Friday Report - January 8, 2021
Happy New Year! In light of COVID-19 concerns, our Friday Report is being distributed by email only. Please share this information with those who are accustomed to receiving a mailed version of the Friday Report and may not have email access.
The first regular session of the 124th South Carolina General Assembly will officially convene on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, however, there were several committee meetings this week. Of particular note, there was a subcommittee meeting regarding the Local Government Fund (LGF) that is discussed below. SCAC also conducted a two-day orientation for newly-elected council members.
Orientation for Newly Elected Council Members
SCAC conducted a virtual orientation for newly-elected officials on Tuesday and Thursday. The orientation covered several topics such as “Powers & Forms of County Government,” “Budget Basics & Funding Sources,” and “Overview of the State Ethics, Government Accountability and Campaign Reform Act.” The sessions were recorded and will be available for any council members who may not have been able to attend the orientation.
Local Government Fund (LGF)
A Ways and Means subcommittee met on Tuesday to hear the budget request for several state agencies as well as the LGF for counties and municipalities. Under the new LGF formula that was agreed to in Act 84 of 2019, there would have been a 5 percent increase to the LGF base fund of $233.7 million for the 2020-2021 budget year for a total of about $245 million. However, in light of the pandemic, the General Assembly did not pass a budget and instead operated under a continuing resolution based on the 2019-2020 budget. SCAC testified virtually that that increase should be included in the LGF when the General Assembly adopts its next budget. This will ensure that the LGF is fully funded.
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. 1 — Enacts the "South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act".
S. 2 — Creates the Division of Public Health, delegates to the Division the public health responsibilities of the department, abolishes the Department and Board of Health and Environmental Control, and transfers environmental responsibilities of the Department to the Division of Environmental Control.
S. 5 — Provides the 19th day of June (Juneteenth) shall be a state legal holiday.
S. 8 — Establishes General Election Day as a state holiday.
S. 9 — Provides that each state identification card application or motor vehicle driver's license application, including renewal applications, submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles, shall serve as an application for voter registration.
S. 11 — Provides 12 weeks of paid family leave for state employees due to the birth, adoption, or foster care of a son or daughter.
S. 12 — Allows an exemption from all property tax equal to 100 percent of the value subject to tax of an owner-occupied residence if the owner has attained the age of 70 years and has made the property his residence for 30 years.
S. 17 — Extends certain government approvals affecting economic development within the state.
S. 20 — Provides that a candidate for sheriff and a candidate for coroner may be certified by a political party or authority to which a petition is submitted if the candidate submits a sworn fully completed affidavit.
S. 22 — Eliminates the exception for children to be tried as an adult and decreases the length of time that a child may be held in a juvenile detention facility for committing a status offense or for violating a related court order.
S. 23 — Prohibits the possession or discharge of a firearm on or within 1,000 feet of any premises or property owned, operated, or controlled by a private or public school, college, university, technical college, or other post-secondary institution, or any publicly owned building, without the express permission of the authorities in charge of the premises or property.
S. 27 — Provides specific salaries for magistrates in counties with certain populations and provides for supplements for full-time associate chief magistrates.
S. 30 — Provides that state employees may request a limited amount of underinsured motorist coverage for a limited amount of time for the purpose of paying benefits, in the event of an accident while the employee is driving or occupying a state-owned vehicle.
S. 32 — Enacts the "South Carolina Constitutional Carry Act of 2021".
S. 35 — Reduces each tax rate by 1 percent over a five-year period in certain circumstances.
S. 37 — Provides that vehicles leased by churches are exempt from property taxes.
S. 40 — Provides that municipalities may not establish or alter parking facilities on any state highway facility without the prior approval of the Department of Transportation.
S. 41 — Provides that certain redevelopment fees may be used for financing, acquiring, developing, supporting, and operating certain museum projects.
S. 43 — Deletes the provision that executive orders, proclamations, or documents issued by the Governor's office are not subject to General Assembly approval.
S. 44 — Enact the "South Carolina Citizens' Defense Act of 2021".
S. 45 — Provides that a state of emergency cannot be extended beyond 15 days without the authorization of the Board of Emergency Management.
S. 51 — Requires that the court must take into consideration the financial resources of the defendant and ability of defendant to pay and requires that if a court finds a defendant faces financial hardship that the defendant must pay no less than a specified amount.
S. 52 — Removes the reference to the exception of capital cases relating to the jurisdiction of magistrates.
S. 53 — Enacts the "South Carolina Juvenile Justice Reform Act".
S. 56 — Provides that certain statements made during questioning or interrogation by a law enforcement officer must be audio or video recorded.
S. 57 — Deletes the prohibition on serving consecutive terms by the chairman of the Workers' Compensation Commission, deletes the provision that the Governor may reappoint a chairman, and deletes the provision that members appointed to the Workers' Compensation Commission are subject to removal by the Governor in certain circumstances.
S. 60 — Requires the General Assembly, in the annual General Appropriations Act, to appropriate funds to install, maintain, and provide wireless local area networks in every K—12 school in this state.
S. 65 — Increases the civil jurisdiction of the magistrate court from $7,500 to $15,000.
S. 68 — Provides that each law enforcement agency shall have a written policy regarding the investigation of officer-involved deaths.
S. 69 — Provides that a prisoner must be given two days of credit for every one day served in custody prior to trial and sentencing.
S. 70 — Enacts the "Asset Forfeiture and Private Property Protection Act".
S. 75 — Provides 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. 76 — Removes the age limit of 72 for those eligible to become members of the Retirement System for judges, solicitors, and public defenders.
S. 78 — Requires every clerk of court to report to SLED, within 10 days, weekends and holidays excluded, the disposition of each case in General Sessions and to report, within 48 hours, the issuance of a restraining order, an order of a state firearms prohibition, or orders as directed by a judge.
S. 81 — Raises the limit on judgments from $1 million to $2 million for judgments against governmental employees and officials.
S. 82 — Increases the limits from a loss to one person, arising from a single occurrence, to $1 million, increases the total limits from a loss arising out of a single occurrence to $2 million, and requires the limits be annually adjusted in accordance with the consumer price index.
S. 84 — Provides that an elector who fails to produce a valid and current photograph identification may complete a written statement at the polling place and affirm that he meets certain qualifications.
S. 85 — Grants SLED specific and exclusive jurisdiction and authority to conduct an investigation of all officer-involved shootings that result, or could have resulted, in bodily injury or death.
S. 89 — Provides that a person who hinders a law enforcement officer is guilty of a misdemeanor.
S. 90 — Changes the age for which the General Assembly shall provide for the separate confinement of juvenile offenders from "under the age of 17" to "under the age of 18".
S. 93 — Enacts the "Drug Court Program Act".
S. 94 — Provides that a limitation on stress, mental injuries, and mental illness for Workers' Compensation claims does not apply to a first responder diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
S. 95 — Creates the "Study Committee on Racial Profiling" to review law enforcement policies, practices, and procedures regarding racial profiling.
S. 99 — Repeals Act 233 of 2018, relating to the provision that Workers' Compensation Commission hearings concerning compensation payable must be held in the districts in which the injuries occurred instead of the cities or counties in which the injuries occurred, provided that the location must be no greater than 75 miles from the county seat of the county in which the injury occurred.
S. 102 — Provides that each county shall designate a tax collector for the collection of property taxes and prepare a tax collection notice.
S. 103 — Sets forth the circumstances and procedures by which the Governor may lawfully declare a state of emergency.
S. 104 — Enacts the "Emergency Order Balance of Powers Act".
S. 105 — Increases the amount of a lien that may be enforced by a petition to a magistrate.
S. 107 — Applies certain exceptions to the establishment of a baseline for coastal erosion zones and removes the study requirement in cases where primary oceanfront sand dunes do not exist.
S. 109 — 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. 112 — Provides that an elector registered to vote or submitting an application for voter registration may have the information relating to his residence address, telephone number, and email address declared confidential upon presentation of a certified copy of an injunction or a restraining order.
S. 113 — Provides that a county board of voter registration and elections and any extension office of a county board of voter registration and elections, established by a county's governing body, must not start in-person absentee voting more than 30 days before the day of an election.
S. 114 — Extends the time period for the validity of the examination scores from six months before and six months after the time the appointment of a magistrate is to be made to one year before and two years after the time the appointment is to be made.
S. 117 — Increases the civil jurisdiction of the magistrate court from $7,500 to $10,000.
S. 119 — 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. 120 — Imposes an annual limit on the state general fund revenues available for appropriation by restricting any increase to a percentage that is equal to the average annual percentage change from the previous 10 completed state fiscal years.
S. 123 — Removes the 24-hour application requirement before a marriage license may be issued.
S. 124 — Enacts the "SC Leads Act".
S. 125 — Provides that SLED shall have specific and exclusive jurisdiction and authority over certain investigations and to provide exceptions, and provides for situations in which the subject of an investigation is a SLED officer.
S. 126 — Requires law enforcement officers to complete an approved field training program.
S. 127 — Provides for a model training program for newly appointed chiefs of police, revisions to the program, and the time period to complete the program.
S. 128 — Provides that misconduct also means willfully failing to intervene when observing another law enforcement officer not complying with the standards established by the Law Enforcement Training Council.
S. 129 — Devolves the duties of the State Election Commission and its executive director upon the Secretary of State.
S. 130 — Declares that the General Assembly declines to consent to an extension or renewal of the current state of emergency or the issuance of any new COVID-19 related state of emergency without the express consent of the General Assembly.
S. 137 — Provides that the property tax exemption for vehicles owned or leased by former prisoners of war applies to all former prisoners of war.
S. 147 — Enacts the "South Carolina Covid-19 Liability Safe Harbor Act".
S. 148 — Provides that the infrastructure maintenance fee also applies to the first titling of a vehicle or other item.
S. 149 — Provides that current volunteer firefighters are eligible for ad valorem tax exemption on property they own.
S. 152 — Enacts the "County Green Space Sales Tax Act".
S. 154 — Provides that a taxpayer that prevails in an action or proceeding to recover a tax or penalty is entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs associated with defending the action or proceeding.
S.155 — Enacts the "South Carolina Constitutional Carry Act of 2021".
S. 156 — Further defines the duties of executive director of the State Election Commission.
S. 159 — Enacts the "South Carolina Minimum Wage Act".
S. 162 — Provides that post-use polymers and recoverable feedstocks used in pyrolysis and gasification processes are "recovered materials" and are not "solid waste" for the purposes of regulation by DHEC.
S. 163 — Repeals Section 10-1-165 relating to the prohibition on the relocation, removal, or renaming of certain monuments and memorials erected on public property.
S.164 — Provides that state employees earning annual leave at the rate of 30 days a year must receive a lump sum payment for days of annual leave fewer than 30 days not used or donated by the employee in a calendar year.
S. 165 — Provides that provisions related to the alteration, relocation or removal of certain monuments or memorials erected on public property do not apply to such property under the jurisdiction and control of political subdivisions of this state, including school districts, and public institutions of higher learning.
S. 166 — Provides a sales tax exemption for all sales made to military veterans on Veterans day.
S.170 — Provides for a reduction in the sentence of an inmate convicted of certain "no parole offenses" upon satisfying certain conditions.
S. 176 — Establishes the "South Carolina Shared-Risk Defined Benefit Plan".
S. 177 — Provides that COVID-19 vaccinations are purely voluntary.
S. 187 — Provides that all contributions received by candidates shall be deposited into an interest on campaign account known as an "IOCA”.
S. 188 — Prohibits a person from filing a statement of intention of candidacy if the person has an outstanding debt to the State Ethics Commission, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee, or the Senate Ethics Committee.
S. 189 — Requires candidates and committees to contemporaneously file campaign bank account statements for the previous quarter's campaign report.
S. 191 — Requires that every clerk of court shall report to SLED, within 10 days, weekends and holidays excluded, the disposition of each case in General Sessions court, and to report within 48 hours the issuance of a restraining order, order of protection, order for the prevention of possession of a firearm, convictions or orders related to domestic violence, and convictions or orders related to stalking, intimidation, or harassment.
S. 193 — Requires all health insurance and group health benefit plans to cover hearing aids and replacement hearing aids for insureds with impaired hearing.
S. 194 — Allows a South Carolina income tax deduction of all military retirement income and first responder retirement income.
S. 195 — Provides that a tax notice must set forth the fair market value used for the vehicle.
S. 196 — Revises the definition of the term "fireworks prohibited zone" to include any public beach or public beach access designated and posted by a local governing body.
S. 199 — Increases the civil jurisdiction of magistrates' court from $7,500 to $10,000.
S. 204 — 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. 206 — Provides for enhanced penalties if an offense is committed against a law enforcement officer.
S. 209 — Deletes provisions subject to forfeiture.
S. 214 — Provides that all contributions received by candidates shall be deposited into an interest only campaign account known as an "IOCA".
S. 215 — Provides that judges, solicitors, and circuit public defenders become members of the system upon taking office before attaining age 77.
S. 217 — Enacts the "Workforce Enhancement and Military Recognition Act".
S. 233 — Provides that a qualified surviving spouse may qualify for an ad valorem exemption if the qualified surviving spouse owns the house.
S. 234 — Provides that an employer, under the South Carolina Retirement System and the Police Officers Retirement System respectively, may elect to pay all or a portion of required employee contributions during a fiscal year up to certain limits.
S. 236 — Provides that, for the purposes of municipal elections only, any precinct containing 3,000 or more voters can have its own polling place.
S. 240 — Establishes provisions relating to petroleum pipelines.
S. 241 — Eliminates the requirement that a veteran or dependent enroll in a public institution of higher education within three years of the veteran's discharge in order to receive educational assistance.
S. 246 — Provides that a magistrate may serve in holdover status for no more than 14 days at the end of his term.
S. 248 — Enacts "South Carolina Hands-Free Act".
S. 250 — Requires candidates and committees to file campaign bank account statements for the previous quarter's campaign report contemporaneously with their campaign disclosures.
S. 254 — Provides the authority for the State Election Commission to establish regulations related to the conduct of post-election audits prior to the certification of elections.
S. 257 — Prohibits the deletion or destruction of data from a body-worn camera with the intent to alter or influence a criminal action, criminal investigation, internal police investigation, civil action, or potential civil action if notice is provided by the adverse party, or if litigation is reasonably anticipated.
S. 258 — Enacts the "South Carolina Inclusionary Zoning Act".
S. 259 — Relates to circumstances under which a person may be admitted to a public or private hospital, mental health clinic, or mental health facility for emergency admission.
S. 263 — Establishes the Work Opportunity Income Tax Credit study committee to study the potential benefits of granting income tax credits to employers who hire qualified ex-felons.
S. 266 — Provides that an offender sentenced to 90 or fewer days imprisonment who is employed at the time of sentencing and is able to maintain employment may serve his sentence at a time when he is not working and the sentence does not interfere with his employment.
S. 268 — Provides for a statewide advisory referendum to be held at the same time as the 2022 General Election to determine whether the qualified electors of this state favor legalization of marijuana for recreational use.
S. 270 — Reduces a threshold from $900,000 in accommodations taxes collected to $750,000.
S. 271 — Extends the provisions of the South Carolina Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act, as contained in Chapter 67, Title 12 of the 1976 code, until December 31, 2025.
S. 272 — Enacts the "Port Enhancement Zone Act".
S. 273 — Enacts the "Savannah River Port Enhancement Zone Act".
S. 274 — Repeals Section 10-1-165 relating to the protection of certain monuments and memorials.
S. 275 — Provides that the Law Enforcement Training Council shall operate and maintain the central registry of police misconduct.
S. 276 — Requires SLED to provide an information system accessible to state and local law enforcement agencies for the purpose of performing disciplinary history background checks on prospective employees.
S. 277 — Requires SLED to disclose to an officer's employing agency information that identifies whether counseling services have been provided.
S. 278 — Requires SLED to disclose to an officer's employing agency information that identifies whether counseling services have been provided.
S. 279 — Requires the completion of an eight-hour general training continuing law enforcement education program as a condition for renewal.
S. 280 — Provides that the final police disposition of allegations of misconduct must be reported to the governing body of the county or municipality in which the agency employing the subject of the allegation is located.
S. 281 — Provides that it is misconduct for an officer to willfully provide a false, misleading, incomplete, deceitful, or incorrect statement on an affidavit for the purpose of procuring a warrant.
S. 282 — Provides that a limitation on stress, mental injuries, and mental illness for workers' compensation claims does not apply to a first responder diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
S. 283 — Provides that a law enforcement agency that seized property and law enforcement officers that work for the law enforcement agency may not purchase any of the property at a sale.
S. 284 — Provides that monies seized must be returned to the person from whom the monies were seized if forfeiture proceedings are not commenced within 90 days of the seizure.
S. 285 — Provides that recordings of an incident involving a loss of life are subject to the Freedom of Information Act beginning 30 days after the incident.
S. 289 — Provides that all health insurance carriers shall offer shared savings incentive programs as a component of all health insurance plans, subject to certain exceptions.
S. 291 — Provides that a class A water or sewer utility must submit an integrated resource plan to the Public Service Commission.
S. 294 — Provides the circumstances under which a person or corporation using an electric vehicle charging station to resell electricity is not an electrical utility.
S. 296 — Provides that a municipality of a certain size and population may adopt an ordinance that allows for the operation during non-daylight hours of golf carts that are equipped with working headlights and rear lights.
S. 297 — Relates to the issuance of identification cards to qualified retired law enforcement officers, the circumstances in which a qualified law enforcement officer may carry a concealed weapon, and opportunities for training to qualify to carry a firearm that must be offered to a qualified retired law enforcement officer.
S. 298 — Requires health maintenance organizations, individual or group health insurance policies, and insurance contracts to provide coverage for certain tests for the early detection of cardiovascular disease.
S. 299 — Requires each statewide constitutional officer and member of the General Assembly to provide a copy of his personal federal and state income tax returns.
S. 300 — Extends the prohibition against dual office holding to the immediate family member of a member of the General Assembly.
S. 301 — Prohibits a public utility from including in its rate base or otherwise recover from its customers any legal fees paid by the public utility for a matter in which the public utility was found to have violated a federal, state, or local statute, regulation, or ordinance.
S. 304 — Provides when a person or corporation using an electric vehicle charging station is not an electric utility.
S. 305 — Establishes certain stormwater and sediment reduction permit requirements for an all-terrain vehicle park.
S. 306 — Prohibits a person who has made a campaign contribution to a popularly elected public official within the previous four years from being appointed to a public office by that public official who is the appointing or selecting authority for the position.
S. 309 — Requires the State Ethics Commission to establish a new online campaign account monitoring and auditing department.
S. 310 — Provides that an individual who is qualified to register to vote may register in person and then immediately vote at an in-person absentee voting location in the person's county of residence during the period for in-person absentee voting established pursuant to this Act.
S. 311 — Provides that an elected local, state, or federal public official whose office is declared vacant due to a criminal conviction during the official's term of office shall reimburse the appropriate state or local elections authority for the actual costs of holding the ensuing primary, runoff primary, or special election necessitated by the official's removal from office prior to the expiration of his term.
S. 312 — Prohibits members of the General Assembly or candidates for the General Assembly from soliciting or accepting campaign contributions from a utility, company, corporation, entity, joint venture, or "person", as defined in section 8-13-1300, who possesses or maintains an exclusive right to conduct its business, enterprise, operations, or activities statewide or within a geographically defined area or territory pursuant to an act of the General Assembly.
S. 313 — Includes electric cooperatives and consolidated political subdivisions in the definition of “electrical utility”.
S. 316 — Includes municipalities and counties within the term "public utility".
S. 324 — Establishes the goal of providing the state minimum salary schedule from fiscal year 2029—2030 forward is at least equal to the national average of teacher salaries, and to provide the method for determining this average.
S. 328 — Deletes the earnings limitation relating to the amount of compensation that may be earned upon returning to covered employment under the Police Officers Retirement System.
S. 332 — Restores the former method of overriding the annual cap by a positive majority of the appropriate governing body and deleting the super majority requirement for overriding the cap for specific circumstances relating to the limit on annual property tax millage increases imposed by political subdivisions.
S. 334 — Enacts the "Transparency in Justice Act".
S. 335 — Decriminalizes marijuana and provides for the regulation of marijuana.
S. 337 — Provides that after July 1, 2021, a person may not be elected or appointed to an office that is filled by election or appointment of the General Assembly if that person is an immediate family member of a sitting member of the General Assembly, or a former member of the General Assembly whose most recent term of legislative service ended less than one year prior to the General Assembly's election or appointment of the office in question.
S. 341 — Enacts the "South Carolina Pro Birth Accountability Act".
S. 342 — Provides that all law enforcement officers must undergo a mental health evaluation that must include an assessment of implicit bias before they can become certified and periodically after they become certified.
S. 343 — Enacts the "South Carolina Minimum Wage Act".
S. 345 — Directs the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation to promulgate certain emergency regulations to establish a mandatory, temporary standard for employers to control, prevent, and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 to and among employees and employers.
S. 347 — Repeals Section 41-35-50 relating to maximum potential annual employment benefits.
S. 351 — Provides that an inmate must be provided with written notice that the inmate is eligible to register to vote and instructions concerning how to register to vote at the completion of his sentence.
S. 353 — Requires SLED to create, prepare, maintain, and certify a report listing, by name, each South Carolina political subdivision it has determined to be in compliance with sections 17-13-170 and 23-3-1100.
S. 358 — Requires provisions in the annual general appropriations bill that direct the manner in which funds are to be expended to specifically state the source of funds, the authorized expenditures, and any program which funds will be reduced as a result of the provision.
S. 359 — 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.
S. 360 — Credits the proceeds of property taxes to the state aviation fund.
S. 361 — Relates to the amount of compensation that may be earned upon returning to covered employment under the South Carolina Retirement System and the Police Officers Retirement System, respectively.
S. 365 — Provides that a person registered to vote must verify his qualifications for registration at least once every three years with the county board of voter registration and elections in the county in which he is an elector.
S. 368 — Revises the forensic science training requirements of county coroner.
S. 369 — Enacts the "Second Amendment Protection Act".
S. 372 — Provides that a county, municipality, or school district shall post certain information on its website.
S. 377 – Provides for a biennial state general appropriations act and to provide that, in even-numbered years, the regular annual session of the General Assembly can be extended if a concurrent resolution is adopted by a two-thirds vote of both the Senate and House of Representatives not later than five o'clock p.m. on the second Thursday in April.
S. 378 — Provides for penalties, restitution, and community service relating to penalties for teasing, maltreating, and injuring police dogs and horses.
S. 381 — Establishes that the right to life for each born and preborn human being vests at fertilization and that the rights of due process and equal protection.
S. 382 — Provides that a state of emergency declared by the Governor may not last more than 15 days unless the General Assembly adopts a concurrent resolution authorizing the state of emergency to remain in place for a longer period of time.
S. 385 — Provides that it is unlawful for a person to sell, purchase, donate, accept, or experiment upon the remains of a child or an unborn child resulting from an abortion, or to perform or offer to perform an abortion for the purpose of research.
S. 389 — Authorizes municipal police officers and a county sheriff to enforce the provisions of Chapter 4, Title 61 relating to beer and wine.
S. 391 — Provides for penalties for violations of the prohibition against the use of an official position for financial gain, and to preclude violators from serving as a public official or public member or being employed as a public employee.
S. 395 — Provides that line-item appropriations to be expended for multiple purposes or activities also must contain a proviso outlining specific individual expenditures in order to receive funding.
S. 396 — Deletes the Freedom of Information Act exemption for documents relating to governmental efforts to attract businesses to this state.
S. 397 — Removes the maximum allowable amounts relating to the municipal privilege or license tax on railroads.
S. 398 — Provides for economic development accountability by setting forth job creation, wage, and health care obligations for a recipient corporation to receive a development subsidy.
S. 399 — Enacts the "South Carolina Stands for Life Act".
S. 401 — Allows the governing body of a county to suspend the limitation for millage increases for the purpose of supporting a fire protection district.
S. 402 — Provides that a limitation on stress, mental injuries, and mental illness for Workers' Compensation claims does not apply to a first responder diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
House Bills
H. 3007 — Provides that certified copies of Department of Motor Vehicles records must include a watermark applied to the document when it is printed from the department's computer system.
H. 3008 — Allows a person under the age of 21, who is serving a suspension or denial of a license or permit, to enroll in the ignition interlock device program.
H. 3009 — Revises the penalty for violating the provisions that prohibit a concealed weapons permit holder from carrying a weapon in certain places.
H. 3010 — Provides that a prisoner may be given full credit against a sentence for time spent under global positioning system (GPS) monitoring.
H. 3012 — Enacts the "Second Amendment Protection Act".
H. 3013 — Provides that the sale of alcoholic liquors on Sunday may be authorized by referendum.
H. 3014 — Enacts the “South Carolina Cellular Data Privacy Protection Act”.
H. 3016 — Enacts the "South Carolina Data Privacy Act".
H. 3018 -- Provides a base state minimum wage and a schedule to gradually implement an adjusted minimum wage to $10.10 per hour over a three-year period.
H. 3020 — Provides hazard pay for public employees working in frontline positions during a declared state of emergency, a declared public health emergency, or both.
H. 3021 — Removes the exception for a citizen's arrest.
H. 3025 — Enacts the "Military Priority Registration Act".
H. 3026 — Expands the categories of individuals covered by the provisions relating to military personnel and their dependents who are entitled to pay in-state tuition and fees.
H. 3030 — Revises the forensics training requirements for county coroners.
H. 3032 — Increases the amount that may be earned without affecting the monthly retirement allowance from $10,000 to $50,000 for covered employees in the South Carolina Retirement System and the South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System, respectively.
H. 3034 — Provides that the Department of Corrections shall provide an inmate certain information with regard to the restoration of his voting rights once he is released from the custody of the department.
H. 3035 — Provides the 19th day of June (Juneteenth) shall be a state legal holiday.
H. 3036 — Provides that during a motor vehicle traffic stop, the driver and passengers in a motor vehicle must disclose to the law enforcement officer the existence of all firearms located in the motor vehicle.
H. 3037 — Provides that the Department of Motor Vehicles may add a notation to a private passenger-carrying motor vehicle registration to indicate the vehicle owner or an occupant of the vehicle suffers from certain medical conditions and provides that the Criminal Justice Academy shall offer courses to train law enforcement officers on handling situations that may arise from the enforcement of this provision.
H. 3038 — Provides that it is unlawful for a law enforcement officer or paramedic to inject ketamine into a criminal suspect as a means to incapacitate him.
H. 3039 — Enacts the "South Carolina Constitutional Carry Act of 2021".
H. 3042 — Enacts the "Second Amendment Preservation Act".
H. 3043 — Provides the SLED shall establish a hate crimes database.
H. 3046 — Provides that a certified law enforcement officer annually must complete continuing law enforcement education credits in diversity training.
H. 3047 — Provides that all law enforcement officers must undergo a mental health evaluation before they can become certified or recertified and provides that the evaluation must be conducted under the direction of the Law Enforcement Training Council.
H. 3049 — Enacts the "Law Enforcement Integrity Act".
H. 3050 — Provides that a noncertified law enforcement officer only shall perform his duties as a law enforcement officer while accompanied by a certified law enforcement officer.
H. 3051 — Provides the Department of Transportation feasibility determination as to whether to construct high occupancy vehicle lanes, pedestrian walkways, sidewalks, bicycle lanes or paths before building new or expanding existing primary highways, roads, and streets applies to all highways, roads, and streets.
H. 3060 — Revises the provision that allows this state to grant authority to carry a weapon in this state to a nonresident.
H. 3061 — Deletes the provision that restricts the carrying of a concealed weapon onto certain premises.
H. 3062 — Suspends the running of certain governmental approvals affecting the development of real property within the state for the period beginning January 1, 2021 and ending December 31, 2024 and provides an exception for units of local government.
H. 3066 — Enacts "Fargo's and Hyco's law".
H. 3078 — Enacts the "Freedom of Employment Contract Act".
H. 3083 — Designates certain law enforcement and public safety providers as being first responders.
H. 3086 — Provides that a vehicle may not be stopped for having a frame on its license plate that obscures the license plate letters or numbers in the absence of a violation of another law.
H. 3087 — Provides that a person may not be placed under custodial arrest when he is charged with certain traffic offenses for which a uniform traffic ticket is issued.
H. 3089 — Authorizes the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council to establish a course to train law enforcement officers on aspects of executing warrants and minimum standards for certification and recertification of law enforcement officers as eligible to conduct the execution of warrants.
H. 3090 — Provides that a vehicle may not be stopped for having an inoperable tail lamp or separate lamp in the absence of a violation of another law.
H. 3092 — Creates the South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement and Public Safety.
H. 3093 — Increases the penalty for the unlawful use of wireless electronic communications devices while operating motor vehicles.
H. 3094 — Enacts the "Open Carry with Training Act".
H. 3096 — Enacts the "South Carolina Constitutional Carry Act of 2021".
H. 3097 — Provides that a driver proceeding at or below the posted speed limit to a reasonable location and stops or to a well-lit location and stops while engaging his emergency lights are mitigating circumstances to failing to stop when signaled by a law enforcement vehicle.
H. 3098 — Provides that a municipality may adopt an ordinance that allows for the operation of golf carts that are equipped with working headlights and rear lights during non-daylight hours.
H. 3099 — Devolves the responsibility for registering sex offenders from a county sheriff to the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon services.
H. 3101 — Provides for the disposition of a motor vehicle in the possession of a salvage pool operator who, upon the request of an insurance company or charity, takes possession of a motor vehicle that is the subject of an insurance claim or a charity donation and subsequently insurance coverage is denied or the charity does not take ownership of the motor vehicle.
H. 3105 — Provides that religious services are deemed an essential service during a state of emergency and must be allowed to continue operating throughout the state of emergency.
H. 3106 — Provides that an employer, up to certain limits, may elect to pay all or a portion of required employee contributions during a fiscal year under the South Carolina Retirement System and the Police Officers Retirement System, respectively.
H. 3108 — Increases the homestead property tax exemption amount allowed for persons 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.
H. 3111 — Provides that the time known as Eastern Standard Time is advanced by one hour beginning at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March of 2021 and beginning on this date and time and thereafter permanently becomes standard time in South Carolina with no further adjustments under state or federal law.
H. 3112 — Provides for an income tax credit to an individual or business that constructs, purchases, or leases certain solar energy property and places it in service in this state.
H. 3115 — Enacts the "South Carolina Government Efficiency Act".
H. 3119 — Provides that certain individuals may not participate in the enforcement of any unconstitutional law regarding personal firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition.
H. 3120 — Provides for an income tax credit to a property owner who encumbers his property with a perpetual recreational trail easement.
H. 3124 — Repeals Section 1-7-730 relating to the examination of the offices of county officers.
H. 3126 — Provides that it is unlawful for this state or any political subdivision thereof to accept any federal funds to enforce an unlawful federal mask mandate or unlawful federal vaccine mandate.
H. 3129 — Removes the limitation that a portion of the county area may not be subject to an additional penny sales tax levied pursuant to Chapter 37, Title 4.
H. 3130 — Enacts the "South Carolina Opportunity Zone Enhancement Act of 2021".
H. 3131 — Repeals Section 1b of Act 57 of 2013 and Section 1 of Act 265 of 2018 both relating to the automatic repeal of the South Carolina Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act.
H. 3132 — Provides that the executive director of the South Carolina Housing Authority shall award grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to collect certain data.
H. 3133 — Enacts the "South Carolina Economic Development Tax Incentive Evaluation Act".
H. 3134 — Provides that if a participating employer in the South Carolina Retirement System or the Police Officers Retirement System, respectively, engages a certain member of the system to perform services, then the participant employer shall pay to the system the employer contribution that would be required if the member received the compensation as an active contributing member of the system.
H. 3138 — Provides that a law enforcement agency shall not purchase cell-site simulator technology or devices.
H. 3139 — Provides that the director of the Department of Corrections may conditionally release an inmate who is serving a sentence for the unlawful possession, manufacture, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance.
H. 3140 — Provides that an inmate confined to a state, county, or municipal detention facility shall not be prohibited access to legal counsel when requested under certain circumstances.
H. 3145 — Transfers the Division of Small and Minority Business Contracting to the Commission for Minority Affairs.
H. 3146 — Creates the "Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Program".
H. 3150 — Provides that a law enforcement agency shall not purchase cell-site simulator technology from a company that requires the purchaser of this equipment to enter into a nondisclosure agreement.
H. 3151 — Provides that a person may not be placed under custodial arrest when stopped for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended driver's license under certain circumstances.
H. 3152 — Prohibits a law enforcement officer from using excessive restraint, which includes, but is not limited to, the use of chokeholds and strangleholds when detaining a person or unreasonable force while making an arrest.
H. 3153 — Provides that an inmate shall not be denied visitation rights under certain circumstances.
H. 3156 — Provides the provision relating to the collection of certain data about the driver of a motor vehicle by a law enforcement officer who stops a motor vehicle and does not issue a citation or make an arrest applies also to a motor vehicle stop where an officer issues a citation or makes an arrest.
H. 3159 — Provides that a state, county, or municipal detention facility shall not intercept, record, monitor, or divulge any communication between an inmate and his attorney.
H. 3163 — Enacts the "South Carolina Stands for Life Act".
H. 3165 — Creates the "Fallen First Responder Survivor Advocate" position within the Department of Administration.
H. 3170 — Deletes the provision that restricts the carrying of a concealed weapon onto certain premises for a qualified law enforcement officer.
H. 3174 — Enacts the "Put Patients First Act".
H. 3177 — Allows the issuance of a license for a tattoo facility if all churches, schools, and playgrounds within the parameters affirmatively state that they do not object to the issuance, with exceptions.
H. 3178 — 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.
H. 3180 — Enacts the "Vulnerable Adult Maltreatment Registry Act".
H. 3183 — Enacts the "Act to Establish Pay Equity".
H. 3184 — Provides a base state minimum wage and a schedule to gradually implement an adjusted minimum wage to $15 per hour over a three-year period.
H. 3187 — Adopts "The Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote".
H. 3188 — Enacts the "South Carolina Equal Pay for Equal Work Act".
H. 3189 — Establishes procedures for conducting elections by mail.
H. 3191 — Enacts the "Multifamily Dwelling Safety Act".
H. 3192 — Establishes a presumption that a first responder, health care provider, or correctional officer contracting COVID-19 is entitled to Workers' Compensation benefits as an occupational disease.
H. 3195 — Provides that a municipality may not charge customers who reside outside the corporate boundaries higher rates for water services than it charges municipal residents.
H. 3196 — Prohibits certain practices by local agencies providing communications services, including broadband services.
H. 3197 — Increase South Carolina's individual campaign contribution limits for statewide candidates, statewide candidates elected jointly, and candidates for other than statewide office.
H. 3198 — Enacts the "Local Government Efficiency Act".
H. 3199 — Deletes the provisions that provide for straight party ticket voting for General Election ballots, straight ticket voting on any type of recorder, and voting for all of the candidates of one party by use of a voting machine.
H. 3200 — Includes lobbying activities performed at the local, county, or municipal government level in lobbyists' reporting of lobbying activities.
H. 3201 — Allows the General Assembly to restrict the sale of certain products, substances, or services determined by the General Assembly to be unreasonably hazardous, perilous, or unsafe to persons until age 21.
H. 3202 — Legalizes the possession of 28 grams or one ounce or less of marijuana or ten grams or less of hashish by a veteran with an honorable discharge or a general under honorable conditions discharge, whom the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has diagnosed with service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arising from the veteran's duty in an area that the President of the United States designated by executive order as an area in which United States Armed Forces are engaging or have engaged in combat.
H. 3203 — Requires both in person and by mail absentee voting in presidential preference primary elections held pursuant to Section 7-11-20.
H. 3206 — Prohibits a candidate from filing more than one statement of intention of candidacy for a single election.
H. 3207 — Establishes a 30-day period during which all qualified electors of this state must be allowed to cast an in-person absentee ballot without being required to assert, state, offer, or provide an excuse, justification, or reason.
H. 3209 — Enacts the "South Carolina Child Abuse Response Protocol Act".
H. 3213 — Eliminates the exception for children to be tried as an adult and decreases the length of time that a child may be held for violation of a court order regarding a status offense.
H. 3217 — Allows individuals to opt out of infectious or contagious disease vaccinations for any reason.
H. 3218 — Prohibits state officials from participating in the enforcement of any unlawful federal mask mandate that violates the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
H. 3222 — Authorizes the DHEC to promulgate regulations and make certain permitting decisions concerning waste tire management.
H. 3228 — Decriminalizes possession of 28 grams or one ounce or less of marijuana or ten grams or less of hashish and authorize law enforcement to issue a civil citation for possession of that same quantity of marijuana or hashish.
H. 3234 — Requires group health insurance and group health benefit plans to cover hearing aids and replacement hearing aids for an insured with impaired hearing who is 18 years of age or younger.
H. 3238 — Makes it unlawful and against public policy of this state in housing, education, and public accommodations 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. 3239 — Prohibits preexisting condition exclusions in individual, group, and small employer health benefit plans.
H. 3244 — Enacts the "Employment First Initiative Act".
H. 3246 — Exempts certain information in teacher employment records from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
H. 3247 — Enacts the "Workforce Enhancement and Military Recognition Act".
H. 3249 — Expands the type of monuments that may not be relocated, removed, or disturbed, withholds all disbursements from the Local Government Fund for any county or municipality that violates this section, and provides that any member of a local governing body who votes in favor of any action that violates this section is guilty of misconduct in office.
H. 3252 — Simplifies the definition of fire departments and the projects on which grant funds may be expended in the VSAFE program.
H. 3253 — Enacts the "Veterans Nursing Degree Opportunity Act".
H. 3254 — Creates the Office of Freedom of Information Act Review within the Administrative Law Court.
H. 3256 — Provides procedures for recalling and removing from public office persons holding elected public offices of the state or its political subdivisions in the executive and legislative branches of state or local governments.
H. 3261 — Prohibits a candidate from filing more than one statement of intention of candidacy for a single election and prohibits a candidate from being nominated by more than one political party for a single office in an election.
H. 3262 — Requires all candidates from each political party in this state to pay a filing fee, including candidates from parties that are not required to conduct a primary election.
H. 3263 — Requires the state executive committees to hear protests and contests in the case of county officers and less than county officers.
H. 3264 — Eliminates the requirement that a county committee publish certain notices regarding county conventions in a newspaper having general circulation in the county.
H. 3265 — Requires the State Election Commission to amend the South Carolina voter registration application form by adding appropriately sized check boxes in which registrants voluntarily may disclose their political party affiliation.
H. 3266 — Allows the tabulation of absentee ballots to begin at 9:00 a.m. on the calendar day immediately preceding election day.
H. 3267 — Establishes General Election Day as a state holiday.
H. 3268 — Provides that any qualified elector of this state may vote by absentee ballot without being required to provide an excuse, justification, or reason.
H. 3270 — Provides that each state identification card application or motor vehicle driver's license application, including renewal applications, submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles shall serve as an application for voter registration.
H. 3272 — Enacts the "Fair Access to Residential Water Act".
H. 3273 — Provides for the election of additional members to municipal councils to represent nonresident residential municipal water and sewer customers when these customers are charged higher rates for these utilities than are residential customers within the municipality's boundaries.
H. 3275 — Provides that the authority charged by law with conducting an election shall provide a procedure by which a qualified elector may register and cast a ballot on the same day.
H. 3276 — Provides that when the Governor has appointed an interim sheriff who then runs unsuccessfully for sheriff in the ensuing primary, primary runoff, special election, or general election, the Governor may, with the advice and consent of that county's legislative delegation, declare the office vacant, remove the interim appointee from office, and appoint the sheriff-elect to fill the remainder of the original unexpired term.
H. 3278 — Requires county councils to provide office space and appropriate monies for the operation of the county legislative delegation office.
H. 3281 — Provides that no fee for a permit for cremation may be charged and prohibits a coroner or medical examiner from charging a fee for such permit.
H. 3287 — Includes clerks of court in the purview of the statute relating to persons allowed to carry a concealable weapon while on duty.
H. 3292 — Adds that assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature occurs when a person injures a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer or corrections officer, a firefighter, or an emergency medical services (EMS) worker in the discharge of or because of their official duties.
H. 3297 — Deletes the exception for waiver of immunity for institution or prosecution of any judicial or administrative proceeding in the Torts Claim Act.
H. 3302 — Provides that a candidate for coroner in this state must be a resident of the county in which he seeks the office of coroner at the time he files for the office of coroner rather than one year before filing.
H. 3317 — Provides that it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire an individual because of the credit history or credit report of the individual.
H. 3325 — Eliminates exemptions for physicians who certify fewer than 12 deaths annually relating to the mandatory electronic filing of death certificates with the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
H. 3329 — Exempts close-contact service providers who were required to close by executive order of the Governor due to the COVID-19 pandemic from license renewal fee requirements and continuing education requirements until one year after they are allowed to return to work by the Governor has lapsed.
H. 3331 — Provides qualifications for the office of county clerk of court.
H. 3334 — Enacts the "Ban the Box Act".
H. 3340 — Increases the maximum annual state license tax credit allowed to certain taxpayers for contributions to qualifying infrastructure and economic development projects credit amount from $400,000 to $600,000.
H. 3341 — Provides that the minimum wage in this state is the greater value of either $15 or the minimum wage set by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
H. 3342 — Directs the Office of Human Resources of the Department of Administration to implement the recommendations of a study on the state's classification and compensation system and to increase each pay band annually to account for inflation.
H. 3343 — Establishes the plan by which the Department of Administration must allocate amounts appropriated for employee pay increases so that state employees receive a 5 percent employee pay increase effective July 1, 2021.
H. 3345 — Excludes federal pandemic unemployment compensation from South Carolina taxable income and from income eligibility determination for certain programs.
H. 3346 — Provides that the General Reserve Fund or 5 percent of General Fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year must be increased each year by one-half of one percent of General Fund Revenue of the latest completed fiscal year until it equals 7 percent of such revenues.
H. 3347 — Provides that the General Reserve Fund of 5 percent of General Fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year must be increased each year by one-half of one percent of the general fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year until it equals 7 percent of such revenues.
H. 3348 — Allows a tax credit to any taxpayer that employs a formerly incarcerated individual in an apprenticeship program, or a veteran of the armed forces in an apprenticeship program.
H. 3349 — Allows a South Carolina income tax deduction of all military retirement income and first responder retirement income.
H. 3350 — Provides that provisions relating to the alteration, relocation, or removal of certain monuments or memorials erected on public property, or the renaming or rededication of structures, streets, parks, or other public areas do not apply to such property under the jurisdiction and control of political subdivisions of this state, including school districts, and public institutions of higher learning.
H. 3351 — Repeals Section 10-1-165 relating to the prohibition on the relocation, removal, or renaming of certain monuments and memorials erected on public property.
H. 3352 — Exempts all military retirement income from South Carolina income taxes.
H. 3354 — Provides a property tax exemption for a renewable energy resource property having a nameplate capacity of and operating at no greater than 20 kilowatts.
H. 3357 — Requires the state treasurer to withhold all disbursements from the Local Government Fund for any county or municipality that removes the monument or memorial of an historical figure.
H. 3358 — Prohibits a local government from removing the monument or memorial of an historical figure or the name of an historical figure for which a structure is named and provides that any member of a local governing body who votes for such removal is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be fined $25 million.
H. 3360 — Enacts the "South Carolina Hands-Free Act".
H. 3361 — Enacts the "South Carolina Compassionate Care Act".
H. 3369 — Requires coroners and medical examiners to complete continuing education on the identification of deaths caused by opiates.
H. 3370 — Enacts the "Community-Law Enforcement Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act".
H. 3372 — Establishes a 14-day period during which all qualified electors of this state must be allowed to cast an in-person absentee ballot without being required to assert, state, offer, or provide an excuse, justification, or reason.
H. 3373 — Requires each county to establish a housing court within the county's existing magistrate's court.
H. 3376 — Provides for an admissions tax exemption for admissions charged by certain nonprofit business leagues and chambers of commerce.
H. 3380 — Provides a deduction for any income attributable to a person who served as a volunteer first responder during the tax year.
H. 3383 — Prohibits a county governing body from imposing a surcharge for the acceptance of a particular medium of payment.
H. 3385 — Prohibits a county treasurer from refusing to accept full payment of property taxes on a motor vehicle or refusing to issue a tax receipt on a motor vehicle solely because the taxpayer is delinquent on another property.
H. 3386 — Allows a property tax exemption from all property tax equal to 100 percent of the value subject to tax of an owner-occupied residence if the owner has attained the age of 80 years.
H. 3387 — Provides that the Governor may not declare a new state of emergency which has the effect of extending another declaration, nor may the Governor declare a new state of emergency for the same underlying disaster because of changed circumstances or a change in the degree of impact.
H. 3389 — Requires a county to consult with other affected taxing entities before entering into a fee in lieu of property taxes agreement.
H. 3390 — Provides that if the state is under a state of emergency, then no judicial proceeding or judicial sale may be held to foreclose on real property.
H. 3391 — Provides that the appraised value of real property may be increased only if the increase is reasonably supported by clear and convincing evidence.
H. 3392 — Reduces the sales tax rate to 3 percent.
H. 3393 — Enacts the "South Carolina Income Tax Act for Individuals, Trusts, and Estates".
H. 3396 — Authorizes the local governing body of a county or municipality to impose a community charge on nonprofit hospitals and institutions of higher learning.
H. 3400 — Requires all health insurance and group health benefit plans to cover hearing aids and replacement hearing aids for insureds with impaired hearing.
H. 3402 — Removes the existing Freedom of Information Act exemption for members of the General Assembly and their immediate staff.
H. 3403 — Prohibits the state and local governments from ordering the closure of any business.
H. 3404 — Prohibits the name of a candidate for President or Vice President of the United States be printed on a ballot in South Carolina unless there is shown conclusive evidence that the candidate is a natural born citizen of the United States.
H. 3405 — Prohibits the state and local governments from ordering the closure of public beaches and public beach access points.
H. 3409 — Creates a "Police Brutality Citizens Review Committee" in every county to investigate instances of alleged police brutality.
H. 3410 — Requires the notice of general, municipal, special, and primary elections to state that the process of examining the return-addressed envelopes containing absentee ballots may begin at 9:00 a.m. on the calendar day immediately preceding election day.
H. 3415 — Requires $150,000 limits for bodily injury resulting in death.
H. 3416 — Designates county Veterans' Affairs officers as county employees.
H. 3426 — Limits the circumstances in which a citizen may arrest.
H. 3431 — Increases the civil jurisdiction of magistrates court from $7,500 to $15,000.
H. 3434 — Memorializes the United States Congress to enact H.R 6422 or similar legislation to establish a national infrastructure bank to finance urgently needed infrastructure projects.
H. 3443 — Provides that after the elapse of at least 30 days following the declaration of an emergency by the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House may convene their respective bodies for the purpose of considering such declaration.
H. 3444 — Reconstitutes the State Election Commission and revise the commission's composition, powers, and duties.
H. 3452 — Increases the homestead property tax exemption amount from the $50,000 to the first $100,000 of the fair market value of the homestead.
H. 3457 — Creates the "Poverty Elimination Bank" to fund poverty reduction initiatives in South Carolina.
H. 3458 — 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. 3460 — Authorizes the governing body of a county or municipality to impose a one-time impact fee on a private developer for each new residential and commercial unit constructed by the developer within the county or municipality.
H. 3466 — Provides procedures through which a fire department that assumes the cost of training a firefighter may be reimbursed for these costs by other fire departments that subsequently hire the firefighter within a certain period of time.
H. 3469 — Enacts the "South Carolina Paid Sick Leave Act".
H. 3474 — Provides that no job application may include questions related to convictions of a crime, unless the crime for which he was convicted directly relates to the position of employment sought or the occupation for which the license is sought.
H. 3478 — Allows an individual income tax deduction for any overtime pay received pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
H. 3479 — Allows a $5,000 tax credit to any taxpayer that employs a formerly incarcerated individual as a full-time employee for one year.
H. 3480 — Provides that the minimum wage in this state is the greater value of either $13 or the minimum wage set by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
H. 3481 — Suspends Section 1-11-705(i)(2) for fiscal year 2020-2021 relating to a transfer of funds to the South Carolina retiree health insurance trust fund.
H. 3482 — Authorizes a county to establish an alternative payment schedule for installment payments of property tax.
H. 3483 — Requires that a local road use fee imposed by a county must be kept in a separate account to be used exclusively for the existing transportation system within the county.
H. 3486 — Allows that, in the event war, social unrest, contagious disease, epidemic, pandemic, natural disaster, or act of God renders it unsafe to the health and well-being of the members of the General Assembly to meet at the seat of government, at the determination of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, the members of the General Assembly may otherwise meet in annual session using remote and virtual technology.
H. 3489 — Limits the circumstances in which a citizen may arrest.
H. 3490 — Requires certain individuals present in the state of South Carolina to wear face coverings when in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
H. 3491 — Enacts the "Citizen and Taxpayer Protection Act".
H. 3493 — Creates the South Carolina Blockchain Voting Verification study committee to address utilizing blockchain technology to allow South Carolina voters to verify their votes.
H. 3495 — Enacts the "South Carolina Blockchain Industry Empowerment Act of 2021".
H. 3496 — Provides that a person is not allowed to vote in a partisan primary election or a partisan advisory referendum unless the person has registered as being a member of that party or is registered as an independent.
H. 3497 — Enacts the "Open for Business Act".
H. 3498 — Repeals Section 4, Article XI of the Constitution of South Carolina, 1895, relating to the prohibition against the state or its political subdivisions providing direct aid to religious or other private educational institutions.
H. 3505 — Provides that the infrastructure maintenance fee assessed against a vehicle or other item fee also applies to the first titling of a vehicle or other item.
H. 3506 — Provides that it is unlawful for a financial institution or governmental entity to discriminate against certain manufacturers and retailers of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition.
H. 3508 — Enacts the "Life Appropriation Act".
H. 3511 — Allows individuals to opt out of infectious or contagious disease vaccinations and to prohibit discrimination against individuals who exercise their right not to be vaccinated.
H. 3512 — Makes an abortion a criminal act during any trimester if the sole reason is that the unborn child has a fetal anomaly.
H. 3514 — Requires DHEC to promulgate regulations to establish maximum contaminant levels for certain pollutants in public water systems.
H. 3515 — Requires DHEC to promulgate regulations to establish maximum contaminant levels for certain pollutants in public water systems.
H. 3519 — Provides that any qualified elector of this state may vote by absentee ballot without being required to provide an excuse, justification, or reason.
H. 3520 — Prohibits a person from filing a statement of intention of candidacy if the person has an outstanding debt to the State Ethics Commission, the House of Representatives ethics committee, or the Senate ethics committee.
H. 3521 — Provides that an elected local, state, or federal public official whose office is declared vacant due to a criminal conviction during the official's term of office shall reimburse the appropriate state or local elections authority for the actual costs of holding the ensuing primary, runoff primary, or special election necessitated by the official's removal from office prior to the expiration of his term.
H. 3523 — Prohibits members of the General Assembly or candidates for the General Assembly from soliciting or accepting campaign contributions from a utility, company, corporation, entity, joint venture, or "person", as defined in Section 8-13-1300, who possesses or maintains an exclusive right to conduct its business, enterprise, operations, or activities statewide or within a geographically defined area or territory pursuant to an act of the General Assembly.
H. 3524 — Relates to the exemption of private, for-profit pipeline companies from certain rights, powers, and privileges of telegraph and telephone companies that otherwise are extended to pipeline companies, so as to extend the sunset provision to June 30, 2022.
H. 3525 — Enacts the "South Carolina Election Fraud Law Enforcement Act of 2021".
H. 3526 — Transfers the Governor's authority to issue proclamations of emergency authority to the General Assembly.
H. 3527 — Establishes provisions relating to petroleum pipelines.
H. 3528 — Enacts the "South Carolina Defend the Guard Act".
H. 3529 — Provides that candidates and committees may accept digital currency as contributions.
H. 3531 — Provides a procedure by which the sheriff may be elected in a nonpartisan election.
H. 3532 — Enacts the "South Carolina Net Neutrality Preservation Act".
H. 3534 — Permits the county board of voter registration and elections or other authority responsible for the conduct of the elections, in its discretion, to set the special election for the second succeeding Tuesday when the next succeeding Tuesday falls on a day that is widely observed or celebrated in the state even though it is not officially recognized as a state holiday.
H. 3535 — Provides that sales and use taxes or tolls also may be used to finance transportation services.
H. 3536 — Requires the South Carolina Emergency Management Division to ensure all emergency shelters opened during declared emergencies or evacuations are staffed and equipped with sufficient personnel and supplies to maintain continuous sheltering operations based on each shelter's maximum occupancy for the predicted duration of the emergency or evacuation period.
H. 3541 — Provides that the regulation of fires by the state forester does not apply to fires used for the preparation of food or fires used in appropriate enclosures.
H. 3551 — Provides that the provisions relating to the regulation of the ownership, transfer, or possession of firearms or ammunition and the public use and confiscation of firearms or ammunition also applies to the regulation of knives.
H. 3555 — Increases the period a voter may remain in the voting booth from three minutes to five minutes as provided elsewhere throughout Title 7.
H. 3557 — Increases the amount that may be earned without affecting the monthly retirement allowance from $10,000 to $65,000 for covered employment in the South Carolina Retirement System and the South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System.
H. 3558 — Repeals Chapter 6, Title 12 relating to the South Carolina Income Tax Act and repeals Chapter 8, Title 12 relating to income tax withholding.
H. 3559 — Enacts the "Partnership for Public Facilities and Infrastructure Act".
H. 3560 — Provides 12 weeks of paid family leave for state employees due to the birth or adoption of a son or daughter.
H. 3562 — Provides SLED shall establish use of force and traffic stop databases.
H. 3563 — Prohibits the destruction or deletion of data from a body-worn camera with the intent to alter or influence a criminal action, criminal investigation, internal police investigation, civil action, or potential civil action if notice is provided by the adverse party, or if litigation is reasonably anticipated.
H. 3565 — Enacts the "Law Enforcement Officers Helping Alleviate Lawful Obstruction – HALO Act".
H. 3568 — Enacts the "Personhood Act Of South Carolina".
H. 3570 — Enacts the "Red Flags Act".
H. 3571 — Decriminalizes possession of twenty-eight grams or one ounce or less of marijuana or ten grams or less of hashish and authorize law enforcement to issue a civil citation for possession of that same quantity of marijuana or hashish.
H. 3574 — Enacts the "Safe Water Act".
H. 3576 — Provides that any entity that is eligible to participate in the South Carolina Retirement System shall contract any required independent annual audits through the state auditor.
H. 3578 — Memorializes the Governor and acting director of DHEC to intensify efforts to restore the state's hospitality industry by prioritizing hospitality workers in COVID-19 testing and including hospitality workers in Phase 1a of this state's vaccine distribution plan.
H. 3579 — Adds, in addition to the written request of the sponsor, at least 50 percent of the committee or subcommittee, or 25 percent of the members of the House, also must request the committee or subcommittee take up the bills.