Friday Report - January 17, 2020

The General Assembly officially began the second year of a two-year session on Tuesday. This being the second year of the session, there is considerable pending legislation. SCAC staff expects the pace to pick up starting next week so please look out for the Friday Report and other Legislative Alerts to keep you aware of what's happening in Columbia.

SCAC’s Mid-Year Conference, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19, provides an excellent opportunity to meet with your legislators and discuss issues important to your county. See the detailed information regarding the conference and the Institute classes that follows the legislative items in this week’s Friday Report.

State Budget, Revenue and Finance

Local Government Fund and County Budget Requests

SCAC staff testified on Tuesday before a House Ways and Means subcommittee concerning Local Government Fund funding, funding for local Veterans’ Affairs Offices, and various provisos. The subcommittee relayed its support for the new Local Government Fund formula and expressed its intent to increase funding to the Local Government Fund by over $11.5 million. SCAC staff also requested the subcommittee's support our policy position that state funding for local Veterans’ Affairs Offices be increased up to $10,000 per office. Lastly, SCAC staff went through provisos that impact county government and asked that certain ones be deleted and others be maintained. Staff is optimistic that our request relating to provisos will be granted. The FY 2020-21 LGF county estimates are now available from the SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. These county estimates are based on the November 8, 2019, Bureau of Economic Advisors’ estimates. Please thank your House members for supporting the new formula for the Local Government Fund.

Business License Tax — H. 4431. SCAC supports legislation to standardize the imposition and collection of business license taxes but opposes any provisions that inhibit a county’s ability to impose business license taxes. H. 4431 would standardize application forms, renewal dates, the appeals procedure regarding an imposed tax, and class schedules. Importantly, the bill does not inhibit a county’s ability to impose a business license tax or fee. The bill’s current language would amend the tax bases from a business’s gross revenue to net revenue. SCAC will be working to ensure any final bill language is revenue neutral. A House Labor, Commerce, and Industry subcommittee is scheduled to meet on the bill on Wednesday, January 22, 2020.

A Senate Finance subcommittee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, 2020, at 10:00 am to discuss H. 3596, S. 497, and S. 545. The subcommittee includes Senators Campbell (Chairman), Matthews, Grooms, Williams, Davis, and Martin. Please contact your Senator and request that they oppose passing the following three bills:

Rollback Taxes — H. 3596. This bill initially reduced the amount of rollback taxes due when agricultural property is changed to another use from five years to one year. The House amended H. 3596 to reduce rollback taxes from five years to three years, effective January 1, 2020. SCAC’s policy regarding rollback taxes is to oppose any legislation that reduces rollback taxes.

Stormwater Fees — S. 497. This bill limits the amount of a stormwater fee to 15 percent of the amount of ad valorem taxes levied on the property by the local governing body imposing the fee.

Property Assessment — S. 545.  This bill requires the Department of Revenue to follow certain North American classification system manual provisions and repeals a provision relating to the appraisal and assessment of personal property of businesses under the jurisdiction of the county auditor.

Land Use, Natural Resources and Transportation

Waste Tire Regulations — H. 4504. This bill increases the criminal penalties for violating waste tire regulations and also authorizes the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to promulgate additional regulations, an SCAC policy position. These additional regulations will allow DHEC to inspect waste tire processing facilities to ensure compliance and invoke sanctions for noncompliant recyclers. The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee adopted an amendment to H. 4504, which removes solid waste facilities from the scope of the regulations and gave the bill a favorable report. The bill is pending second reading on the House calendar.

Affordable Housing — H. 3998. This bill is titled the “Workforce and Senior Affordable Housing Act” and allows taxpayers who are eligible for a federal low-income housing tax credit to also claim a low-income state tax credit through approval from the South Carolina Housing and Finance Development Authority, an SCAC policy position. A Senate Finance subcommittee deleted a provision that would have exempted these projects from all property taxes and municipal fees for 10 years and gave the bill a favorable report as amended. H. 3998 will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Offshore Drilling — S. 870. This bill prohibits the approval of a plan, license, or permit application by a city, county, municipality, or other local government or political subdivision for infrastructure used to facilitate the transportation of crude oil or natural gas from the Atlantic Ocean into this state, or for the exploration, development, or production of offshore crude oil or natural gas. A Senate Labor, Commerce, and Industry subcommittee adopted an amendment clarifying that gas and petroleum pipelines would not be affected and gave the bill a favorable report. It will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Farm Structures — H. 4327. This bill exempts structures without a commercial kitchen that are used in agritourism activity and accommodate 300 or fewer guests from the Building Code requirement of installing a sprinkler system. A Senate Labor, Commerce, and Industry subcommittee adopted a technical amendment and gave the bill a favorable report. It will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

Public Safety, Corrections and Judicial

House Legislative Oversight —Department of Corrections Ad Hoc Subcommittee. SCAC staff and Kelvin Jones, Hampton County Detention Center Director and S.C. Jail Administrators’ President, testified before the House Legislative Oversight Department of Corrections Ad Hoc Subcommittee about housing state prisoners in county jails, a streamlined online sentencing sheet, and what information is kept and sent from county detention officials to South Carolina Department of Corrections. SCAC staff and Mr. Jones will be working with several other interested parties, including the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association, the S.C. Jail Administrators’ Association, and SCDC, to discuss a program that would transfer state prisoners to county jails. SCAC staff will be working with these stakeholders to ensure any program would be voluntary and require the consent of the county sheriff and county governing body.

County Government and Intergovernmental Relations

Pregnancy Accommodation — H. 3200. This bill enacts the “South Carolina Lactation Support Act” which provides that employers shall provide employees with reasonable break times (paid or unpaid) to express breast milk. Further, employers would be required to make reasonable efforts to provide certain areas where employees may express breast milk; however, the employer would not be required to make structural changes to the facility in order to accommodate the employee. A Senate Labor, Commerce, and Industry subcommittee gave the bill a favorable report. It will be on the next full committee’s agenda.

SCAC's Mid-Year Conference and Institute of Government Classes

The SCAC Mid-Year Conference will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbia on Wednesday, February 19. Copies of the registration material and conference agenda are available on the SCAC website where you can also register online. The program will include a legislative panel and other timely topics. Following lunch, buses will provide transportation to the State House for visits with legislators. The legislative reception will be Wednesday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at The Palmetto Club in downtown Columbia. Now is the time to start lining up appointments to see your Senators and Representatives or arranging a joint meal, function, or meeting.

The Institute of Government classes are being offered on Thursday, February 20 and include: Employment Law: What Counties Need to Know, Measuring and Reporting County Performance, The Property Taxation Process, and Understanding and Seeking Differences. The Council Chairperson's Workshop will be offered free-of-charge on Thursday, February 20, from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. This workshop is open to all council chairmen and vice chairmen and registration is required. You may register for the Institute classes and the Council Chairperson's Workshop on the SCAC website.

Newly-Introduced Legislation

View/Download Full Text for Newly-Introduced Legislation

Note: If you would like to offer comments to the SCAC staff, please call us toll-free at 1-800-922-6081, fax to (803) 252-0379, or send an email. You can also go to www.scstatehouse.gov and click on "Legislation," then "Introduced Legislation."

Senate Bills

S. 866 - Allows the County Boards of Voter Registration and Elections to serve as appropriate election authorities for purposes of initiating or hearing municipal election contests.

S. 867 - Provides that the process of examining return-addressed envelopes that have been received by the County Board of Voter Registration and Elections may begin at 9:00 a.m. on the calendar day immediately preceding election day.

S. 868 - Applies certain exceptions to the establishment of a baseline for coastal erosion zones and to remove the study requirement in cases where primary oceanfront sand dunes do not exist.

S. 869 - Places the Beach Restoration and Improvement Trust Fund under the authority of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

S. 870 - Prohibits the approval of a plan, license, or permit application by a city, county, municipality, or other local government or political subdivision for infrastructure used to facilitate the transportation of crude oil or natural gas from the Atlantic Ocean into this state, or for the exploration, development, or production of offshore crude oil or natural gas.

S. 871 - Permits the coroner, medical examiner, or law enforcement officer to petition a magistrate, municipal judge, or circuit court judge for a warrant to obtain samples and to test the blood, breath, or urine of a child's caregiver if there is probable cause to believe the intoxication or impairment contributed to the death of the child.

S. 875 - Provides that no political subdivision in the state may enact any regulation or ordinance that regulates or attempts to regulate the transfer, ownership, possession, carrying, transportation, manufacture, assembly, storage, warehousing, distribution, or sale of firearms, ammunition, components of firearms, or homemade firearms created or assembled without a serial number.

S. 876 - Allows for a deduction from gross income for donating human organs for transplantation.

S. 879 - Deletes an aggregate credit provision and sets an annual limit relating to community development tax credits.

S. 880 - Assesses a premium tax on travel insurance premiums and establishes certain reporting requirements.

S. 881 - Adopts the reciprocal jurisdiction amendment from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) model law.

S. 882 - Enacts the "South Carolina Private Flood insurance Act" to advance different flood insurance coverages for the benefit of consumers and insurers.

S. 883 - Provides that the Richland-Lexington Airport Commission may make application for the purpose of establishing and maintaining foreign-trade zones in certain counties.

S. 884 - Allows the governing body of a county to suspend the limitation on millage increases for the purpose of supporting a fire protection district.

S. 887 - Provides that the Department of Corrections shall provide adequate nutrition for pregnant inmates.

S. 888 - Raises the age exemption from jury service from 65 years of age or older to 75 years of age or older.

S. 892 - Enacts the "South Carolina Child Abuse Response Protocol Act".

S. 893 - Prohibits the naming of public property purchased or constructed with state funds or owned by the state for any elected or appointed official, commissioner, director, or judge until at least 5 years after the person has died.

S. 894 - Provides that vehicles used to transfer raw materials must be completely covered for biosecurity purposes.

S. 895 - Provides that the suspension or revocation of an emergency medical technician certificate shall include all levels of certification.

S. 896 - Requires that the Department of Health and Environmental Control develop minimum standards and promulgate regulations for a mandatory mental health training program for emergency medical technician certification.

S. 897 - Provides that individuals under the age of 30 are exempt from individual income taxation.

S. 898 - Requires that any damages to an underground facility resulting from excavation or demolition be assessed by an independent, third-party investigator.

S. 899 - Provides specific disclosure requirements for wells upon the sale of residential and commercial property.

S. 900 - Requires that tethering a dog is unlawful under certain circumstances and to provide that a person who unlawfully tethers a dog is guilty of a misdemeanor.

S. 902 - Provides that the Governor may recommend the removal or amendment of burdensome statutes and regulations.

S. 903 - Enacts the "Magistrate Reform Act of 2020”.

S. 904 - Prohibits natural gas and electric public utilities from disclosing customer information to a third-party without the express consent of the customer.

S. 905 - Provides that a magistrate may serve in holdover status for no more than 14 days at the end of his term.

S. 907 - Removes the provision that the election that comes under the Natural Gas Rate Stabilization Act shall remain in effect until the next general rate proceeding.

S. 909 - Provides circumstances in which professional employer organizations may be eligible for certain tax credits and economic incentives under the Enterprise Zone Act of 1995.

S. 910 - Increases the Homestead property tax exemption amount for taxpayers who are over the age of 65 years, disabled, or legally blind from the first $50,000 to the first $75,000 of the fair market value of the homestead.

S. 913 - Provides that it shall be unlawful for a current member of the Senate to appear as attorney in a Magistrates court located in a county represented by the Senator.

S. 915 - Requires all health insurance and group health benefit plans to cover hearing aids and replacement hearing aids for insureds with impaired hearing.

S. 916 - Permits county and municipal prosecutors to conditionally discharge first time offenders of county or municipal open container offenses and to permit expungement of such offenses.

S. 917 - Allows a defendant to be admitted for a pre-trial intervention program if he is charged with the offense of driving under the influence or driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration.

S. 921 - Provides that it shall be mandatory for a judge of probate or associate judge of probate to retire no later than the end of the fiscal year in which he reaches his 75th birthday.

S. 923 - Provides that a water or sewer utility, classified by the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners as a class, must submit an integrated resource plan to the Public Service Commission.

S. 924 - Provides that a water or sewer utility system that failed to provide service because of failure to plan for reasonably foreseeable circumstances would not receive a rate of return for the period in which the utility did not provide service.

S. 927 - Permits the release of the identity of a child under the jurisdiction of the court to a newspaper, radio, or television station if the child is alleged to have communicated a threat of mass violence.

S. 931 - Provides that beginning with its 2021 session for the ensuing two fiscal years, the General Assembly shall enact a biennial state general appropriations act.

S. 932 - Requires the State Ethics Commission to post a manual regarding recommended uniform methods of reporting on the State Ethics Commission's website.

S. 938 - Requires the court to set a cash or surety bond for any person charged with an offense who the court finds is an alien unlawfully present in the United States.

S. 939 - Provides for tax credits for certain taxpayers that make a qualifying capital investment in this state.

S. 941 - Provides for the regulation of pre-production plastics by the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

S. 948 - Removes maximum allowable amounts on municipal privilege or license tax on railroads.

S. 949 - Provides that line item appropriations of the annual General Appropriations Act to be expended for multiple purposes or activities must also contain a proviso outlining specific individual expenditures in order to receive funding.

S. 950 - Provides that bundled offerings and bundled offering billing statements for local exchange companies must include prominently written, itemized disclosures of applicable taxes, fees, and variable rates.

S. 951 - Requires that a public utility shall be responsible for the cost of repairs to the portion of a service line from the utility's service meter to the point of entry of the served facility or structure.

S. 953 - Provides that a public building shall not be dedicated and named in honor of a living person.

S. 974 - Extends the provisions of the South Carolina Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act as contained until December 31, 2024.

S. 976 - Provides for advanced state constables, their duties, and related provisions.

S. 979 - Allows for contributions for defense costs for the same claim, suit, or action among more than one liability insurer.

S. 984 - Provides that the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall provide public notice of a significant spill at wastewater utilities.

S. 986 - Provides that all contributions received by candidates shall be deposited into an interest on campaign account known as an "IOCA”.

S. 987 - Revises the definition of the term "fireworks prohibited zone" to include any public beach or public beach access.

S. 990 - Eliminates references to Certificate of Need requirements.

S. 991 - Provides that all health insurance carriers shall offer shared savings incentive programs as components of all health insurance plans, subject to certain exceptions.

S. 995 - Prohibits the sale and possession of flavored vapor products.

S. 997 - Provides 12 weeks of paid family leave for state employees due to the birth, adoption, or foster care of a son or daughter.

S. 998 - Establishes the electricity market reform measures study committee.

S. 1006 - Provides that a health care sharing ministry is not considered to be engaging in the business of insurance and not subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance.

S. 1008 - Provides for an exception to the two-year statute of limitations for actions relating to tort claims against the state or a political subdivision of the state.

S. 1016 - Provides that no more than three unrelated adult persons may live in a single-family residence.

S. 1017 - Includes local detention facilities relating in buildings not subject to certain provisions concerning the operation of vending facilities by blind persons.

S. 1018 - Establishes a policy regarding the care and guidance of children within the juvenile justice system.

House Bills

H. 4655 - Urges acceleration of efforts to assist the homeless in light of the nation’s economy and adverse weather conditions.

H. 4657 - Enacts the South Carolina Opportunity Zone Enhancement Act of 2020 to provide additional tax incentives beyond the federal incentives to encourage investments in the designated 135 Opportunity Zones in the state.

H. 4658 - Provides that a statewide advisory referendum must be conducted by the state election commission at the same time as the 2020 general election on the question of whether the state attorney general should submit a waiver request to the Federal Secretary of Transportation permitting and approving the state of South Carolina to observe daylight saving time year round.

H. 4659 - Requires each county to publish and distribute a document that identifies locations within the county where a homeless or needy person may go to receive shelter, health care, food, and other humanitarian assistance.

H. 4660 - Increases the minimum funding appropriations for the Insurance Fraud division of the Office of Attorney General from $200,000 to $400,000.

H. 4669 - Eliminates the exemption for filing death certificates for physicians who certify fewer than 12 deaths annually.

H. 4674 - Provides that the revenue generated by the state accommodations tax, local hospitality tax, and local accommodations tax be expended for the control and repair of flooding and drainage at tourism-related lands or areas.

H. 4675 - Provides property tax exemptions for all property devoted to housing low income residents, if the property is owned by an instrumentality of a nonprofit housing corporation or owned by an entity that provides low income housing and is controlled by an instrumentality of a nonprofit housing corporation.

H. 4676 - Provides an increase to the amount that may be earned upon return to covered employment in the South Carolina Retirement System and the South Carolina Police Officer Retirement System, respectively, without affecting the monthly retirement allowance, from $10,000 to $40,000.

H. 4677 - Provides an increase to the amount that may be earned upon return to covered employment in the South Carolina Retirement System and the South Carolina Police Officer Retirement System, respectively, without affecting the monthly retirement allowance, from $10,000 to $20,000.

H. 4678 - Provides that gold and silver coins minted foreign or domestic shall be legal tender in this state.

H. 4679 - Enacts the "South Carolina Malls Revitalization Act" to provide certain tax credits for rehabilitating certain malls by making them more of a mixed-use, mixed-income, pedestrian-oriented area.

H. 4685 - Clarifies that compelling attendance of witnesses in criminal prosecutions applies to the defendant's and the state's witnesses and does not apply only to compulsory process involving misdemeanor offenses.

H. 4687 - Amends the penalties, weight presumptions and eliminates the mandatory minimum sentences relating to the unlawful possession, manufacture, and trafficking of certain controlled substances.

H. 4688 - Provides that certified copies of certain motor vehicle documents, to be admitted into evidence in any proceedings in any court, include watermarked documents printed from the computer system of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

H. 4689 - Provides a longer statute of limitations for claims based on sexual abuse or incest from 6 years after a person becomes 21 to six years after a person becomes 29 or within five years from the time of discovery by the person of the injury, instead of the current three year timeframe.

H. 4690 - Adds the duty to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division to develop a plan for shelters and transportation to shelters during a mandatory evacuation to serve people who cannot afford to evacuate or are not physically able to evacuate during a mandatory evacuation.

H. 4691 - Provides a notice requirement prior to cremation.

H. 4692 - Provides that it is unlawful and against public policy of this state, with certain exceptions, for covered employers, in housing, education, public accommodations, or employment to discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin, including discriminating against certain facial features, hair textures, hair types, and hair styles associated with race.

H. 4693 - Provides allowance of a state tax credit to U.S. manufacturers hiring an unemployed individual receiving unemployment compensation benefits.

H. 4695 - Deletes the provision that requires certain persons to request and receive data pursuant to the rules of criminal procedure, the rules of civil procedure, or a court order.

H. 4698 - Provides the Department of Motor Vehicles may add a notation to a private passenger-carrying motor vehicle registration to indicate the vehicle owner may have Tourette syndrome.

H 4700 - Provides that a law enforcement officer may not stop a vehicle operating with a broken or inoperable tail lamp, or any other mechanical defect, but must issue the registered owner of the vehicle a ticket for the violation.

H. 4702 - Provides that the Richland-Lexington Airport Commission may make application for the purpose of establishing and maintaining foreign-trade zones in certain counties.

H. 4704 - Enacts the "Second Amendment Preservation Act" to provide that no public funds, personnel, or property shall be allocated for the implementation, regulation, or enforcement of any executive order, or directive that regulates the ownership, use, or possession of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories.

H. 4705 - Creates the Fallen First Responder Survivor Advocate position within the Department of Administration.

H. 4709 - Provides a law enforcement agency or officer shall not install, activate, or use a biometric surveillance system in connection with an officer's camera or data collected by an officer's camera.

H. 4710 - Includes the use of vapor products in the "Youth Access to Tobacco Prevention Act of 2006”.

H. 4713 - Requires office-based practices and health care facilities to conduct an annual risk assessment to identify potential threats to the health and safety of patients, staff, and visitors, and to implement plans to provide appropriate security.

H. 4714 - Provides for the levying, assessment, collection, and payment of certain taxes on vapor products.

H. 4717 - Enacts the "Female Health and Wellness Act" to provide that the sale of feminine hygiene products is exempt from sales taxes.

H. 4718 - Requires the Department of Health and Environmental Control to promulgate regulations to establish maximum contaminant levels for certain pollutants in public water systems.

H. 4719 - Provides for the establishment and oversight of prearrest diversion programs in each judicial circuit in the state for certain juvenile offenses.

H. 4720 - Enacts the "Solemn Covenant of the States to Award Prizes for Curing Diseases Act" to provide for the entry of South Carolina into a multistate compact governed by a commission that facilitates a process by which substantial cash prizes are awarded for the cure of certain diseases.

H. 4721 - Conforms local planning commission appellate procedures with those applicable to boards of zoning appeals.

H. 4722 - Prohibits a person from knowingly collecting voted or unvoted absentee ballots, and to provide a penalty.

H. 4723 - Provides that an individual who serves as a poll manager, assistant poll manager, or poll worker must be compensated in an amount not less than $15 per hour while attending compulsory elections training required by state law and while working the day prescribed by law to conduct general elections.

H. 4724 - Establishes a committee to study veteran homelessness, unemployment, job placement, incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder, access to basic human services, and other issues affecting South Carolina veterans.

H. 4725 - Provides that all voting systems used in South Carolina shall utilize a paper-based system using paper ballots tabulated by optical scanners as the ballot of record, and to require the general assembly to appropriate the funds necessary to purchase the voting systems required by this section.

H. 4726 - Creates the "Poll Workers Compensation Study Committee" to review compensation and benefits available to poll workers and to make recommended changes to the General Assembly regarding proposed changes to the laws regarding applicable policies.

H. 4727 - Increases the maximum fine for vandalizing or removing political campaign signs from $100 to $300 and allows political signs to be placed in the right of way of the state highway system for a prescribed period.

H. 4728 - Creates the “South Carolina Defend the Guard Act".

H. 4729 - Allows the General Assembly to restrict the sale of certain products, substances, or services determined to be unreasonably hazardous, perilous, or unsafe to persons until age 21.

H. 4730 - Provides that certain information regarding wind energy facilities must be included on applications for a certificate to construct a utility facility.

H. 4731 - Requires local comprehensive plans of the Local Planning Commissions to include a resiliency element.

H. 4735 - Requires health maintenance organizations, individual and group health insurance policies, and insurance contracts issued after January 1, 2021, to provide coverage for epinephrine auto-injector devices.

H. 4738 - Makes it unlawful for a public utility or a third party authorized by a public utility to accept payments for utility bills on behalf of the public utility, to collect an additional fee for a consumer's payment and to provide a penalty.

H. 4743 - Alters the county lines of Horry and Georgetown counties by annexing a certain portion of Georgetown to Horry county and to make provisions for legal records.

H. 4744 - Prohibits a county governing body from imposing a surcharge for the acceptance of a particular medium of payment.

H. 4745 - Allows counties imposing legacy county-wide hospitality fees by ordinance to replace the original dedication of the use of these fee revenues by dedicating the revenues for use in the county to provide interstate highway infrastructure, interstate highway interchanges, and building or improving roads that directly connect with interstate highways.

H. 4747 - Requires the South Carolina Geodetic Survey (SCGS) to notify certain parties before undertaking any action to clarify a county boundary, to authorize the solicitation of historical records and research from an affected party to aid in determining the county boundary, to require the SCGS to provide copies of the clarified county boundary to the elected officials of an affected county and to affected parties.

H. 4748 - Enacts the "South Carolina Veterans Bill of Rights" to enumerate services the South Carolina Department of Veterans' Affairs shall furnish to improve veteran access to jobs, higher education, health care, and housing.

H. 4751 - Authorizes DHEC to notify the county when the owner of a dam cannot be located, and the county may elect to repair the dam with county funds and to provide a method for the county to recover the costs of the repair.

H. 4767 - Prevents a court or other enforcement authority from enforcing foreign law in this state from a forum outside of the United States or its territories under certain circumstances.

H. 4768 - Enacts the "Employment First Initiative Act".

H. 4777 - Provides a definition of "first responder" and modifies the requirements of such an employee seeking workers' compensation for personal injury caused by stress, mental injury, or mental illness.

H. 4782 - Provides a property tax exemption for any amount of value added as a result of a countywide appraisal and equalization program for certain residents.

H. 4783 - Allows the governing body of a county to suspend the limitation for the purpose of supporting a fire protection district.

H. 4784 - Requires public buildings owned by the state or any agency, office, department, division, commission, or institution thereof, including state and local correctional and prison facilities, to supply feminine hygiene products in each female public restroom, free of charge.

H. 4788 - Simplifies the definition of fire departments and the projects on which grant funds may be expended, to increase grant amounts, and to specify projects for which grants may be awarded in relation to the V-Safe program.

H. 4790 - Subjects all insurers, including insurers of the state, an agency, a political subdivision, or a governmental entity, to the duty of good faith in the settlement of claims.

H. 4791 - Removes the existing exemption in the Freedom of Information Act concerning members of the General Assembly and their immediate staff.

H. 4792 - Requires insurers to provide coverage for orally administered chemotherapy drugs when they would otherwise cover intravenous chemotherapy drugs.

H. 4796 - Creates the South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement and Public Safety.

H. 4799 - Enacts the "South Carolina Child Abuse Response Protocol Act".

H. 4801 - Provides that the state Department of Social Services in conjunction with each county's local Department of Social Services shall conduct a study on the number of homeless persons in each county in this state.

H. 4807 - Requires law enforcement officers to comply with certain requirements before interrogating a child who has been taken into custody for violating a criminal law or ordinance, and for other purposes.

H. 4810 - Enacts the "South Carolina Commercial-Property Assessed Clean Energy Act" (C-PACE).

H. 4811 - Allows for the placement of shoreline perpendicular wingwalls that extend landward from the ends of existing erosion control structures or devices.

H. 4817 - Enacts the "South Carolina Data Privacy Act".

H. 4818 - Allows an exemption from all property tax equal to 100% of the value subject to tax of an owner-occupied residence if the owner has attained the age of 70 years.

H. 4823 - Provides that the Department of Transportation and the counties may establish subcontracting goals to obtain participation in the contracting process by ethnic groups and women.

H. 4828 - Enacts the "South Carolina Private Flood Insurance Act".

H. 4829 - Adopts the reciprocal jurisdiction amendment from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) model law.

H. 4830 - Authorizes South Carolina municipalities to contract with properly licensed, certified, and insured public utility-electrical contractors or mechanical-electrical contractors to bury or underground existing overhead electrical power transmission lines located within the boundaries of the municipality.

H. 4833 - Provides procedures for the exercise of eminent domain by pipeline companies.

H. 4837 - Establishes general Election Day as a state holiday.

H. 4940 - Establishes the electricity market reform measures study committee.

H. 4943 - Creates the South Carolina Rural Communications Infrastructure study committee to address access to communications services, including broadband, internet, voice, and cellular.

H. 4945 - Allows for certain erosion control structures to have the damage assessment based on a single distinct continuous seawall or bulkhead rather than on a lot by lot basis.