Legislative Update
April 26, 2022
Vol. 39, No. 15

South Carolina House of Representatives
James H. "Jay" Lucas, Speaker of the House

OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND CONSTITUENT SERVICES
Room 212, Blatt Building, P.O. Box 11867, Columbia, S.C. 29211, (803) 734-3230


CONTENTS

House Floor Review

Committees

Introduced Bills


House Floor Review

The House gave second reading to H.4568, Chemically Induced Abortion Reversal Medical Information, and it was ordered to third reading. If enacted, this proposed legislation would require a medical disclosure of specific effectiveness information to anyone seeking a mifepristone or misoprostol induced abortion, including, but not limited to a Plan B or a "morning after pill," with a few stated exceptions.

The Senate amended, then returned to the House, H.4919, an absentee ballot and other comprehensive voting reforms proposal. This bill would, among other things, establish Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. early voting in South Carolina for the two weeks preceding any general election, and enact various other voting reforms as well. A county's population and square mileage would determine the number of early voting locations to be established. After receiving the proposed Senate amendments to this bill, it was referred back to the House Judiciary Committee.

The House sent H.5183, the Transparency and Integrity in Education Act, to the Senate. H. 5183 consists of three distinct concepts--a statement of legislative intent, a guide for non-biased instruction citing prohibited concepts that may not be included or promoted in the course of instruction in curriculum but also encourages a broad scope of history, and lastly, a uniform complaint process.

Legislative Intent

This section posits that South Carolina should have a fair and open education system where students, parents, educators, and the community are valued and included.

Students should have a positive learning environment that is welcoming, supportive and respectful.

South Carolina is fortunate to have teachers and administrators who strive to provide the best educational opportunity possible to students and parents.

Standards should be fair and well written to ensure a complete history of the state, nation, and world.

Ideological and viewpoint biases are not appropriate.

Students, parents, teachers, administrators, and communities should work together to support schools.

Parents are encouraged, but not required, to sign a "Pledge of Parental Expectations."

Instruction

Instruction should be non-biased and include a broad scope of history:

Instructional material and professional development should not promote that one race, sex, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is superior, inherently privileged, or determines moral character. Moreover, those traits should not cause the assignment of fault or bias to an individual or group.

Students and teachers cannot be required to attend gender or sexual diversity training unless it is part of a corrective action plan mandated by the district.

Districts are allowed to teach state academic standards, including concepts such the history of an ethnic group, the impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history, and the impartial instruction of the historical oppression of a group of people based on race, ethnicity, and other characteristics.

SDE must create and make model lesson plans accessible to districts.

Complaints and Appeals

The State Department of Education must create a complaint policy and process for districts to use.

Districts must report information regarding complaints to the General Assembly.

If a complaint cannot be resolved locally, an appeal can be made to the State Board for a final determination. If the district violates the law, it must work with SDE on a corrective action plan.

The Department may withhold funds from a district if it fails to adhere to the corrective action plan.

Extra time is added for review of instructional materials.

The House amended the bill to further strengthen and protect the procedures for corrective action if a LEA violates the Act, partly among them: no preliminary information gathered by the Department concerning misconduct reasonably believed to constitute grounds for disciplinary action, including the name and certificate number of the certified educator, may be disclosed to any third party.

In an effort to stem the tide of inappropriate materials, the House further amended the bill to hold that a "school may not accept teaching materials or technology which contains an application, link, or other access to pornographic or other prohibited materials. A school district that receives such materials must receive disciplinary action as stated in the complaint process."

One amendment expanded the range of materials subject to this Act, while the final adopted amendment prohibited the instruction or instructional materials that create a narrative that the United States was founded for the purpose of oppression, that the American Revolution was fought for the purpose of protecting oppression or that United States history is a story defined by oppression.

The House made appointments to a conference committee to address its differences with the Senate on S.1090, relating to the Department of Employment and Workforce's authority to set a weekly maximum amount of unemployment benefits.

The House recalled S.236 pooling city election precincts from the House Judiciary Committee. City election precincts could be pooled under this proposal, so long as the pooled precincts do not exceed three thousand voters. This new amount represents an increase from the former one thousand five hundred voters limit. In addition, these pooled municipal polling places could not be more than five miles, up from three miles, from the nearest part of any pooled precinct, if this legislation becomes law. It is now on the House calendar for consideration.

The House gave third reading and returned to the Senate with amendments S.227, a bill that enacts the "Massage Therapy Practice Act." Among many things, this bill updates and strengthens the licensure requirements for massage therapists. The bill adds an option of a completed approved program in place of a high school diploma or GED. "Massage therapy" means the application of a system of structured touch to the soft tissues of the human body with the hand, foot, knee, arm, or elbow, whether or not the structured touch is aided by hydrotherapy, thermal therapy, a massage therapy device, or application to the human body of an herbal preparation. Massage therapy includes, but is not limited to, bodywork modalities as approved by the board. The bill increases the massage therapy required educational hours and also requires passing the Federation of State Massage Therapy Board (FSMTB) or any other board-approved examination. No person shall use the words "massage therapy," "bodywork therapy," "massage-bodywork therapist," "massage therapist" (MT), "bodywork therapist," "massage or licensed massage therapist" (LMT) or any other words identified by the board in regulation unless the person is licensed. The bill requires a state criminal history records check, supported by fingerprints, by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and a national criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bill outlines disciplinary actions if licensee is considered not to be in compliance. In addition, the bill replaces the Panel for Massage/Bodywork with the Board of Massage Therapy under the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

The House gave third reading and returned to the Senate with amendments S.1059, a bill that adds intermediate care facilities for persons with intellectual disability and nursing homes to the list of facilities authorized to allow unlicensed persons with documented medication training and skill competency evaluation. The bill also adds that for nursing homes only, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) shall develop a Medication Technician Certification Program. The program should include standards not limited to curriculum, training and competence and testing certification requirements. As a result, DHHS is to create and maintain a Medication Technician Registry.

The House gave third reading and returned to the Senate with amendments S.506, a bill that allows home based food production operations to sell online and mail order or to retail stores including grocery stores. The bill expands the types of non-potentially hazardous foods that may be sold to include non-potentially hazardous foods. A home-based food production operation does not include preparing, processing, packaging, storing, or distributing low-acid canned goods or charcuterie boards. Any retail stores, including grocery stores, that sell or offer to sell home-based food products must post clearly visible signage indicating that home-based food products are not subject to commercial food regulations.

The House concurred in Senate amendments to H.3606 and enrolled the bill for ratification. The legislation provides clarification on what sort of decks can be built by homeowners and what other kinds of improvements to residential property can be undertaken by owners for their homes without becoming subject to requirements for obtaining building permits, inspections, and licensure. The legislation also revises residential specialty contractor provisions including: increasing the minimum value threshold for repairs, improvements, and other undertakings from two hundred to five hundred dollars; adding solar panel installers to the listed areas of contracting; and, establishing provisions prohibiting residential specialty contractors from undertaking work outside the scope of their licenses or registrations, including employing, hiring, and contracting or subcontracting with others to perform such work on their behalf.

The House did not concur in Senate amendments to H.3729, a bill addressing charges for storing towed vehicles.

Committees

Education and Public Works

The committee on Education and Public Works met April 28 and passed one bill.

The Committee recommends to the House S.615 regarding interscholastic activities with a subcommittee amendment. The bill relates to nonpublic school student participation in the interscholastic activities of public schools and would provide limited situations in which high school students who attend private schools may participate in high school league sports offered at public high schools.

Judiciary

The full House Judiciary Committee met and issued favorable reports, with proposed amendments, on the following Senate bills it was referred:

S.133 Convention of States. This bill calls for making an application to the Congress of the United States to call a Convention of the States. Its stated purpose is for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution that would be limited to proposing amendments that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and members of Congress. Also contains reservations, understandings, and declarations limiting this application. It spells out proposed selection criteria for delegates to this convention as well as limitations upon their authority.

S.202 Inspector General Reforms and Updates, a proposal to update the definition of "agency" for the State Inspector General. It would be expanded to include public schools, public school districts, public charter schools, public charter school authorizers, and any voluntary association that establishes and enforces bylaws or rules for interscholastic sports competition for public secondary schools in South Carolina. It would not include quasi-judicial bodies or political subdivisions, unless the political subdivisions are specifically enumerated elsewhere in this code section.

S.243 SCDSS Report Information Availability. Information in SCDSS unfounded child abuse and neglect reports, about child fatalities or near fatalities, could be released under this bill.

S.560 Heirs' Property Study Committee. This recommended Heirs' Property Study Committee would examine current and prospective methods for addressing heirs' property issues and related costs in South Carolina. This bill sets out proposed membership, the report it would submit to the General Assembly, and the timing of its dissolution.

S.906 Exploitation and Undue Influence per the Omnibus Adult Protection. The definition of "exploitation" under the Omnibus Adult Protection Act would include the exercise of extreme undue influence over, coercive persuasion of, or psychologically damaging manipulation of a vulnerable adult, if this proposal is enacted. It would also add a statutory definition for "undue influence" to cover excessive persuasion that causes a vulnerable adult to act or refrain from acting by overcoming the vulnerable adult's free will, and that results in inequity. This definition would be utilized under a specific set of circumstances set forth in this proposed legislation.

S.1025 Legal Representatives Who Can Obtain Birth Certificates. This bill would allow certified copies of birth certificates to be issued to legal representatives, which would include legal custodians, SCDSS, caregivers or kinship caregivers, attorneys, other state agency directors, or school district liaisons to the homeless. It also seeks to modify procedures to get copies of birth certificates.

S.1031 Minimum Qualifications for Registers of Deeds. This bill sets out qualifications for candidates to be eligible to become a register of deeds, including, but not limited to, being a citizen of the United States and of South Carolina; a qualified elector in the applicable county; and possessing a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited post-secondary institution, or at least four years' experience in the fields of law, real estate, or accounting, or as an employee in a register of deeds office in South Carolina, or as a register of deeds in South Carolina, It also amends existing law to require the Register of Deeds to process recorded documents within thirty days of them being filed in their offices.

S.1092 Minimum Age for Corrections Officers. The Criminal Justice Academy, and the Law Enforcement Training Council, would have to ensure that detention and correctional officer candidates in South Carolina are at least eighteen years old, rather than twenty-one years old, if this bill is enacted.

Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs

The Medical, Military Public and Municipal Affairs Committee met on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, and reported out several bills.

S.628, a bill that enacts the "Pharmacy Access Act," was given a favorable report with amendment recommendation by the Committee. This bill allows a pharmacist to dispense a self-administered hormonal contraceptive or administer an injectable hormonal contraceptive in accordance with a standing prescription drug order by a prescriber to a patient who is eighteen years of age or older or someone under eighteen year's old who has evidence of a previous contraceptive prescription. "Injectable hormonal contraceptive" means a drug composed of a hormone or a combination of hormones that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent pregnancy and that a practitioner administers to a patient by injection. "Injectable hormonal contraceptive" does not include any drug intended to terminate a pregnancy. Among many things, the bill outlines that the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Pharmacy must issue a written joint protocol to authorize a pharmacist to dispense a self-administered hormonal contraceptive. The bill reduces the pharmacist hormonal contraceptive continuing education requirement from three hours to one hour. It also provides limited liability protection from civil or criminal liability if pharmacist acts in accordance with these provisions.

This bill also states that an originating pharmacy may outsource a prescription drug order filling to a central fill pharmacy under certain conditions. The bill provides guidelines for a central fill pharmacy. "Central fill pharmacy" means a permitted pharmacy facility that, upon the request of an originating pharmacy, fills a prescription drug order and returns the filled prescription to the originating pharmacy for delivery to the patient.

The Committee gave a favorable with amendment report to S.1011, a bill that enacts the "South Carolina Parkinson's Disease Research Collection Act." The bill directs MUSC to establish a database for the collection and dissemination of information on the incidence of Parkinson's disease and related Parkinson's disorders. The bill requires all Parkinson's disease diagnosed or treated to be reported to MUSC. The database must include information regarding medical and nonmedical treatment and that the database may be shared with other states, Parkinson's disease registries, or Federal disease control agencies.

The committee gave a favorable with amendment report to S. 613, a bill that updates the requirements for delegating certain nursing tasks to an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) and makes it clear that a physician assistant may delegate these tasks to a UAP. Among many things, the bill defines a category of unlicensed medical staff - the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA). The bill also outlines that the unlicensed assistive personnel must not administer medications except as provided by law. The bill provides that medical assistants employed at the time of the passage of this act may continue to work but must become certified within two years of the act's effective date to continue to work in the role of a CMA. The limitation on specific tasks that may be delegated to a CMA applies when the delegation is done by a PA or an APRN.

The committee gave a favorable report (in addition an unfavorable minority report was submitted) to S.1136, a bill that establishes the "Audiology and Speech-Language Interstate Compact Act". The purpose of this compact is to facilitate interstate practice of audiology and speech-language pathology with the goal of improving public access to the services. Among many things, this bill sets minimum education and training requirements for audiologist and speech language pathologist in member states. In addition, a participating licensee must have a current unrestricted license to practice in home state and must have no history of disciplinary actions or criminal records that violates the rules of the compact. The bill adds that the Department shall require a national criminal records check, supported by fingerprints, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

S.1179, a bill dealing with social workers providing behavioral telehealth, was given a favorable recommendation by the committee. This bill allows a person who is licensed in another state to provide clinical practice social work, professional counseling, addiction counseling, marriage and family therapy, or licensed psycho educational specialist services to register with the SC Board of Social Work Examiners or the SC Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Psycho-Educational Specialists to provide behavioral telehealth services to clients in South Carolina. Behavioral telehealth provider must practice in a manner consistent with his scope of practice and the prevailing professional standard of practice for these services when provided in-person. In addition, each board will be required to publish on its website a list of all registrants. A behavioral telehealth registrant's website must prominently display a hyperlink to the appropriate board's website containing a list of out-of-state behavioral telehealth registrants. Disciplinary action against an out of state registrant maybe taken under certain conditions.

The Committee gave a favorable with amendment to S.968, a bill that establishes the "Veterans Service Organization Burial Honor Guard Support Fund." The fund helps to offset the costs paid by South Carolina chapters of Congressionally chartered veterans service organizations that provide well-equipped and properly trained honor guard burial details at the funerals of qualifying South Carolina veterans. The bill requires the Secretary of the South Carolina Department of Veteran Affairs to authorize a disbursement from the fund, not exceeding the per funeral cap established annually by the secretary. The fund may accept gifts, grants, federal funds, or donations from any source, as well as appropriated funds by the General Assembly. The bill also outlines that the disbursement from the burial fund be not less than one hundred dollars per funeral.

Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee

The House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee met on Thursday, April 28, and reported out several bills.

The Committee gave a report of favorable with amendments on S.533, a joint resolution prohibiting the payment of subminimum wages to individuals with disabilities. The resolution provides that employers, community rehabilitation programs, and hospital patient care workers at regional centers shall not use a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to pay disabled employees a subminimum wage. No individual with a disability may be paid less than the federal minimum wage. The Department of Disabilities and Special Needs is required to submit an annual report to the General Assembly concerning the payment of a subminimum wage in South Carolina. The legislation establishes a South Carolina Task Force on Eliminating the Subminimum Wage charged with identifying and developing protections for disabled subminimum wage employees to maintain competitive employment while phasing out the use of the subminimum wage by August 1, 2024.

The Committee gave a favorable report on S.812, a bill revising various provisions governing the practice of certified public accountants. Most of the revisions align the state's practice act with national CPA organization rules and regulations as a means of ensuring that South Carolina is not placed at a competitive disadvantage.

The committee gave a favorable report on S.908, a bill disallowing the driving of certain modified vehicles including the modifications commonly referred to as the "Carolina Squat" or the "California Lean." The legislation makes it unlawful to drive a passenger motor vehicle, including a pickup truck, on the highways of this state that has been altered so that the height of the front fender is raised or lowered four or more inches above or below the height of the rear fender. Penalties are established for violations.

The committee gave a favorable report on S.158, a bill establishing an exemption from continuing education requirements for experienced real estate professionals. The legislation provides that a real estate broker or salesperson with twenty-five years or more of experience in South Carolina who is at least sixty-five years old is exempt from continuing education requirements.

The committee gave a favorable report on H.5252, the "Economic Encouragement Act." This joint resolution provides an expedited process for approving competitive electric power pricing for potential economic development prospects that the Department of Commerce can offer to encourage these businesses and industries to invest in South Carolina and bring jobs to the state. The legislation authorizes the Public Service Commission to consider quantifiable net benefits to utility customers due to economic development in approving these competitive electric rates which must be set at just and reasonable levels that are above the marginal cost of energy production.

The committee gave a favorable report on S.460, a bill revising numerous provisions to consolidate and simply the statutory authority of the State Fire Marshal. The legislation's revisions are not to supersede or impair the authority granted to the State Board of Pyrotechnic Safety relating to the manufacture, sale and storage of fireworks.

The committee gave a favorable report on S.637, a bill that revises the application of mortgage lending provisions to retailers of manufactured and modular homes in order to bring state law into compliance with the latest updates that Congress has approved to the federal Dodd-Frank Act.

The committee gave a favorable report on S.1178, a bill allowing an online sale of self-service storage facility property instead of an on-premises sale. The legislation revises provisions relating to self-service storage facilities written rental agreements to allow online sales in instances when no one has purchased the property at the required public sale.

Ways and Means

The Ways and Means Committee met on Thursday, April 28, and reported out several bills.

The Committee gave a report of favorable with amendments on S.935, a bill establishing a three-year "Parental Choice in Education Program" that allows up to five thousand public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade to be awarded annual scholarships of up to five thousand dollars to expand educational options. An Education Scholarship Trust Fund is established with seventy-five million dollars from the state's contingency reserve fund that is to be used for awarding scholarships to children in economically disadvantaged families, up to five hundred children in active duty military families, and up to five hundred students from the South Carolina Early Reading Development and Education program in order to address tuition and other costs of receiving instruction at a participating independent school or an alternate public school. Scholarships may be used to address such attendance costs as tuition, fees, textbooks, and transportation.

The Committee gave a report of favorable with amendments on Joint Resolution S.1106, a proposed state constitutional amendment for increasing state financial reserve funds that are used to cope with revenue shortfalls. The proposed amendment provides for the state's General Reserve Fund, currently set at five percent of General Fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year, to be increased each year by half a percent until it equals seven percent of General Fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year. The proposed amendment increases the state's Capital Reserve Fund from two percent of General Fund revenue of the latest completed fiscal year to three percent of such revenues. Should the General Assembly pass the joint resolution, these proposals for amending the South Carolina Constitution would be placed before the state's voters as ballot questions at the next general election.

The Committee gave a report of favorable with amendments on S.901, a bill providing for a revised and extended nonresidential solar energy property income tax credit of up to five million dollars for facilities located on Environmental Protection Agency National Priority List properties and other environmental clean-up sites. These tax credit provisions are repealed on December 31, 2024.

The legislation includes tax incentives for apprenticeship programs employing veterans and individuals who have been incarcerated for nonviolent offenses (previously approved by the House H.3348). The legislation makes provisions for a tax credit for any taxpayer who employs in an apprenticeship program a newly-hired veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces who was honorably discharged or released from such service due to a service-connected disability. The legislation makes provisions for a tax credit for any taxpayer who employs in an apprenticeship program a newly-hired individual who was formerly incarcerated for nonviolent offenses. These apprenticeship tax credits may be claimed for no more than three years. The amount of the credit is set at three thousand dollars for each eligible employee for the first year it is earned and is reduced to two thousand five hundred dollars for second year, and one thousand dollars for a third year.

The legislation includes a provision limiting the taxation of watercraft motors to the maximum sales tax established for boats (previously approved by the House in H.4504).

The legislation includes a provision expanding eligibility for the one percent senior sales tax exemption on accommodations (previously approved by the House in H.3709). The legislation lowers the age of individuals exempt from paying one percent of the total seven percent sales

tax on accommodations from age eighty-five or older to age seventy-eight or older. For each accommodations tax return filed with multiple locations, the filer also must provide electronically the location information by address and the amount of net taxable sales for each location.

The Committee gave a report of favorable with amendments on S.152, the "County Green Space Sales Tax Act." The legislation expands provisions for county local sales and use taxes to allow a county to impose a sales and use tax of up to one percent with revenue that is collected used to defray debt service on bonds issued to pay for preservation procurements.

The Committee gave a favorable report on S.635, a bill making South Carolina Research Authority revisions that include: adding the President of South Carolina State University, or his designee, to the SCRA Board of Trustees and affording university presidents greater flexibility in allowing designees to serve on the board; authorizing the Research Authority to invest in corporate bonds; and, increasing the amount of time that a company is allowed to remain in an innovation center.

The Committee gave a report of favorable with amendments on S.233, a bill allowing a real property tax exemption extension. The legislation revises a real property tax exemption provision to provide that a qualified surviving spouse may qualify for an exemption if the qualified surviving spouse owns the house. The legislation also revises eligibility criteria to allow for an exemption when the county assessor certifies to the Department of Revenue that the house is located on heirs' property and the person is the owner-occupied resident of the house.

The legislation includes provisions providing for tax value adjustment for property damaged by flooding, hurricane, or wind events (previously approved by the House in H.4243). The legislation expands provisions for adjustments in valuation and assessment for purposes of ad valorem property taxation by requiring an adjustment to real property for damages caused by flooding, hurricane, or wind events, in addition to the adjustments currently allowed for property damage caused by fire.

The legislation establishes a property tax exemption for all farm buildings and agricultural structures owned by a producer in this state used to house livestock, poultry, crops, farm equipment, or farm supplies.

The legislation revises provisions relating to special license plates for military medals to ensure that veterans receive the exemptions from fees to which they are entitled.

The legislation addresses the inclusion of mixed-use property under the rural telephone service property tax exemption (previously approved by the House in H.5144). The legislation revises a tax exemption for the property of telephone companies and rural telephone cooperatives operating in this state that is used in providing rural telephone service. The legislation specifies that this exemption applies to mixed-use property, without regard to: (1) the extent to which such property is used in providing services in addition to telephone service in rural areas; and (2) the technology used, such as the provision of broadband over a high-speed Internet connection that allows the customer to access basic voice grade local service from the voice provider of the customer's choice.

The committee gave a report of favorable with amendments on S.984, a bill addressing a local government's authority to impose service or user fees. The legislation specifies that revenue generated from a service or user fee imposed by a local government must: (a) be used to the benefit of the payers, even if the general public also benefits; (b) only be used for the specific improvement contemplated; (c) not exceed the cost of the improvement; and (d) be uniformly imposed on all payers. The legislation also includes a provision that a local governing body that repealed a road maintenance fee after June 30, 2021, and subsequently approved a millage increase for road maintenance, must repeal the millage imposed to replace the previous road maintenance fee before reimposing the road maintenance fee.

The committee gave a favorable report on S.17, the "Permit Extension Joint Resolution of 2022." This joint resolution provides for the extension of valid permits issued for construction, reconstruction, and other development of land for a period beginning January 1, 2020, and ending December 31, 2023. These developmental permits include: an approval of an erosion and sedimentation control plan, land disturbance permit application, or stormwater management plan granted by a local government or by the Department of Health and Environmental Control; a coastal zone consistency certification issued by DHEC's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management; a water or wastewater permit issued by DHEC, including authorization for construction and installation of lines and infrastructure extending water and sewer service and authorization to connect to available or proposed lines and infrastructure; a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by DHEC for the construction, operation, and expansion of a publicly-owned treatment works; a 401 water quality certification issued by DHEC; a critical area permit issued by DHEC's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management; and, an air quality permit issued by DHEC.

Introduced Bills

Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs

5287 Existing Well and Septic Tank Systems Rep. Ligon

This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Environmental Control from denying the repair, replacement, or construction of wells and septic tanks on certain rural lands regardless of the availability of municipal water and sewer service.

Judiciary

H.5286 No Preconditions For Nonresident Municipal Water or Sewer Service Rep. Ligon

If enacted, any extension of water or sewer systems by cities could not be preconditioned on annexation into the city limits, or other such agreements.

H.5299 Child Support Obligations From Reckless Homicide Rep. W. Cox

Anyone convicted of reckless motor vehicular or watercraft operation resulting in homicide while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of drugs, who have at least one prior conviction for driving motor vehicles under the influence, or with an unlawful concentration, of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of other drugs or substances, whose victims were parents of minor children, must pay restitution in the form of child maintenance to each of the victims' children until they reach eighteen years of age and have graduated from high school.

H.5309 "Empower Women's Reproductive Rights Act" Rep. JA Moore

The proposed "Empower Women's Reproductive Rights Act" seeks to prohibit male General Assembly members from introducing legislation, or amending any state law, relating to women's reproductive rights.

5/3/2022

Note: these summaries are prepared by the staff of the South Carolina House of Representatives and are not the expression of the legislation's sponsor(s) nor the House of Representatives. They are strictly for the internal use and benefit of members of the House of Representatives and are not to be construed by a court of law as an expression of legislative intent.

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