House Bills - January 12, 2024

H. 4534 (Reps. Beach, Trantham and Pope) — Adds Section 12-6-1172 to provide for a first responder retirement income deduction and provides an income tax deduction for certain surviving spouses of first responders.

H. 4535 (Reps. Beach and Trantham) — Enacts the "Safety in Private Spaces Act", by adding Chapter 79 to Title 39 to provide that a covered entity that maintains a water closet or changing facility must have facilities for the exclusive use of males and facilities for the exclusive use of females or a unisex facility.

H. 4543 (Reps. Haddon, McCravy, Trantham, Magnuson, Guffey and Taylor) — Adds Section 27-1-80 to provide that certain companies owned, in whole or in part, by the People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party may not own, lease, possess, or exercise any control over any real estate in this State.

H. 4544 (Reps. W. Jones, Clyburn and Taylor) — Enacts the "Religious Institutions Affordable Housing Act" by adding Section 31-1-60 to provide that a religious organization may build certain affordable housing and maintain its property tax-exempt status.

H. 4546 (Reps. Magnuson, A.M. Morgan, May, Beach, Burns, Chumley, Cromer, S. Jones, Kilmartin, Harris, McCabe, T.A. Morgan, O'Neal, Oremus, Pace, Trantham and White) — Enacts the "No Open-Ended Powers of Emergency (NOPE) Act" by amending Section 25-1-440, relating to the additional powers and duties of the Governor during a declared emergency, to provide that the Governor shall justify the conditions which lead to the public health emergency.

H. 4547 (Reps. B. Newton, Dillard, Hyde and Henegan) — Extends the provisions of the South Carolina Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act, as contained in Chapter 67, Title 12 of the S.C. Code, until December 31, 2035.

H. 4549 (Reps. Pedalino, Guffey and Taylor) — Enacts the "Amateur Radio Antenna Protection Act" by adding Section 4-1-190 to provide that a county may not enact or enforce certain ordinances that do not conform to the amateur radio preemption.

H. 4552 (Reps. Pendarvis, Clyburn and Henegan) — Amends Section 31-12-30, relating to redevelopment of federal military installations definitions, to provide that a redevelopment project includes certain affordable housing projects.

H. 4554 (Rep. Rutherford) — Amends Section 12-43-220, relating to assessment ratios on residential property, to allow a taxpayer's spouse to claim the four percent assessment ratio on a residential property.

H. 4555 (Reps. Rutherford, King, Rivers, J.L. Johnson, Clyburn and Henegan) — Amends Section 53-5-10, relating to state legal holidays, to provide the 19th day of June - Juneteenth is a state legal holiday.

H. 4559 (Reps. Bernstein, Rose and Clyburn) — Amends Section 62-3-108, relating to probate, testacy, and appointment proceedings and the ultimate time limit, to allow appropriate appointment proceedings regarding an individual's estate for the sole purpose of allowing a claim to be made pursuant to the "Honoring Our Pact Act of 2022" regardless of the date of that individual's death.

H. 4561 (Reps. Wetmore, Dillard, Collins, Erickson, B. Newton, Schuessler, J.L. Johnson, Pope, Clyburn and Henegan) — Amends Section 8-13-1348, relating to use of campaign funds for personal expenses, to allow a candidate or public official to use campaign funds for dependent care of an immediate family member in certain circumstances and to define "dependent care".

H. 4563 (Reps. Bernstein, J.L. Johnson and Clyburn) — Adds Section 6-11-345 to clarify the power of special purpose districts to own, acquire, purchase, hold, use, lease, convey, sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of property in furtherance of certain functions.

H. 4564 (Rep. Chumley) — Places a moratorium on the enforcement of architectural review ordinances for commercial properties until July 1, 2026.

H. 4566 (Reps. B. L. Cox and Clyburn) — Amends Section 8-15-80, relating to COVID-19 vaccinations for first responders, to include county and municipal public works employees who may be deployed in emergencies, who are paid from public funds.

H. 4567 (Rep. Crawford) — Amends Section 38-7-20, relating to the allocation of insurance premium taxes, to direct 25% to the South Carolina Office of Resilience for specific purposes.

H. 4568 (Reps. Cromer, Trantham, Magnuson and Guffey) — Amends Section 4-9-35, relating to county public library system boards of trustees, to provide trustees may be removed by a two-thirds vote of county council members present and voting.

H. 4573 (Reps. Hewitt and Clyburn) — Enacts the "Private Property Protection Act of 2024" by adding Section 6-1-195 to prohibit a governing body of a municipality, county, or other political subdivision of the State from enacting or enforcing an ordinance, resolution, or regulation that prohibits the rental of a residential dwelling to a short-term guest.

H. 4576 (Reps. J. E. Johnson and Pope) — Enacts the "Prosecutors Personal Privacy Protection Act" by adding Article 9 to Chapter 2, Title 30, to provide current and former prosecutors have the option of making personal contact information held by state or local governments confidential and not subject to disclosure.

H. 4579 (Rep. McDaniel) — Amends Section 11-7-20, relating to annual audits of state agencies and other publicly funded entities by the state auditor, to provide the state auditor also shall annually audit each county, county agency and office, municipality, municipal agency and office, judicial office, and school district.

H. 4585 (Reps. Trantham and McCravy) — Amends Section 2-17-15, relating to prohibitions on public officials and their immediate family members from serving as lobbyists, to increase the waiting period for eligibility from one year to two years.

H. 4586 (Reps. Wooten, Carter, J.L. Johnson and Guffey) — Enacts the "Private Landowner Protection Act"; by adding Section 5-3-275 to provide counties may de-annex areas of existing municipality corporate limits pursuant to certain provisions.

H. 4588 (Reps. Beach, Cromer, Thayer, Gagnon, West, Trantham, Guffey and Chapman) — Amends Section 7-5-320, relating to change of address forms submitted for purposes of a driver's license also serving as notification of change of address for voter registration purposes, to clarify that this section applies to any change of address submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles regardless of form.

H. 4590 (Reps. G.M. Smith, B. Newton, Carter, J.L. Johnson, Pope, Clyburn, Henegan and Taylor) — Amends Section 7-13-25, relating to early voting, to extend the hours of operation of early voting centers.

H. 4591 (Rep. Taylor) — Adds Section 7-13-870 to prohibit the use of ranked choice voting or instant runoff ballots in the conduct of elections in this State.

H. 4592 (Rep. Gilliard) — Amends Section 7-13-190, relating to special elections to fill vacancies in office, to eliminate runoffs for special primary elections.

H. 4594 (Reps. Ballentine, Pope and Clyburn) — Amends Section 12-6-40, relating to application of Federal Internal Revenue Code to state tax laws, to provide that if the Internal Revenue Code sections adopted by this State are extended, then these sections also are extended for South Carolina income tax purposes.

H. 4595 (Reps. Blackwell and Pope) — Amends Section 12-6-40, relating to application of Federal Internal Revenue Code to state tax laws, to provide that if the Internal Revenue Code sections adopted by this State are extended, then these sections also are extended for South Carolina income tax purposes.

H. 4596 (Reps. Guffey and Pope) — Adds Section 1-11-499 to require all agencies and departments of the State and its political subdivisions to prohibit the electronic devices it manages from accessing and using websites and applications that threaten cybersecurity and infrastructure from foreign and domestic threats, such as TikTok.

H. 4597 (Rep. McDaniel) — Adds Section 1-6-37 to authorize the State Inspector General to investigate a county, municipality, or nonprofit entity that receives state funds, and to specify the manner in which investigations may be initiated.

H. 4599 (Reps. B. Newton, Pope and Guffey) — Amends Section 51-23-20, relating to allocation of proceeds of the Parks and Recreation Fund, to increase the amount that must be credited to each county.

H. 4602 (Reps. Hardee, Carter and Clyburn) — Adds Section 17-22-915 to allow for expungement of first offense nonviolent offenses and drug treatment court offenses after certain time periods without pending charges or additional convictions.

H. 4607 (Reps. Guffey, Pope and Chapman) — Adds Section 16-15-450, to provide SLED shall develop and manage a statewide sexual extortion investigation and outcome database.

H. 4609 (Rep. Hixon) — Amends Section 56-2-105, relating to golf cart permits and the operation of golf carts, to provide certain municipalities and counties may enact ordinances to allow golf carts to operate in designated areas within their jurisdictions at night.

H. 4610 (Reps. Hixon, Carter, Clyburn and Guffey) — Amends Section 57-5-70, relating to highway transfers to the state highway system, to provide the Department of Transportation must properly maintain roads transferred into the state highway system.

H. 4613 (Rep. Jefferson) — Amends Section 56-5-1520, relating to general rules as to maximum speed limits, to provide an honorably discharged United States Military Veteran must be issued a warning ticket for a first-offense speeding violation.

H. 4617 (Reps. Hixon, Davis, M.M. Smith, Bannister, Pope, Wooten, Haddon, Brewer, Burns, Thayer, Kirby, Oremus, Hager, Hyde, Sessions, Carter, McDaniel, Magnuson, Hayes, W. Newton, Bauer, Trantham, J.L. Johnson, Henegan, Guffey and Chapman) — Amends Section 44-53-230, relating to Schedule III controlled substances, to add xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance, with exceptions.

H. 4618 (Reps. King, Cobb-Hunter and J.L. Johnson) — Amends Section 63-17-70, relating to paternity court orders, to require the order to facilitate the correction of paternity references on the birth certificate if the putative father is determined not to be the father of the child.

H. 4620 (Reps. Robbins, Carter, Cobb-Hunter, Trantham, Pope and Guffey) — Amends Section 63-3-820, relating to qualifications to serve as a guardian ad litem in private family court cases, to require a criminal history background check to serve as a guardian ad litem.

H. 4625 (Reps. Taylor and Pope) — Enacts the "Faithful Constitutional Convention Commissioners Act" by adding Section 1-1-1520 to establish offenses for certain acts related to the duties and authority of commissioners to an Article V convention for proposing constitutional amendments.

H. 4627 (Reps. Bernstein and Henegan) — Adds Section 56-7-85 to provide motor vehicle and motorcycle owners may be charged with violating local ordinances that restrict the production of excessive noise by a motor vehicle or motorcycle when their vehicles violate the ordinances.

H. 4628 (Reps. Henderson-Myers and Henegan) — Adds Chapter 56 to Title 46 to regulate the sale and distribution of products containing hemp-derived cannabinoid.

H. 4640 (Reps. Gilliam and Pope) — Amends Section 25-11-40, relating to county veterans' affairs officers, to provide that the Secretary of the South Carolina Department of Veterans' Affairs shall appoint one county veterans' affairs officer for each county in the state and to provide that the General Assembly shall appropriate the necessary funds for two-full time employees in each county veterans' affairs office.

H. 4643 (Reps. Oremus, Magnuson and Nutt) — Enacting the "Taxpayer Transparency Act" by adding Article 15 to Chapter 9, Title 4, to provide that a county council shall develop and make publicly available a searchable budget database website.

H. 4644 (Reps. Oremus and Nutt) — Amends Section 12-37-220, relating to property tax exemptions, to provide for a property tax exemption for certain church property being used for the instruction of children from preschool to twelfth grade.

H. 4646 (Reps. M.M. Smith and Carter) — Enacts the "First Responders Communication Act" by adding Section 8-15-90 to provide that a public employee may not be prohibited from communicating with an elected public official for any job-related purpose.

H. 4647 (Reps. Cromer and White) — Adds Section 8-13-1123 to require the public official to file a statement of economic interests and provide the additional information to the State Ethics Commission for three years after the public official ceases service in public office.

H. 4648 (Rep. Cromer) — Adds Section 8-13-701 to prohibit a public official and family members of a public official from receiving any financial gain resulting from any governmental matter or business.

H. 4649 (Reps. Bannister and Carter) — Amends Section 40-18-140, relating to exceptions from private security and investigation agency licensure requirements, to clarify that public school districts are excluded from these requirements.

H. 4650 (Rep. Forrest) — A joint resolution to encourage the use of natural gas, liquid natural gas, propane, and butane as electric generation resources and to deem these resources as "Green Energy" resources.

H. 4651 (Rep. Beach) — Enacts the "Annexation Fairness Act"; by adding Section 5-3-95 to provide the governing body of the county has legal standing to challenge an annexation/deannexation by a municipality in the appropriate jurisdiction and to seek appropriate relief.

H. 4652 (Reps. Burns and Nutt) — Adds Section 6-1-200 to provide certain local planning and permitting entities shall review and render decisions on applications for building permits, certificates of occupancy, zoning variances and appeals, or other licenses within 45 calendar days after submission or the application must be deemed approved.

H. 4659 (Rep. McGinnis) — Amends Section 6-1-930, relating to developmental impact fees, to provide a municipality, a county, or both, respectively may impose an impact fee that applies only to residential developments, only to commercial developments, or both.

H. 4661 (Rep. Pace and Magnuson) — Adds Section 6-1-200 to provide that a referendum on a proposal by a political subdivision or school district to, among other things, incur general obligation debt or levy taxes or fees must be held at the time of a statewide general election in November of an even-numbered year.

H. 4663 (Reps. Beach, Mitchell, Guffey, B.L. Cox, Lawson and Nutt) — Adds Article 27 to Chapter 1, Title 1 to prohibit every office, division, or other unit by any name of every office or department of this state, and all of its political subdivisions, including all institutions of higher learning and school districts, from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

H. 4664 (Rep. Cromer) — Adds Section 11-1-130 to require the state to ensure a business will give South Carolina residents priority in employment before offering economic incentives to recruit the business to this state.

H. 4666 (Reps. Magnuson, Trantham, S. Jones and Guffey) — Enacts the "Save Our Property Act" by adding section 12-45-440 to authorize an assessor to defer property taxes until the next year on certain residential or agricultural property if an applicant's income is less than a certain percentage of the county median income.

H. 4668 (Rep. S. Jones) — Amends Section 17-15-30, relating to bond and matters to be considered in determining conditions of release, to require a circuit court judge to set or deny bond and determine conditions of release of persons charged with crimes that carry maximum sentences of three years or more and who are suspected of being illegal aliens.

H. 4670 (Rep. S. Jones) — Amends Section 44-23-430, relating to hearings on a person's fitness to stand trial, to require the circuit court to order inpatient treatment of persons determined unfit to stand trial in certain circumstances.

H. 4679 (Reps. Pope and Chapman) — Amends Section 24-13-40, relating to the computation of time served by prisoners, to delete the provision that allows prisoners to use time spent under monitored house arrest against their sentence when computing time served by a prisoner.

H. 4680 (Reps. M.M. Smith and Henegan) — Amends Section 23-9-197, relating to the Firefighter Cancer Health Care Benefit Plan, to revise the definition of the term "firefighter" to provide the term includes certain nonresidents of this state.

H. 4681 (Reps. M.M. Smith, Henegan and Chapman) — Amends Section 23-1-230, relating to the First Responders Advisory Committee, to increase the number of committee members from nine to ten by adding a person who represents the South Carolina Coroners' Association as a member.

H. 4682 (Rep. White) — Adds Section 16-11-765 to provide it is unlawful to park vehicles in the right of way of highways maintained by governmental authorities under certain circumstances.

H. 4685 (Rep. Bustos) — Adds Section 44-1-320 to prohibit the construction or installation of septic tanks within a certain proximity to waterways or the coast of South Carolina.

H. 4686 (Reps. Bustos and Chapman) — Adds Section 48-6-90 to require the Department of Environmental Services to promulgate regulations prohibiting the discharge of certain chemicals into the state's waterways and drinking water supplies.

H. 4687 (Reps. Dillard and Henegan) — Amends Section 63-7-40, relating to infant safe havens, to allow for the use of newborn safety devices.

H. 4696 (Reps. Guffey and Pope) — Adds Chapter 31 to Title 37 to provide that a governmental entity may not communicate with a social media platform in certain instances.

H. 4697 (Reps. Kilmartin and Pope) — Adds Section 12-6-1172 to exempt the retirement income of first responders, law enforcement officers, and teachers.

H. 4699 (Reps. Magnuson, Pace, Cromer, A.M. Morgan, May, Beach, Burns, Chumley, Harris, S. Jones, Kilmartin, McCabe, T.A. Morgan, O'Neal, Oremus, Trantham, White, Guffey and Nutt) — Adds Section 11-1-130 to provide that the state or any political subdivisions may not offer incentives or subsidies to certain companies that engage in the promotion of environmental, social, or governance objectives.

H. 4711 (Reps. Guffey and Pope) — Amends Section 7-25-180, relating to unlawful distribution of campaign literature, to declare unlawful certain other conduct within the proximity of an entrance to a polling place or early voting location.

H. 4712 (Reps. Ott, Atkinson, Henegan and Guffey) — Adds Section 57-23-810 to provide that it is unlawful to deposit yard debris on to a public highway.

H. 4713 (Reps. A.M. Morgan and Magnuson) — Adds Section 2-17-55 to prohibit the use of public funds to contract with a person whose activities include lobbying.

H. 4714 (Rep. Oremus) — Adds Section 4-9-200 to provide that any increase in property taxes must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the county council and to provide for public access to the meetings.

H. 4715 (Reps. Ott, Pope and Henegan) — Amends Section 25-11-45, relating to county veterans' affairs offices, to require the General Assembly to appropriate monies to pay the full salary and fringe benefits of the county veterans' affairs officer.

H. 4716 (Rep. Henderson-Myers) — Amends Section 17-30-30, relating to the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications by employees of the Federal Communications Commission and by persons acting under color or law or otherwise, to provide interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications by persons is lawful if all parties consent prior to the interception.

H. 4719 (Reps. Henderson-Myers and Henegan) — Adds Section 23-23-165 to provide the law enforcement training council shall develop a minimum set of standards that a state or local law enforcement agency must follow when establishing and implementing a mediation program as an alternate method of resolving law enforcement misconduct complaints.

H. 4720 (Rep. Bannister) — A joint Resolution to provide for the continuing authority to pay the expenses of state government if the 2024-2025 fiscal year begins without a General Appropriations Act for that year in effect, and to provide exceptions.

H. 4750 (Reps. Herbkersman, Erickson, W. Newton, Stavrinakis, Bradley and Rivers) — A House resolution request the Honorable Henry D. McMaster, governor of the state of South Carolina, declare an economic disaster of the domestic shrimping industry and request a fishery resource disaster determination be made by the United States Secretary of Commerce, pursuant to the Fishery Disaster Improvement Act.

H. 4785 (Rep. May) — A House resolution to urge the South Carolina Supreme Court to consider amending its rules to permit military veterans who reside in South Carolina but are licensed to practice law in another state to become members of the South Carolina bar without the necessity of taking a bar exam while protecting the integrity of bar admissions.

H. 4809 (Rep. May) — Adds Section 15-1-315 to provide that any person may enter and remove a minor, vulnerable adult, or an animal from a motor vehicle if the minor, vulnerable adult, or animal is experiencing a life threatening or extreme health threatening situation, and to provide that a person who removes a minor, vulnerable adult, or an animal pursuant to this section is immune from criminal and civil liability.

H. 4811 (Rep. Beach) — Adds Section 12-6-1230 to provide that overtime income is exempt from certain taxes.

H. 4813 (Reps. Wooten and W. Newton) — Amends Section 23-23-60, relating to certificates of compliance issued by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council, to provide individuals seeking certification must undergo criminal records check.

H. 4825 (Reps. McDaniel, Henegan, Gilliard, Hosey, Henderson-Myers, Thigpen, Bauer, Garvin, J. Moore, White, Jefferson, King, Cobb-Hunter, Rivers, Williams and Clyburn) — A joint resolution to direct the Department of Administration to conduct a study to determine the number of state employees whose income level qualifies the state employee to receive public assistance funds from the State.

H. 4832 (Reps. Hardee and Sandifer) — Enacts the "Paid Family Leave Insurance Act" by adding Chapter 103 to Title 38 to define terms, establish family leave benefits, outline requirements of family leave insurance policies, and provide exclusions.

H. 4834 (Reps. McCabe, Haddon, May, Burns and Forrest) — Amends Section 48-14-40, relating to certain land-disturbing activities exempt from provisions of Chapter 14, Title 48, to include agricultural structures used to house livestock, poultry, crops, or other agricultural products, material or equipment, as well as other types of agricultural structures of one or more acres under certain circumstances.

H. 4835 (Reps. McCabe, Haddon, May, Burns and Forrest) — Amends Section 40-11-360, relating to exemptions from contractor licensing requirements for owners constructing farm buildings or portable storage buildings with less than 5,000 square feet of floor space used only for livestock or storage, to increase the square footage limitation to 50,000 square feet and to include poultry among the qualifying use purposes.