens. Abstinence is the best choice if you do not want to be pregnant. There is also natural family planning and fertility awareness, lactational amenorrhea method, and withdrawal. Now, that makes sixteen ways to prevent a pregnancy. Only three of those sixteen even involve a man. So, it is on us, it really is on us. We have skipped the part about talking about what pregnancy means to a woman's body.
There might be somebody out there who does not really know this stuff. Somebody would learn something new today. Maybe, I can change a mind or two and persuade them to see things as I see them. First, I just want to dispel the myth that we know we are pregnant the second we get pregnant. There is something where all the women in this Chamber go, "Oh, no!" Some women are pregnant for six months and do not know, that is a fact. We are not making that up. We do not know when we are pregnant when we get pregnant. Even when we are planning to get pregnant with a loving partner, we still do not know. I want to describe a normal, average, good pregnancy. First trimester there is an amazing transformation that happens, but it is invisible. It is physical and emotional. The first signs of pregnancy are tender and swollen breasts, which is from hormonal changes. Women miss periods but a lot of women do not have regular periods so they would not miss it. Nausea with or without vomiting, increased urination, fatigue, food cravings, aversions, heartburn and constipation.
I have had one baby vaginally. My husband and I have three children together, my husband's ex-wife who cared for twins, God bless her. I had a wonderful pregnancy. I was happy, healthy, and my baby was healthy. On these first signs of pregnancy, I will tell you what I saw; tender, swollen breasts, missed period, nausea, fatigue, weird food cravings, heartburn, and constipation, so I got it all. Emotionally women are happy, exhilarated, exhausted, and emotionally stressed out, balancing the demands of family and career often time, there are mood swings and they must adjust to the idea of parenthood, either alone or with support. Women need prenatal care, treatment, education and assurance. A lot of people either cannot get it, cannot afford it, or do not know they need it. Doctors are there to assess your overall health, identify risk factors and determine the baby's gestational age. The first thirty weeks we go to checkups about once a month, so things are going along well. The good news is most of that nausea I talked about for most people has passed, there is a renewed sense of well-being and a growing belly. This can be good or not good, depending on who the lady is. The breasts are growing, and the uterus expands, that is an internal organ expanding inside a woman's body on its own. At this point a woman might experience Braxton Hicks' contractions, if you have heard of them and do not know what they are, I will explain.
They are mild, irregular contractions. It feels like a tightness in the abdomen, it usually happens at night, after physical activity or sex. If it becomes regular, the person could have preterm labor. So, if the woman starts having contractions and they are irregular, that is okay; but if these contractions are very regular, you need a doctor and you might be in preterm labor, which is extremely dangerous. Our skin changes because of the hormones. Melanin in our skin produces brown patching. A lot of times there is a dark line that forms down the abdomen, and the sun can aggravate these patches. I do not know about you all, but I have a lot of stretch marks. I had a huge baby. Purple lines where the skin has stretched fast, usually occur on a woman's thighs, buttocks or breasts. In the second trimester women have nasal problems because of hormone increases where the body makes more blood, so there is swelling and bleeding in the mucus membranes, and the nose bleeds. I had two of those, I believe. Sometimes there are dental issues because our gums become sensitive and there is minor bleeding. If a woman has a problem with nausea and vomiting, it might affect her tooth enamel -- dizziness, because there are so many changes in our circulation. They tell us to lie down on one side if we are feeling that way -- leg cramps are quite common at night, so we are told to stretch before bed and wear comfortable shoes -- vaginal discharge, some of that is normal but it can become sticky, clear or white and strong smelling. Sometimes there are UTI's, they are common. you will feel a common and extraordinarily strong urge to urinate, when you do it is extremely painful. Sometimes there's fever and a backache along with that but if untreated a UTI can lead to kidney infection and stronger things. In the second trimester we have caught up on our rest -- a little less tired. People a lot of times start taking baby classes, finding a doctor and trying to manage their anxiety. As far as prenatal care is concerned, again, appointments will focus on the baby's growth, hearing the baby's heartbeat and finding out what the baby's sex is. This is also the time when a lot of tests are done on the pregnancy to determine various problems with the baby.
If you are so blessed to make it to a third trimester -- first, let me just say, my mother would reassure me, this is not a permanent condition, you will have the baby. I worked every single day of my pregnancy, in fact, I worked up until my due date. On my due date, I was working. I finally said, okay, I need to go home and wait for this baby. The third trimester is the most physically and emotionally draining time. It is extremely hard for a woman to get comfortable. The due date might come and go and that brings on a special kind of anxiety, I cannot even explain. My son's due date was in November, my child William, did not want to be born. I do not know what the deal was, but I stayed pregnant, and it was three weeks after the due date. He was fine. My doctor finally said, okay, we need to induce pregnancy and you are going to have to have a C-Section and go to the hospital. So, it was planned, at 11:30 the night before I went into labor, I had my baby by 6:32 a.m. the next morning, so I did not have to have a C-Section. I went in to natural labor, and I had my wonderful, beautiful, perfect baby. It is exciting during the third trimester because they have these 3-D cameras now where you can see babies' movements, you can see their sensations, and see them reacting in the womb. It is phenomenal. Braxton Hicks' contractions may continue. I had Braxton Hicks' contractions for four months and it drove me crazy. I finally ignored them because they were not regular. Emotions are all over the map, hormones are running wild, there's anticipation, fear and wondering how long the pregnancy will last and coping with that anxiety. Again, some of these women are alone, some of them are not. Thankfully, I was not alone, I had a loving husband at the time. During the third trimester, some women develop gestational diabetes. My grandmother almost died from that. All those physical changes and all those hormonal changes in our bodies -- let us talk about labor for a minute, too. So, we have labor and delivery and postpartum care. Labor can be natural, can be unique, people do it in, like, baby tubs. It truly is a test of a mother's physical and emotional stamina. The first stage of labor, you get persistent contractions. Then the cervix dilates, which means it opens and it softens and shortens so the baby can move through the birth canal. It is a natural, physical thing that happens to women to give childbirth. God made us this way. It is the longest stage of labor and can last from hours to days -- days. I know people who were in the hospital for days in labor, then finally active labor. The cervix will dilate from six centimeters to ten centimeters. I did not bring a measuring stick or a ruler because I thought that would be a little much. Most of you know what ten centimeters look like. Right? The body adjusts and gets ready for the baby. We are not allowed to eat anything, because if we have a C-Section -- you are not allowed to eat if there is a possibility of surgery. So, we get ice chips and clear liquids, and popsicles. There is not much we get, so there is no eating involved. The last part of active labor is what you see on T.V. with the screaming ladies, and I must tell you, I do not think I screamed. I did not have any breath to scream, but the last part of active labor is a very intense and very painful. The contractions are lasting sixty to ninety seconds, a minute to a minute and a half of intense pain. There's pressure on the lower back and on the rectum, but you cannot push too soon, and you will want to do that, that is the natural response to all this. If you push too soon, the cervix can swell and then mess up the vaginal birth. So, this is when the doctors tell you to pant and blow. This transition lasts about fifteen minutes to an hour and then we have the baby. It just takes a few minutes to a few hours. You push, and your baby is here, and it is over. Except it is not over, there is more. Many people do not understand, or know that after the birth of the baby, they must do a second birth. They must deliver the placenta. This is a natural, biological thing that a doctor does, it takes about thirty minutes to an hour to do this. During this time, the uterus magically and immediately starts to contract back to its normal size.
If there was no anesthesia used, this is the time a doctor might use anesthetic because sometimes the perineum is torn, and stitches are needed. The perineum is that space between the vagina and the rectum. Now, everything I just described is a smooth pregnancy, labor, and delivery in childbirth with no problems whatsoever, not even one complication. You are going to get all that. The woman's body goes through all of that -- postpartum, even after all that is done, sometimes there are hemorrhages; there's severe vaginal bleeding. I have heard of cases like this many times. The woman goes home, and the stitches do not hold, and they could bleed to death. It can kill the mother. This can happen up to twelve weeks postpartum. more than half of the pregnancy-related deaths happen after childbirth. I will say that because I am sure many people do not know that. More than half of the pregnancy-related deaths happen after childbirth, and those numbers are going up. According to the C.D.C., as much as you trust them, this is what I have learned from their online statistics. In 2014, there were eighteen deaths per hundred thousand live births. To me, that is a lot. And not only that, but for a mortality ratio, black women have three times higher frequency than white women of dying. I am not going to discuss that; I am just stating a fact. So, there's fatigue and discomfort, perineal pain, and uterine contractions, but as many as forty percent of these women who have a baby, do not go back for any postpartum visits, usually because, again, of limited resources.
I have described the physical and emotional nature of typical pregnancies and deliveries. All of that, to me, is real sex education. If teenage girls really knew what they were risking and facing, if they really knew all of this, I think there would be less prom night sex. I do not know if anybody learned anything new in the Chamber today and obviously, women have much more to consider in a pregnancy than any man on the planet. That is just fact, which is not judgmental. Switching gears for just a moment here, something else we can all agree upon is that the fear of the unknown can be gripping. Pregnancy is the unknown because nobody knows what is going to happen to their bodies when they get pregnant. I have seen and known plenty of healthy women. They work out, they lead healthy lifestyles, they do not drink or smoke, and then they have these harsh pregnancies. You think, why them? They have really taken care of themselves. My grandmother was as healthy as a horse, and she developed all these problems when she was pregnant. Back then, there were not a lot of remedies, but I remember as a young girl her telling me about it. It takes a lot of work to grow a spine inside of a woman who has a spine. It is a lot of work to grow a baby which has a spine in it. It is challenging work. There has been a lot of preaching in this building. I certainly understand that, I just must point this out, some of it has sounded condescending, demeaning, cold and judgmental. No matter what the intent is of these people who are preaching, not just speaking to the Bill, but really going beyond that, I think -- no matter the intent, there are millions of women in this State who feel like they've been personally addressed in this Legislation. There are millions of women who feel like they have not been heard, and that is why I am standing up here this long, and I have never done this before. I have never spoken this long to any Bill. I would like to end with a sacred genuine word of hope, words of love and words of action. I am an optimist, I believe in resolution, I believe in reconciliation, I believe in forgiveness and I believe in empathy. Sometimes I believe in tough love when that is needed, too.
Matthew 7:1 says, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." My husband, Todd, is starring in a show called Godspell. I do not know if you all have heard about it. It is a musical, it is a story that is told through parables and hymns about the story of Jesus. May 5th through 7th and 12th through 14th at Wood Auditorium Arts Center of Kershaw County. He is in this musical and he came to me this morning -- I am going to tell you my husband does not give suggestions to me. Now, we do talk about a lot, but he does not in any way tell me how to do my job. He knows me, and he knows my heart and he thought he could add something to this conversation. So, his parable is about a woman who is caught in an adulterous relationship. I am going to read his lines. These are actual lines he says during the show. He says, "Master, this woman was caught in the act of adultery, and in the law, Moses laid down such women are to be stoned." And what does Jesus say? We all know. People who aren't even religious probably know what Jesus said, "That one of you that is faultless cast the first stone." As we discussed -- and judge women who have unwanted pregnancies, all of us make mistakes, but a lot of times men's mistakes don't look like a bowling ball in front of their bodies. They are unseen. Then Jesus says, "Go now and leave your life of sin, leave it behind." He does not condone the behavior. He does not condone what the woman had done. Jesus does not reject the law directly, but He criticizes those who are applying it mechanically.
The law should be interpreted considering God's mercy for sinners, and we are not doing that. If we are approaching this strictly from a religious basis, as many in this Body are, we are not doing that. John 8:15, "The judgment of the pharisees was limited and worldly." Jesus made it clear that He did not judge at all, in the proper sense, of course, He did judge. I believe that we are judged. We are judged for breaking God's law and going against what he wants for us, part of that might be admittedly promiscuity, reckless sex; but, I am not going to stone those women. We have come to an impasse on these abortion Bills. We are here again, and I don't like it. We need to do something, so I would suggest to our colleagues in the South Carolina House to please, as soon as possible, take up the Senate Bill which is the six-week, basically Fetal Heartbeat Bill, this is a complete ban on abortion. It leaves no room for empathy, reality or graciousness. So, as Legislators, and that is what we are, we are not preachers, but as a Legislator, I am to protect and uphold security. Safety and security are the number one thing we can do for our State, for our country. We need to protect the unborn and we need to protect women. I have heard this is not an anti-woman Bill but clearly in some circumstances, it is. I would really appreciate it for all the ones who are currently a "yes" on this Bill, H. 3774, to respectfully not pass it, for all the reasons I have said, and I do believe I am pro-life. I am not going to be labeled that way, but I am. We must take care of each other. The way I can do that is through Legislation. That means we restrict abortions, so we are not a destiny state. Nobody wants an abortion. I do not think there is anybody in this building who wants to allow abortion at four months, at five months. So, we must do this thing. I beg you to reconsider your vote and think about what I have said about pregnancy, and all that the woman goes through. It is not simple to get an abortion. That is all. Thank you.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator KIMBRELL were ordered printed in the Journal of April 27, 2023:

Remarks by Senator KIMBRELL

Good morning colleagues. I know we are getting close to the end of session, and this is probably the last time I come up here on any kind of point this year, but I wanted to say thank you for the leadership of Chairman PEELER in the Senate Finance Committee. We worked together this week to get on the floor S. 634, which I recognize is contested and like most of us, whenever you are not going to have a chance to hear something out on the floor during the session, you get a chance to speak about it here.

One of the things I have tried to do since I have been in the Senate, and I hope I have done well -- maybe Senator SETZLER can tell me later if I have -- is to have a point, make your point, but also be agreeable where you can be. I've probably been the loudest guy in the room this year about this ESG idea, and S. 634 -- which I put forward with about ten other colleagues -- was trying to get at this notion of making sure we do targeted tax incentives; we do economic development and we're mindful of this growing agenda that I'm concerned about as it pertains to the culture of our State.

Our former Governor and Ambassador Nikki Haley this week got into a pretty public spar with the Governor of Florida over the issue of ESG's. She said she wanted to move, and I respect Governor Haley a lot, but she said she wanted to move Disney to Charleston. I think our Charleston Delegation may not like the congestion in Charleston if Disney were to move there. We will let you make that decision, Senator KIMPSON, but I will tell you that I would not be supporting a targeted tax package to move Disney from Florida to South Carolina. I don't think they are going to move, but the point is, economic development needs to be done without a side of politics, and I've been very clear that I'm worried about that. I tried during the budget debates not to mess anything up. Chairman PEELER put forward a great budget this year. I think it addresses the needs of the State in a conservative and fiscally responsible fashion and I want to be sure we move that along quickly.

During the discussion over Scout, I respect what Mayor Rickenmann here in Columbia said, and that is, the Upstate has a car manufacturing facility, the Low Country has planes and cars, and we need to give the Midlands a chance. Therefore, I pulled down an amendment I had offered about ESG's, even on targeted tax incentives for Scout -- for Volkswagen. I will say now, I think it is good to give fair warning, if we can't get some form of resolution in the Senate going forward next year-- saying we will not give this agenda of ESG's a lot of life while we are doing economic development. I will offer amendments going forward on pretty much every economic incentives package to be sure that we are not holding our subcontractors accountable or to a standard they don't want to have to live up to.

In Spartanburg, I have given this story in committee and subcommittee, and I'll tell it here on the floor. A business in Spartanburg -- a large contractor -- very experienced -- has been in business for forty years with one thousand employees -- tried to do some business with a company that moved to Spartanburg under a targeted tax incentives plan. When they applied to be a subcontractor, they had to fill out a 100-page questionnaire that had little to do with their bonding and insurance requirements -- had little to do with their ability to perform the job, but had everything to do with where they stood on everything from climate change, to LGBT recruitment, and a whole range of things that I really don't think had anything to do with their ability to perform the job. We are using our tax money -- their tax money -- to bring these businesses in, and the idea is we are going to have a multiplier effect, and we are going to do economic growth and development. And, if we are using tax money collected from the businesses that are here, then those businesses ought to be able to benefit from that economic development without being forced to change their culture, values or positions to bow down to an agenda they don't agree with.

So, I will just say I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, S. 634 going through the Finance Committee. I appreciate that it is on the floor. I recognize it goes nowhere this year, but going forward I will be pretty aggressive on making sure we adopt -- if we can't get a Sense of the Senate on this sometime next year -- I will probably argue on every incentive package that we make sure our subcontractors are not forced to bow to this agenda in order to be successful.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator JACKSON were ordered printed in the Journal of May 3, 2023:

Remarks by Senator JACKSON

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT. To Senator MALLOY, thank you, so much for your words. I thank you for reminding us of the words that Governor Beasley spoke, unfortunately, I was not able to make it, but certainly heard about those words. Members of the Senate, I want just for a few moments, to just stand and just respond a little bit about what happened yesterday and to talk about hate crimes, perhaps from a different perspective. Everyone can rest easy. I'm not going to be a firestone, not showing any shade on anyone, but I want to talk about the better angles that Senator MALLOY talked about and just share with you why that matters so much to me. And to so many others.

South Carolina, again, and by the way, as long as we do not have hate crimes, I will be doing this over and over and over again. This year, next year, and if I'm fortunate to come back after that -- any time after that because I think we do need to be reminded that we are one of two states that does not have hate crimes. And we have been told that it is feel- good Legislation, we know that oftentimes a lot of things we do here consist of feel good Legislation. Here is the thing that I want to share one -- that I thought about last night as I was driving home -- and I want to share it as a Point of Personal Interest. There are groups in this country who share the opinion that South Carolina does not need hate crimes. And I am in a process of passing out some information for you. I just want you to hear this. Okay? And then we decide if we are proud to be lumped with these groups, antisemitism groups, and anti-hate groups -- groups that promote and groups that boldly and publicly promote hate, vision and tearing us apart. Those groups say as perhaps some say in this Body, that there is no need for hate crimes. So, my question to us is that are we proud of the fact that we agree with the Argan Nation? Are we proud of the fact that we agree with the official KKK's position? This is their official position that there is no need for hate crimes, in fact, there is a group that espouses white supremacist and boldly say death to Jews and others. That group, at one of their meetings said, "We are, proud of the state that have not bent and bowed to political correctness and adopted hate crimes" -- only two states, Wyoming and South Carolina. Are we proud to be the favorite State of hate groups? Groups that shout death to Jews? Are we proud to be one of the favorite states of the official KKK's -- KKK's organization? That's all I'm asking. And we hear this over and over and over again.

I think all of us know how this will eventually end. One day hopefully we will pass hate crimes. But we can avoid all of this, we can avoid all of this, last year. As I wrap this up, I went to some members and said give us the most benign version that you think is possible. The version of hate crimes that offends the least number of people. The version of hate crimes that's super feel good. But at least we have a Hate Crimes Bill. Because you know what? I don't want my sons, I don't want people I know, to say we are the favorite group of the KKK. I do not want people to say that white supremacist are giving us a high five and say we are proud South Carolina has not bought to political correctness and wokeness and they're standing up of with a we believe is the question, I don't think you are either. I don't think there is anyone in this Body that wants to be identified with those groups. But I will tell you this, as long as we are one of two states -- without that, we are identifying with those groups. Look at the handout that I'm passing around. I have more to come. More handouts that would be even more specific about what hate groups are saying, and I will leave you with this, as some of you know, I had the honor to replace the late Senator Isadore Lourie -- one of the greatest honors of my life to replace the Senator Isadore Lourie. When I ran for the Senate in my early 30's, young man, Senator Lourie took me on his wings, he and his lovely wife took me to their house, and he began to tell me about why it is so important to fight for what is right. So as many of you know, we served with the Senator's son Joel, one of my absolute best friends, but one of the things that his father said to me, and he also said to Joel is this: he said that it is important for us to fight for what is right even when it looks like you will not prevail. He said keep fighting for it. Don't ever give up the fight for what is right, so I say to the members of this Body, you would be hearing a lot more from me and others, because all we are asking for is a vote. That is it -- a vote. And if this Body votes it down, I promise you this. This is a promise. If this Body votes down hate crimes, I will never get up to this well again.

So, I say to you that we need to pass it. Because you have done what I've asked, you've done what most of us have asked -- is just to have a simple vote on hate crimes. We are here to vote on CRT. We are talking about feel good Legislation. We're about to vote on some other things. But for some reason, we cannot have a simple vote for hate crimes. I leave with the words of the late Isadore Lourie -- keep fighting even if you know you're not going to prevail, because the fight is important. Thank you, members of the Senate. With that, I would like to ask unanimous consent to pass out some materials.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator SABB were ordered printed in the Journal of May 3, 2023:

Remarks by Senator SABB

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT and thank you members. I wanted to take a couple of moments to talk about hate crimes and where I think perhaps, we might be. You know, if there is one thing I`ve lived long enough, and served long enough in this Body to appreciate, is that the passions often times run high. I think that's just a part of the nature of who we are. I think it is a part of the body of politics that we are part of. I had the pleasure and the honor of being the subcommittee chair for the Hate Crimes Legislation. I wanted the Body to know that I've had a lot of conversation in the Chamber. I've tried to talk to every Senator that we have, those who agree with me and those who disagree with me. I'm appreciative of the fact that those who don't agree with me are kind enough to tell me why, because it gives us an opportunity to have intellectual discussion on the matter. I did not want yesterday's discussion to leave the impression that we are not communicating and that we are not advancing. Therefore, I think we are making progress. Will we get there? I don't know. I'm hopeful and I'm optimistic but I don't know.

I would like to specifically address one of the concerns that I heard yesterday, and that's on the idea of treating people differently. The question is as to whether the Hate Crime Bill itself promotes that. The concern is treating people differently if the Legislation does that, then perhaps the Legislation is not good. Well, that's worthy of examination because who are the people involved? On the one hand, you've got the individual who the evidence shows committed a crime based on hate. To the extent that the Legislation deals with that animus, then that is appropriate, is it not? For the individual to be dealt with, as opposed to somebody who simply commits a crime without that particular element involved. Then you examine it from the defendant's perspective, and I say it is warranted. Then the only other perspective you examine it from is a victim's perspective. Does the person who is attacked -- injured because of their race, because of their religion -- does that person want to be treated differently? No, I would say that person wants to be treated the same but would not have a problem with us trying to deal with the idea of hate. To the extent that penalties are part of the deterrent, then once again, it seems appropriate. I've got a deep appreciation for what we are allowed to experience as Legislators. I thought it was interesting that Governor Beasley talked in a manner, in which there are differences yet a spirit of cooperation and highlighted the fact so many of us see things the same way. The question is whether there are other things that interfere with our ability to be able to come together and fashion a solution that's beneficial to our great State. I'm finished, but I thought it was important that we at least walk away with an understanding that there are conversations going on in this Body. In my opinion, we're making some progress. Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator KIMPSON were ordered printed in the Journal of May 3, 2023:

Remarks by Senator KIMPSON

I want to go to amendment number four, sometimes the Spirit moves you. I was moved by the Spirit. And the spirit moves in mysterious ways. Something told me about amendment number four. I just said I have to go to amendment four. I'm not going to be long; I know there is angst. We have a lot of Bills to talk about tonight. I have passed out a graphic, and seriously, I want everybody to take a moment to review the graphic. I quoted a local principal earlier, and I think it was as I was bantering with Senator FANNING, and he was asking me questions about local power. What happened in this area -- and I don't want to single out the area -- because then we're going to have Legislation to target that local representative. They noticed that kids were bringing all kind of vape machines to class. And that's what is going on. You all walk outside, you see people smoking these machines. They are part of this nicotine delivery system. We talked about that earlier. We got a nicotine delivery system that's killing -- killing our children. Why we are talking about rolling over for big tobacco escapes me. I read the data and I'm not going to belabor the point, but I based my decisions on the data. But these are packages, and my understanding, Senator MARTIN, is that in three days the local government official collected all of these nicotine delivery systems. Now, I don't know what you call them -- but we read out many of the flavors, and that's what this amendment does. If we, Senator VERDIN, want to do something big to protect children -- this amendment is something big. It bans flavored products in the State of South Carolina. We say we want state regulation. If we're going to protect children, let's ban these flavors. This is how the nicotine delivery system hooks kids. We talked about the National Master Settlement Agreement of 1998. That was why the tobacco case was fought. Because we saw an escalating level of addiction, starting with adults, but what all the tobacco companies did is shift their focus to children. I read some of the quotes. I just want to quickly read another one. "Evidence is now available to indicate that the fourteen to eighteen year old group is an increasing segment of the smoking population." Think about that for a minute. Now, this is a RJ Reynolds executive. "We must soon establish a successful brand in this market if our position in the industry is to be maintained in the long term." That is big tobacco saying, look, we have to target the children. How do we target the children? We design a product to entice the children. This amendment gets to how they plan to target the children. With all due respect to Senator HUTTO, they are not going to be deterred by that weak amendment. I'm just saying, that's a fact. I read out the market capitalization, if big tobacco can pay, they are rejoicing in the halls of D.C. That's going to be Exhibit A. This amendment, sponsored by the Minority Leader, Senator HUTTO, is going to be Exhibit A in legislatures all across the country to get this Legislation passed in other states. I take my colleague at his good word. This is a bad Bill that he is trying to make better. But, you can't put lipstick on a pig. It is still a pig. You can put it on there, but it is still a pig. Even the milk man knows that it is still a pig. If you all want to really do something to protect our children, my amendment is bold stuff. I've studied the issue, and I've heard the debate. By the way, we only started debating this Bill today. This is a major sweeping piece of Legislation. We are doing major heavy lifting in one night. You all have been talking about it in caucus. But we haven't had robust debate. We are fooling ourselves. I know some of you are saying, Senator KIMPSON, we got to go home. We can't tie up the Senate's time with hearing substantive amendments on the Bill. We got our marching orders. We got to get this done. Why do you have to get it done? We are talking about a nicotine delivery system that's killing our children. I don't know what a cigarillo is, but I've read a lot of the products, and what I'm saying is the tobacco companies claim that they have stopped intentionally marketing to kids and targeting youth, but their actions speak louder than their words. And all you got to do is look at the data. This is what was collected. I don't want little Marleigh and, I don't want little Marlon trying to be cool by smoking these nicotine devices. I've brought with me today, ads, and I brought plenty of them. Hey, kids, Elmo says to be cool, you got to hit the Juul. (Shows graphic) -- look, nicotine delivery system. What are we doing? This is how sophomores look at their Juul when it is almost out of juice. (Shows graphic) We just put $11 million in our coffers from suing big tobacco. This year, we took in $80 billion. We still have $2 billion coming in 2025 from suing big tobacco. Why did we sue them? To prevent them from addicting not only our children but our adults. You all on Senate Finance, you all get the financials. Why we going to kowtow? That's what we are doing. We are kowtowing? I mean, you all laugh. But, you know, I'm not going to be here much longer. And I don't know what is going to happen next year. Senator McELVEEN, will be here, and I'm going to tell you, I'm going to send all of you an email when big tobacco starts to rollback the weak Legislation that Senator HUTTO proposed. Because they are coming back for weaker Legislation -- Senator HUTTO did his best to tighten the Legislation and send a message. The State will now regulate, without local ordinances, nicotine delivery. Next they will come back to repeal smoking bans. Those were locally passed ordinances, and I don't know about you but I don't enjoy going into a restaurant or going into an establishment and coming out smelling like a nicotine stack. I went to Las Vegas, two weeks ago, and in Las Vegas, you can smoke inside. I had not been to Las Vegas since the COVID pandemic. I had forgotten that you can smoke inside. My whole suitcase smelled like nicotine. All we're doing, by passing this Legislation, it is called preemption -- you can say the municipalities can preserve their power. The nature of the Bill is to take -- we're taking their tools. You've said that the municipalities aren't doing anything. If the Legislation isn't doing anything, why does big tobacco want it? We have to use our collective minds to deduce the fact that this is favorable to the industry. As I said, at the outset, this is one of the most lethal, most potent, deadly drugs in a delivery system and it is a gateway system to using more dangerous drugs -- just like opioids, just like many other drugs. I won't say marijuana, because I'm a supporter of medical marijuana for its stated purposes, and I think the record bears that out, but what I am saying is most of these people started with nicotine. That's just a fact. I haven't researched it, but I believe that to be true. Here is another ad, you got the teacher, and you got the students all together smoking that nicotine. (Shows graphic) -- smoking that nicotine. I don't smoke, and I don't want to smell like smoke, and I don't want my children subjected to the smoke. So, Mr. PRESIDENT, I move that we adopt after questions.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator JACKSON were ordered printed in the Journal of May 9, 2023:

Remarks by Senator JACKSON

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT and members of the Senate. I passed out an article about Matthew Shepard. For the next two days I'm going to take my five minutes to give a Point of Personal Interest as it relates to hate crimes. I want to say it is not my intent to be hostile, not my intent to be confrontational -- I just want to share information concerning why it is so important. I have also resisted any calls I have received from the national press to actually talk about South Carolina and why we do not have a Hate Crimes Bill. However, I think over the next several months there will be lots of opportunities to really talk about it. Again, I am not here to make it personal -- not here to be hostile about it -- just to share because I think it is so important.

Matthew Shepherd is where many say this really began. In order for you to understand perhaps why hate crimes are so important -- and I will tell you particularly to this Senator it is because of this case, Matthew Shepherd's case. I was in the State Senate at the time as a young minister, so it wasn't something that was on my radar. I had a lot of conversations with a lot of ministers as they had their doubts about it but when I shared the Shepherd story it changed the minds, a lot of minds, of my colleagues. I want to briefly share it and I will take my seat. Matthew Shepherd was twenty-one years old when he was brutally murdered. He was born December 31, 1976, and grew up in Casper, Wyoming. How ironic, one of only two states that does not have a Hate Crimes Bill. Matthew Shepherd then moved with his family to Saudi Arabia and went to school there. In both high schools in Wyoming and Saudi Arabia he was a leader that was elected as a peer leader, counselor, was voted on -- nominated as one of the most friendly people in his class. After college, his career took him back to Wyoming where he studied political science and foreign relations; but on October 7, 1998, at twenty-one years old, Matthew Shepherd was brutally abducted, beaten and murdered. He was left on a fence post stripped naked -- pistol whipped to death so much so that when those who found him saw him. They thought he was a scare- crow. Perhaps his only thought was he had come out and said he was gay and because he did there was some who could not take that. This is where there was a paradigm shift to some of my colleagues in the ministerial field. I think they began to see people for who they are -- not what labels that were cast on him. Matthew Shepherd was found eighteen hours later by a bicyclist who I said earlier thought he was a scarecrow.

Here is how it impacted my life. Because at that time I had two young sons. I thought how I would feel if this had been one of my sons for whatever choices they made in their life. So, we introduced a Hate Crimes Bill in the South Carolina Senate. To the credit of this Senate that Bill passed on March 18, 1999. There were other ministers that were in here. There were other people that were in here. I had friends of mine from across the country who called. They said we have changed our position. I'm a graduate of CIU University, one of the most conservative theological schools in the country. Some of my dear friends are missionaries all across the country. I'll never forget I had one call me. He had tears in his eyes and he said, "I have never seen anything more brutal than this." This young man at twenty-one years, if he had lived -- he would be forty-six today. Matthew Shepherd's case is the case that initiated Federal Hate Crime Laws all across the State. The South Carolina Senate was commended and it was said that we had the courage to do what others had not done. No other state in the southeast had a Hate Crimes Bill. Now listen to this. Every state in the southeast with exception of South Carolina -- Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Alabama, Mississippi. Alabama, Mississippi both have Hate Crimes laws but not South Carolina.

It would be my intent, Mr. PRESIDENT and members of the Senate, for the next two days and perhaps every day in next year's session to take my five minutes and share with you why I think it is so important that we not be one of two states joining Wyoming, where Matthew Shepherd lived and where he died not to have a hate crimes law. Thank you for your time. I look forward to talking with you more tomorrow. Thank you.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator KIMPSON were ordered printed in the Journal of May 10, 2023:

Remarks by Senator KIMPSON

I rise today to say thank you to the people of Senate District 42 for electing me to serve in this august Body for almost a decade now. When I first was sworn in this Chamber, I brought with me my little baby Marleigh who was not yet one year old. She'll be ten years old next month. Little Marlon wasn't even born and he will be six years old this weekend. They are truly blessed kids who have two dedicated parents but what I've learned the last ten years is my kids aren't impressed with my professional achievements -- they measure love by how much time I spend with them. To them, love equals time.

As y'all know, I've been appointed by President Biden to serve as a White House appointee to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. While this committee is not a full-time job, I can't put this new role on top of my Senate position, maintain a full-time robust law practice and spend quality time with my children. Love equals time. And that's why I'm giving this farewell address. At the outset of this journey, I pledged to the people of District 42 that I would come up here to work hard for them every day. That I would not cower in the face of adversity but stand resolute to make sure that every child could get a good public education, breathe clean air and taste clean water and that every citizen in this State would have the opportunity to live the American dream. That's what I said then when I gave my speech in January of 2014 and that's what I did while I was in the Senate. God puts people in place at the right time. I was here at the right time. Not long after I was sworn in, an unarmed motorist was pulled over in North Charleston, in my district, for a traffic violation. His name was Walter Scott, Jr. In fear that he was going back to jail for some unpaid child support, Walter ran on foot and was shot in the back multiple times by a police officer. When you read the officer's affidavit, you would have thought he deserved the Order of the Palmetto, but we found out it was totally unsupported by the facts. And but for a cell phone video which captured the incident on tape, he might have gotten a promotion. This Body understood that the best evidence is by video, and together -- both Democrats and Republicans -- we passed the Body Camera Act and became the first State in the Nation to do so.

About sixty days after that, the world witnessed one of the most heinous crimes ever imagined: the cold-blooded murder of nine parishioners, including one of our own, Senator Clemente Pinckney. We banded together to remove the Confederate flag in front of the State House in a solid move to show solidarity, unity and rid this State of a polarizing symbol that continued to divide us.

While I was here, we fought big ag, big chicken and big tobacco. We fought for marketplace fairness for our mom-and-pop stores who compete against big companies on the internet by forcing those out-of-state internet sellers to collect sales tax. This allows our mom-and-pop stores who employ our citizens, pay local taxes, sponsor local baseball teams and contribute to our State not to be at a competitive disadvantage. To date, that Legislation has generated more than 1.5 billion dollars for the State of South Carolina -- transformative economic Legislation for our citizens. We fought for children who work more than the American work week while practicing, training and competing on Saturday on the football fields and basketball courts at our two flagship universities and now these young student-athletes can profit from their own names, likeness, and images.

We've done a lot of great things but there is so much more to do. If we can marshal our efforts to pass a Bill to give German-owned Scout Motors two billion dollars in a matter of weeks -- without much debate--we can certainly raise the minimum wage, pass Hate Crime Legislation and expand Medicaid for the working class people of South Carolina. A quote from Nelson Mandela states, "There is no passion to be found playing small -- in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." But going forward it will be up to y'all -- each and every one of you. Now while I won't be here, I'm going to be generous and leave with you the next best thing. I am going to continue to grace your presence by leaving you all with Marlon #2! He doesn't have quite the personality, if I must say so myself, but hopefully he will be a constant reminder of my charge to each of you -- you are never wrong for doing the right thing. Go do great things for all the people of this great State. I suspect you will all miss me greatly and just know that you can have one of these in your office, to receive my wise counsel daily, for a mere $42.90. $42.00 symbolizing Senate District 42 and 90 cents because I have been re-elected by 90% of the votes -- in an unopposed race. Seriously folks -- in closing, there's a hymn we sang while I was growing up at St. John Baptist Church when I was a little boy in the choir. Don't worry, I'm not going to sing it, but the words are "May the work, I've done speak for me." Colleagues, I hope the work I've done speaks volumes. It's been an honor of a lifetime to serve in the South Carolina Senate. Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator SABB were ordered printed in the Journal of May 11, 2023:

Remarks by Senator SABB

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT and members. Today is an historical day because it is the day after my experience last night. My grandmother always talked to us about occurrences -- the things that happen. One of the things that she made sure that we appreciated was the fact that it's not always what you do. It's not always what is done. Quite often, what's more important is the manner it's done. I like, Senator HARPOOTLIAN who spoke so eloquently a moment ago -- who has nothing but appreciation for the opportunity to be a part of discussions in this Chamber. One of the things that I did when I came into the Body in the House, and I tried to do the same as I came into the Senate -- I sat in silence observing how the Body moves -- the dynamics of the Body. The high-level qualities of its members and essentially how she functions. Never have I seen in my eight plus years what occurred with me last night. There's never been an instance that I know about where there's no forewarning that the trigger is getting ready to be pulled -- never. I just believe that as a manner of courtesy, it should have been extended and that's the second time for me. The first time, quite frankly, I took it on the chin. I tried to take the position that when somebody goes low, I can go high. However, last night was the straw that broke the camel's back as far as I'm concerned. I believe that common courtesy is important, and that was not displayed nor extended last night. I don't believe in holding stuff like that in. I believe in saying it in such a fashion that my position is clear. I realize -- and my daughter spoke to a class and one of the things that I didn't realize that she shared with the class was that 10% is what we do and the other 90% is how we react to what others do.
It's always been my hope that my reaction is such that I sleep well at night. Dr. Charles Edward Murray said that one of the quintessentials of a good speech is having something to say. That's why when I come up here -- I don't come up here haphazardly -- it is a result of me studying an issue and finding out what the deal is. I believe advocacy matters; I believe it makes a difference. If I had thought for a moment that what Senator TALLEY talked about last night couldn't be handled in the law, without us passing the law, I would have voted for it although I was against it. Just because it was conduct that we needed to address. That's where I stand.
Now, I didn't get a chance to say it in the debate, but context to me is important. When you think in terms of the Legislation that was passed last night, that whole notion began with an Executive Order from the President of the United States. It occurred around the time when the upheaval happened in America because of what happened with George Floyd. A part of the reaction to that was an Executive Order that contained a lot of what is in this Bill. Contextually, that is important. Contextually, that should have been a part of this debate. I'm reminded of what happened during that time in our society. I witnessed women in the WNBA step forward and speak out. I witnessed men in the NBA step forward and speak out. Why? It is because they want us to have a more perfect Union. They felt that there was a need to deal with a kind of conduct that gives rise to that kind of a crime. It is important. Do you know what the reaction was to the men in the NBA that spoke out? They told them shut up and dribble -- shut up and dribble. The reaction that came to them was shut up and dribble. In other words, you can play basketball, we admire your talent, and we cheer for you, but how dare you weigh in on an issue of social significance in our Country? You know what the response was? Their voice got louder -- their voice got louder. A lot of good things occurred because of that conversation that America was forced to engage in. That is the origin of this critical race theory discussion.
Now, I'm finished with that. Let me conclude by sharing the words that the Senate began with today where a scripture was shared with us written by Paul addressing those he loved in Rome. It simply said, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to. But rather, think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." We are South Carolina Senators -- not Republicans or maybe we are -- not Democrats, well, maybe we are. However, there's a level above how we're classified. There is a level above Republicanism and there's a level above being a Democrat. The question fundamentally in my mind is, will we rise to that level when it comes to common courtesy? I submit that we ought to demand it of each other. I submit we ought to adhere to it. It's not always what is done, often, it is the manner in which it is done. Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator CAMPSEN were ordered printed in the Journal of May 11, 2023:

Remarks by Senator CAMPSEN

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT. This is an important Resolution. Robert Smalls was a transformative figure we should respect and venerate. Originally from Beaufort, he was enslaved in Charleston, yet a trusted crew member of the cargo vessel CSS Planter. I have a painting in my Charleston office of the Planter underway off High Battery, with Robert Smalls at the helm, as he and his family make their escape from slavery.
Robert Smalls was a trusted and well-respected sailor. He was afforded great latitude to maintain and operate the Planter on behalf of its owner, John Ferguson. One of my passenger boats in Charleston is similar in appearance to the Planter, a sidewheeler with paddlewheels port and starboard.

In November 1861 Federal troops captured Beaufort, Port Royal and surrounding sea islands. Robert Smalls received word that slaves, including his mother, were freed and allowed to farm. He developed a plan for him, six other crewmen and their families to use the Planter to escape from slavery in Charleston to freedom in Beaufort.

Small's plan was a dangerous one. He would have to navigate a labyrinth of Confederate vessels and batteries in Charleston Harbor undetected, or he would be fired upon by Confederates. Once off the shore of Charleston, Union blockade ships posed a similar threat because the CSS Planter was a Confederate vessel. His plan was to surrender the commandeered vessel to Union blockaders. But if the blockaders were not convinced it had been commandeered by escaping slaves, they would likely fire upon the Planter.

Smalls successfully delivered the Planter to Union forces. He proceeded to supply detailed knowledge of Charleston's defenses that contributed to the capture of Coles Island on the Folly River shortly after his escape. During the war Smalls became the pilot of the Union ship USS Crusader, and later captain of the Planter that was put into service for the Union navy. After the war, Smalls returned to Beaufort and purchased his former owner's home. He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, South Carolina Senate and U. S. House of Representatives. Smalls died in 1915 from malaria and diabetes. His perseverance, competency and courage has inspired generations.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator MATTHEWS were ordered printed in the Journal of May 23, 2023:

Remarks by Senator MATTHEWS

A lot of you do not know it, but I like country music. I like all sorts of music that I can understand the lyrics and words to. "Sometimes you got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em, got to know when to walk away, and know when to run." I have heard from the floor of this Senate so many great speeches. People pouring out their souls. But I sit back, and I look at the people that they are pouring it out to -- standing over in the corners, talking, ignoring them, walking away, doing what they have to do, not paying any attention. You know there are a lot of things we all could be doing, but I do know one thing, 100,000 people per Senator voted on us and you won't give them the respect to listen to your co-Senators -- you won't give them the respect to hear or to consider. I understand it; it is what it is.

I hear so many things from this lectern. One of those things is, "Oh, you know, government involvement, church and state, all sorts of things." You know, Jefferson's words, my God, I just came from my daughter's graduation at the University of Virginia and that is all they talked about... Jefferson's words. They talked about those words, but you know it is all in your point of reference of what life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is. You weren't worried about that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness when my ancestors were being used. Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness -- you aren't so worried about it when you talk about what a woman's life, liberty and pursuit of happiness might be. What is your point of reference? Everybody has a different point of reference of what equality is. What living out their pursuit of happiness is. When you, the man, impregnate a woman, it is her liberty that is affected and it depends upon where she is in her life on whether or not that child will be born and how she will deal with that pregnancy. Do you know what? I also agree, as has been said, that there is a balancing act. That balancing act is one of when is that child going to be viable? When is that mother in the state of mind that she could nurture a healthy child? If you truly care about that child, you need that mother to be able to nurture a child. We do not even care. Everybody walks away every time we talk about it -- in the State of South Carolina that we are number four in infant mortality. We have sixteen counties with no OB/GYNs, but do you care? No.

Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness -- we have asked you if you really want to do your jobs and if you are so right -- as you sit and ignore me -- if you are so right and you care about the 51% of women in South Carolina, what do you have to lose? Put it as a referendum -- put this issue as a referendum. Let the women decide. Otherwise, you've done what you've always done, ignored women. How many of you have women in your family -- mothers? I hope you do -- daughters, granddaughters, sisters? I know they are telling you something. When you start talking about this Constitution, I want the people of South Carolina to know the same people who are advocating as pro-life -- they are really just pro-birth. They are the same people that are supported by NRA and they're playing politics with your children, with your daughters, with your sisters -- they are playing politics. These are the same people that talk about the involvement of government. These are the same people that talk about their second amendment right, the right to bear arms. These are the same people who use that Constitution only when they want to. These are the same people who ignore the fact that the First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment or religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In other words, the people have religious liberty, and the government cannot establish an official religion that favors one over another or even favors nonreligion over another.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator GROOMS were ordered printed in the Journal of May 23, 2023:

Remarks by Senator GROOMS

Men and women of the South Carolina Senate, very few issues divide like this one. There are many men and women in this Chamber I have great respect for, that see things differently on this issue than I do. There are men and women in my district that I know, love and respect that see this issue differently than I do.

In our nation's birth certificate, Jefferson speaks about certain rights: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." We "are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Here comes the important part: "To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men." The whole purpose of government, the reason we exist, the reason why we are in this Chamber, is stamped there on our nation's birth certificate: governments are instituted for a particular purpose and that is to secure the rights that God has blessed each of us with. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Notice the order in which they are listed: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If this debate was only about the rights, the liberty of women, there's no question that we wouldn't be having this debate. But it is more than the liberty and rights of women. It is about the right to life. The right for little unborn girls to be born. The right for little unborn boys to be born -- to have a life, to be able to have rights. We have heard that it is about a choice. Human beings shouldn't be choices for someone to decide whether they live or die. We've heard about how we don't take care of those that are born, so the answer is death. If our social system is not what we would hope it would be, if family court is not what we hope it to be, if foster care is not what we hope it to be, the answer certainly isn't death.

We have a culture of life. We should be insisting on a culture that values life. This debate is about life -- if you order the rights as listed in our declaration statement: life, then liberty, then pursuit of happiness. If we don't preserve life, if we don't protect life, then the rest doesn't matter if someone can decide you are an inconvenience and you could just go away. Your life could then be aborted so it doesn't inconvenience us, it doesn't hurt us or harm us and it doesn't take away my opportunity for whatever in life. If you could be exterminated for convenience and the purpose of others, then what are we about? What are we doing? Life is important, life is the most important thing, because without life, nothing else matters.

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ADDENDUM TO THE JOURNAL

The following remarks by Senator REICHENBACH were ordered printed in the Journal of May 23, 2023:

Remarks by Senator REICHENBACH

Thank you, Mr. PRESIDENT. Number forty-six is obviously the number I wear. So, I am newest to the Senate. I don't come to the well often -- usually for introductions. I have sat here and listened to this and have so much respect for the Senators who have spoken on the amendments and on the Bill. I respect the passion, the intensity and the emotion. I especially appreciate the balance between dueling needs, dueling positions.

Obviously, the women have a lot to say. My wife is here most days. After twenty-seven years, there is no one I hold in higher regard. I have a daughter, my mom and my sister. I love and I appreciate -- I respect and revere women. I have heard men be brought up. We are there. They are in the impregnation process. We help get you pregnant so we have an interest in this as well. We don't carry the babies but I respect that men have a need here. The men have a position. As Senators we have positions. The one position I don't hear talked about often, though, is the baby's. I'm going to briefly -- because I'm not going to be here long. I'm going to speak for the baby because as someone who was adopted -- adopted after being born to a fourteen year-old girl who was scared to death. For those that will ask, how do you know how she felt? It is a longer story for another day.

When I was eighteen, just through pure God's providence and wild life, I met her, unexpectedly. It came out of nowhere, but I met her. I talked with her. I know how she felt. She shared with me. A very quick summary, she was fourteen, had sex with her fifteen year-old boyfriend, got pregnant and neither expected it. In 1971, at the time -- 1971 abortion was not legal in the state of Ohio. She got pregnant and was scared -- scared out of her mind. She had three options. The first was give birth to the baby but she was told by her parents, you will not bring a baby home to this house. The second option was keep the baby and try to make it work with her boyfriend, but that was quickly taken off the table because he left and wanted no part of that. The third option was to try to find an abortion. Abortion wasn't legal. In talking to her after the fact, eighteen years later, she said it was the hardest decision she ever made, but she had one goal in mind, which was to give that baby in her stomach a chance -- an opportunity. She had no clue how it was going to turn out. She said for eighteen years she struggled with the questions of, "Did he have a good life, did he have a bad life, was he happy, unhappy, did he resent me for birthing him and giving him up." So many questions. I really do believe it was God's grace that allowed her to meet me and ask me how I felt about it. But in talking to her, realizing the one voice she listened to, she didn't discount her voice or how hard it would be to be fourteen. She said the one person she wanted to consider was that child she birthed and was never able to hold because she said she wanted me to have a chance.

Now I don't expect my story to convince anyone. I understand that for the most part we're probably entrenched in what we are going to do and how we are going to vote so I respect that. I'm not trying to impugn anyone's decision on how we are going to vote or trying to convince anyone. The law that made abortion illegal in 1971 is probably why I'm here. She said, you know, there were friends that said I could find an abortion. It was dangerous but probably could find someone. She said she knew it was illegal. That helped her mindset to say, if it is illegal and I want this child to have a chance, I'm going to go ahead and have this baby. Now from there my life wasn't perfect but I had the opportunity.

When constituents have reached out and said what about the mother, what about the mother? I respond to hopefully every constituent I see, I care about the mother. I really do. But I also care about the snuffed out opportunity that could be that young man or that young woman. Doesn't mean life is going to be great but don't they deserve the same opportunity that I received? When I tell the constituents that I vote for pro-life legislation, it is in no way an indictment or demeaning or taking away or trying to disparage the challenging position that women are in when they are pregnant and have an unwanted pregnancy. I simply am here to advocate on behalf of that child because they have an opportunity if they are given birth. They have an opportunity to become something wonderful in life. As I vote pro-life, I ask those here in the Chamber to also consider the opportunity of that child because they are a component we are not talking about enough in my opinion.

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RATIFICATION OF ACTS

Pursuant to an invitation the Honorable Speaker and House of Representatives appeared in the Senate Chamber on June 14, 2023, at 3:10 P.M. and the following Acts and Joint Resolution were ratified:

(R90, S. 96 (Word version)) -- Senators Campsen, Davis, McElveen, Cromer, Kimpson and Hutto: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 50-21-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE "PERSONAL WATERCRAFT" AND "SPECIALTY PROPCRAFT"; BY AMENDING SECTION 50-21-90, RELATING TO THE BOATING SAFETY AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO ISSUE A BOATING SAFETY CERTIFICATE UPON THE COMPLETION OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS; BY ADDING SECTION 50-21-95 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO OPERATE CERTAIN WATERCRAFT ON THE WATERS OF THIS STATE WITHOUT POSSESSING A BOATING SAFETY CERTIFICATE, WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 50-21-870, RELATING TO PERSONAL WATERCRAFT AND BOATING SAFETY, SO AS TO REMOVE THE DEFINITION OF "PERSONAL WATERCRAFT" AND TO REMOVE A BOATING PROHIBITION.
L:\COUNCIL\ACTS\96PH125.DOCX

(R91, S. 108 (Word version)) -- Senators Davis, Scott, Kimbrell, Climer, Senn, Young, Fanning, Reichenbach, Peeler, Alexander, Cash, Malloy, Garrett, Rice, Cromer, McElveen, Loftis, Stephens, Corbin, Campsen and Adams: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 9-1-1770, RELATING TO PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFIT PROGRAMS UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A DEATH BENEFIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE BENEFIT, TO PROVIDE WHO SHALL RECEIVE THE DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT, AND TO PROVIDE THE SOURCE OF THE REVENUE FOR THE PAYMENT; BY AMENDING SECTION 9-11-120, RELATING TO A PRERETIREMENT DEATH BENEFIT PROGRAM UNDER THE POLICE OFFICERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A DEATH BENEFIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE BENEFIT, TO PROVIDE WHO SHALL RECEIVE THE DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT, AND TO PROVIDE THE SOURCE OF THE REVENUE FOR THE PAYMENT; BY AMENDING SECTION 42-7-90, RELATING TO EXPENDITURES FROM THE STATE ACCIDENT FUND, SO AS TO ADD "FIRST RESPONDER LINE OF DUTY DEATH BENEFIT"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 42-7-220 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST RESPONDER LINE OF DUTY DEATH BENEFIT FUND.
L:\COUNCIL\ACTS\108SA125.DOCX

(R92, S. 330 (Word version)) -- Senators Rankin, Alexander, Verdin and Garrett: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-11-740, RELATING TO MALICIOUS INJURY TO TELEGRAPH, TELEPHONE, OR ELECTRIC UTILITY SYSTEMS, SO AS TO DEFINE THE TERM "ELECTRIC UTILITY SYSTEM", TO PROVIDE CERTAIN WILFUL AND MALICIOUS ACTS CONSTITUTE VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION, TO PROVIDE A TIERED SYSTEM OF PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS, TO PROVIDE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO USE FIREARMS OR DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES TO DESTROY OR DAMAGE UTILITY SYSTEMS AND PROVIDE PENALTIES, AND TO PROVIDE REMEDIES TO PERSONS INJURED BY VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION.
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(R93, S. 335 (Word version)) -- Senator Davis: AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 596 OF 1969, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE HILTON HEAD NO. 1 PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICT COMMISSION, TO PROVIDE FOR SEVEN APPORTIONED ELECTION DISTRICTS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF CANDIDATES IN 2024 AND 2026.
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(R94, S. 397 (Word version)) -- Senators Shealy, Setzler and Kimbrell: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY REPEALING CHAPTER 75, TITLE 44 RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL; AND BY ADDING ARTICLE 11 TO CHAPTER 47, TITLE 40 SO AS TO TRANSFER REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ATHLETIC TRAINERS TO THE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS.
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(R95, S. 407 (Word version)) -- Senators Shealy and Senn: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-361, RELATING TO PRESCRIPTIONS FOR OPIOID ANTIDOTES, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR OPIOID ANTIDOTES TO BE OFFERED CONSISTENT WITH THE EXISTING STANDARD OF CARE AND THE UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.
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(R96, H. 3360 (Word version)) -- Reps. Pope, Gilliam, Wooten, McCravy, Felder, Williams, Erickson, Bradley, Mitchell, Forrest, B. Newton and Caskey: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING ARTICLE 17 TO CHAPTER 23, TITLE 23 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE CENTER FOR SCHOOL SAFETY AND TARGETED VIOLENCE WITHIN THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION.
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(R97, H. 3503 (Word version)) -- Reps. Gilliam, Pope, Taylor, Chumley, Haddon, McCravy, Oremus, Hiott, Burns, Wooten, Hixon, Bailey, Caskey, Thayer, Trantham, Forrest, Yow, S. Jones, Sessions, Guffey, Lawson, Chapman, Leber, O'Neal, Vaughan, Robbins, B.J. Cox, M.M. Smith, Davis, Brewer, Murphy, Whitmire, Ligon, Felder, Mitchell, Hager, Connell, Carter, West, Calhoon, B. Newton, Neese, Landing, Blackwell, Pedalino, Willis and W. Newton: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-190, RELATING TO SCHEDULE I SUBSTANCES, SO AS TO ADD FENTANYL-RELATED SUBSTANCES; BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-370, RELATING TO PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALTIES, SO AS TO ADD AN OFFENSE FOR TRAFFICKING IN FENTANYL; BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-370, RELATING TO NARCOTICS AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALITIES, SO AS TO ADD TRAFFICKING IN FENTANYL; BY ADDING SECTION 44-53-393 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE TERM "DRUG PARAPHERNALIA" DOES NOT INCLUDE CERTAIN TESTING EQUIPMENT; AND BY ADDING SECTION 44-53-379 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN CONVICTED OF CERTAIN DRUG-RELATED CRIMES TO POSSESS A FIREARM OR AMMUNITION WITHIN THIS STATE.
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(R98, H. 3532 (Word version)) -- Reps. G.M. Smith, Pope, McCravy, B. Newton, West, Chapman, Burns, Wooten, Haddon, O'Neal, Carter, W. Newton, M.M. Smith, Davis, Pace, B.L. Cox, Gilliam, Thayer, Bailey, Hardee, Blackwell, Leber, Mitchell, Chumley, Ligon, Hiott, Yow, Landing, Hixon, Taylor, Oremus, Cromer and J.E. Johnson: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-270 SO AS TO CREATE AN ADDITIONAL OFFENSE PUNISHABLE BY UP TO FIVE YEARS IF A PERSON COMMITS A SUBSEQUENT VIOLENT CRIME WHILE SUBJECT TO A BOND ORDER OR PRETRIAL RELEASE ORDER FOR A PREVIOUS VIOLENT CRIME; BY AMENDING SECTION 17-15-15, RELATING TO CASH DEPOSITS IN LIEU OF BOND, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IF THE COURT FINDS THAT A DEFENDANT MAY BE RELEASED ON BOND WHO HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH A VIOLENT OFFENSE OR ANY FELONY OFFENSE INVOLVING A FIREARM WHILE OUT ON BOND OR OTHER PRETRIAL RELEASE, THE BOND MUST BE SET AT THE FULL UNITED STATES CASH CURRENCY BOND RATHER THAN TEN PERCENT; BY AMENDING SECTION 17-15-30, RELATING TO MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED IN DETERMINING CONDITIONS OF RELEASE, SO AS TO INCLUDE WHETHER A PERSON IS CURRENTLY OUT ON BOND FOR ANOTHER OFFENSE; BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-35 SO AS TO DEFINE NECESSARY TERMS, AND TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR COURT-ORDERED ELECTRONIC MONITORING IN LIEU OF SETTING BOND OR AS AN ADDITIONAL CONDITION OF BOND; BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-37 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS REGARDING ELECTRONIC MONITORING AND TO PROVIDE PARAMETERS FOR WHICH AN ELECTRONIC MONITORING AGENCY MUST OPERATE WITHIN; BY AMENDING SECTION 17-15-55, RELATING TO RECONSIDERATION OF BOND BY THE CIRCUIT COURT SET BY A SUMMARY COURT, SO AS TO PROVIDE A DEFENDANT MUST BE ADVISED OF HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL AND TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES RELATED TO SPEEDY TRIALS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REVOCATION OF PREVIOUS BOND IF A PERSON COMMITS A VIOLENT OFFENSE OR A FELONY OFFENSE INVOLVING A FIREARM WHICH WAS COMMITTED WHILE THE PERSON WAS ALREADY OUT ON BOND FOR A PREVIOUS VIOLENT OFFENSE OR FELONY OFFENSE INVOLVING A FIREARM, TO REQUIRE A FULL BOND UNDER CERTAIN REPEAT OFFENDER CIRCUMSTANCES, AND TO PROVIDE CONFORMING PROCEDURES; BY AMENDING SECTION 22-5-510, RELATING TO BAIL AND BOND HEARINGS AND CONDITIONS OF RELEASE, SO AS TO INCLUDE WHETHER A PERSON IS CURRENTLY OUT ON BOND FOR ANOTHER OFFENSE; BY AMENDING SECTION 24-13-40, RELATING TO THE COMPUTATION OF TIME SERVED BY PRISONERS, SO AS TO PROHIBIT CREDIT FOR TIME SERVED PRIOR TO TRIAL AND SENTENCING WHEN THE PRISONER COMMITTED A SUBSEQUENT CRIME WHILE OUT ON BOND OR HAD BOND REVOKED ON ANY CHARGE PRIOR TO TRIAL OR PLEA; BY AMENDING SECTION 24-13-425, RELATING TO THE OFFENSE OF TAMPERING WITH AN ELECTRONIC MONITORING DEVICE, SO AS TO DELETE AN UNNECESSARY DEFINITION AND EXEMPT CERTAIN AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS FROM THE PURVIEW OF THE STATUTE; BY ADDING SECTION 17-15-500 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRETRIAL REFORM COMMISSION, PROVIDE FOR ITS MEMBERSHIP AND DUTIES, AND TERMINATE THE COMMISSION ON A DATE CERTAIN; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-10, RELATING TO DEFINTIONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE CHAPTER ON BAIL BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS, SO AS TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "SURETY BONDSMAN" AND DEFINE THE TERM "ELECTRONIC MONITORING"; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-50, RELATING TO SURETY RELIEVED ON BOND, SO AS TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CHANGE REGARDING NONPAYMENT OF PREMIUM FEES ALONE NOT BEING SUFFICIENT TO WARRANT IMMEDIATE INCARCERATION OF THE DEFENDANT; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-70, RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF BENCH WARRANTS FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR, SO AS TO REVISE THE STATUTE TO APPLY MORE BROADLY WHEN A DEFENDANT VIOLATES THE CONDITIONS OF BOND AND REVISE TIME FRAMES PROVIDED FOR THE NOTICE OF THE BENCH WARRANT; BY ADDING SECTION 38-53-84 SO AS TO REQUIRE NOTIFICATION TO THE APPROPRIATE SOLICITOR IF A DEFENDANT VIOLATES AN ORDER FOR ELECTRONIC MONITORING, TO PROVIDE FOR RELIEF FROM THE BOND IF THE DEFENDANT FAILS TO PAY FOR THE MONITORING, AND TO PROVIDE FOR POSSIBLE REVOCATION OF A BONDSMAN'S LICENSE FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-170, RELATING TO UNLAWFUL ACTS BY BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS, SO AS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PAYMENT PROCEDURES AND EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURES; BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-310, RELATING TO WRITTEN BAIL BOND REPORTS THAT MUST BE FILED EACH MONTH WITH THE CLERK OF COURT, SO AS TO INCLUDE CURRENT DATA RETAINED AS AN EXPRESS CONDITION OF BOND, AND TO ALLOW FOR THE USE OF A DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE SYSTEM IN LIEU OF THE WRITTEN REPORT; AND BY ADDING SECTION 38-53-55 SO AS TO REQUIRE A PERSON ENGAGED IN ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF A DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH A VIOLENT OFFENSE TO REPORT TO THE COURT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS IF THE DEFENDANT HAS CONTACT WITH THE ALLEGED VICTIM.
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(R99, H. 3553 (Word version)) -- Reps. G.M. Smith, Erickson, Crawford, Hewitt, Davis, T. Moore, McCravy, B. Newton, West, Burns, Mitchell, Pace, S. Jones, White, Hixon, Hiott, Oremus, M.M. Smith, Landing, W. Newton, Robbins, Brewer, Cromer, Weeks, Wheeler, Magnuson, Yow and Pope: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-9-750, RELATING TO FINAL ADOPTION HEARINGS, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE MANDATORY NINETY-DAY WAITING PERIOD TO FINALIZE AN ADOPTION; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 63-7-1710, 63-7-2530, 63-9-710, AND 63-7-1660, ALL RELATING TO CHILD PERMANENCY PROCEEDINGS, SO AS TO MAKE CERTAIN CHANGES TO EXPEDITE PERMANENCY FOR CHILDREN IN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-40, RELATING TO INFANT SAFE HAVENS, SO AS TO ALLOW THE PERMANENCY PLANNING HEARING AND TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS HEARING TO OCCUR IN THE SAME PROCEEDING, WITH EXCEPTIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-9-30, RELATING TO TERMS DEFINED IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA ADOPTION ACT, SO AS TO CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF "SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD"; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-1700, RELATING TO PERMANENCY PLANNING, SO AS TO MAKE CERTAIN CHANGES TO PROMOTE TIMELY PERMANENCE FOR CHILDREN IN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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(R100, H. 4023 (Word version)) -- Reps. S. Jones, Erickson, Henegan, Alexander, Bradley, J.L. Johnson, White, Ott, Gilliam, Beach, Gibson, O'Neal, Cromer, McGinnis, McDaniel, Vaughan, Bauer, A.M. Morgan, Leber, T.A. Morgan, Chumley, McCravy, McCabe, Landing, Ballentine, Haddon, Hartnett, Herbkersman, Oremus and Willis: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-60, RELATING TO LOCAL FIRST STEPS PARTNERSHIP BOARDS, SO AS TO REVISE THE COMPOSITION, MANNER OF APPOINTMENT, AND TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARDS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE TERMINATION OF CERTAIN CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRANSITION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF CERTAIN TASKS BY LOCAL FIRST STEPS PARTNERSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-70, RELATING TO LOCAL PARTNERSHIP BOARDS, SO AS TO INCLUDE PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTICOUNTY PARTNERSHIPS; BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-150, RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF A STANDARD FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM FOR LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS, SO AS TO REVISE PROVISIONS CONCERNING POLICES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES; BY ADDING SECTION 63-11-1726 SO AS TO PROVIDE ALL PUBLICLY FUNDED EARLY CHILDHOOD-SERVING AGENCIES AND ENTITIES SHALL PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN DATA SHARING INITIATIVES SUPPORTED BY THE ADVISORY COUNCIL; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1720, RELATING TO THE FIRST STEPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SO AS TO ADD THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AS A TRUSTEE; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1725, RELATING TO THE FIRST STEPS ADVISORY COUNCIL, SO AS TO REVISE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL, TO REVISE DATA GOVERNANCE POLICIES, TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES TO BUILD PARENT KNOWLEDGE, AND TO REQUIRE THE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND REVIEW OF AN OVERALL STRATEGIC PLAN; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1730, RELATING TO OVERSIGHT DUTIES OF THE FIRST STEPS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, SO AS TO INCLUDE PROVISIONS CONCERNING LOCAL PARTNERSHIP PERSONNEL POLICIES; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 59-152-10, RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST STEPS TO SCHOOL READINESS, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THE AUTHORIZING ACT ARE PERMANENT AND FUTURE REAUTHORIZATIONS ARE NOT REQUIRED.
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(R101, H. 4217 (Word version)) -- Reps. W. Newton, Herbkersman, Erickson, Bradley and Hager: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 7-7-110, RELATING TO DESIGNATION OF VOTING PRECINCTS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, SO AS TO REVISE THE NAMES OF CERTAIN PRECINCTS, ADD NEW PRECINCTS, REMOVE PRECINCTS, AND TO REDESIGNATE THE MAP NUMBER ON WHICH THESE PRECINCTS MAY BE FOUND ON FILE WITH THE REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OFFICE.
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(R102, H. 4300 (Word version)) -- Ways and Means Committee: AN ACT TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS AND TO PROVIDE REVENUES TO MEET THE ORDINARY EXPENSES OF STATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2023, TO REGULATE THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH FUNDS, AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE OPERATION OF STATE GOVERNMENT DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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(R103, H. 4301 (Word version)) -- Ways and Means Committee: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROPRIATE MONIES FROM THE CAPITAL RESERVE FUND FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023, AND TO ALLOW UNEXPENDED FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO BE CARRIED FORWARD TO SUCCEEDING FISCAL YEARS AND EXPENDED FOR THE SAME PURPOSES.
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MOTION ADOPTED

On motion of Senator CLIMER, with unanimous consent, the Senate stood adjourned out of respect to the memory of Mrs. Patricia Ann O'Cain Whetsell of Greenville, S.C. Patty was an accomplished athlete in high school and earned a business degree from Palmer Business College. She served in various administrative roles throughout her career for a number of different businesses and churches. Patty had a great love for the Lord that was shared with friends and family. Patty was a loving mother and devoted grandmother who will be dearly missed.

and

MOTION ADOPTED

On motion of Senator McELVEEN, with unanimous consent, the Senate stood adjourned in honor of Senator Stephen L. Goldfinch's deployment with the South Carolina National Guard as a JAG officer. The Senate appreciates his service.

SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT

On June 19, 2023, in accordance with the motion adopted on June 14, 2023, the Senate adjourned the Extraordinary Session sine die.

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This web page was last updated on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 10:36 A.M.