2020-2021

The budget conferees (Sens. Leatherman, Peeler, and Setzler; Reps. Murrell Smith, Bannister, and Hayes) met this week and reached a tentative agreement on the budget. Both chambers will meet on Monday, June 21st , in general session. There are several items that will require a super majority vote (3/5 vote) in the Senate to be included as a part of the final budget. Other items we have previously reported on may be adjusted depending on funding.

The House took up the budget bill (H. 4100) this week. The Senate met on Tuesday to take up conference committee reports and then met in perfunctory session on Wednesday. The House made several amendments to the bill and sent it back to the Senate. The Senate refused to concur with the House amendments, and the budget is now headed to a conference committee. The Senate conferees are Senators Leatherman, Peeler, and Setzler, while the House conferees are Representatives Murrell Smith, Bannister, and Hayes. No dates have been provided yet as to when the conference committee will meet.

The House Ways and Means Committee met this week to take up the budget bill (H. 4100) as amended by the Senate. The Committee made several changes along with some additional provisos that will be discussed below. Pursuant to the Sine Die Resolution (H.

The General Assembly concluded its regular session yesterday. Under their Sine Die Resolution (H. 4285), they will come back several times during the month of June to complete the budget, take up conference committee reports, Governor vetoes, and a few other specified matters. They will also come back in the fall to deal with redistricting. Several bills of interest passed the General Assembly. Those bills that did not pass still have a chance next year, as this is the first year of a two-year session. Several bills of interest will be discussed below.

The General Assembly continued to race through legislation as the session is quickly coming to a close. The House spent a considerable amount of time debating execution methods for inmates on death row, while the Senate spent most of the week debating an open carry gun bill. There are several bills of interest that moved that will be discussed.

The Senate passed the budget bill this week while the House continues to work to clear its calendar before the General Assembly adjourns on Thursday, May 13th. However, the House introduced a Sine Die Resolution this week (H. 4285). If the Sine Die Resolution is adopted by the Senate, the General Assembly will meet several times in the month of June to complete any unfinished work on the budget, take up conference reports, Governor vetoes, and a few other specified items. They will also likely meet in the fall to adopt redistricting plans.

The House continued to move bills along on their calendar this week, while the Senate spent most of the week debating what to do with Santee Cooper (see below). The Senate will begin debate on the budget on Tuesday of next week. We will discuss the budget as passed by the Senate Finance Committee as well as other bills of interest below.

After the mad rush to meet the crossover deadline of April 10th last week, the House calendar was rather light, while the Senate spent most of the week in committees working on the budget. Still, there was movement on a few bills of interest that will be discussed below.

Both chambers spent the majority of the week on the floor in order to give bills third reading to meet the crossover date of April 10th. Any bill that did not receive third reading in one chamber by yesterday is likely done for this session and will have to be taken up next year. There are several bills of interest that will be discussed below.

In observance of Good Friday, the Friday Report is being sent out today. The House was on furlough this week, while the Senate met on Tuesday and Wednesday. Next week is crossover,  which means bills that do not pass from one chamber to the other by April 10^th  will likely not pass this session. The Senate moved several bills of interest that will be discussed below.