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A44, R63, H3632
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Erickson, Spann-Wilder and Bauer
Document Path: LC-0176WAB25.docx
Introduced in the House on January 14, 2025
Introduced in the Senate on April 30, 2025
Currently residing in the Senate
Governor's Action: May 12, 2025, Signed
Summary: STEM scholarship stipends
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
| Date | Body | Action Description with journal page number |
|---|---|---|
| 12/12/2024 | House | Prefiled |
| 12/12/2024 | House | Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works |
| 1/14/2025 | House | Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 272) |
| 1/14/2025 | House | Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works (House Journal-page 272) |
| 2/5/2025 | Scrivener's error corrected | |
| 4/8/2025 | House | Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bauer |
| 4/24/2025 | House | Committee report: Favorable Education and Public Works (House Journal-page 46) |
| 4/29/2025 | House | Read second time (House Journal-page 27) |
| 4/29/2025 | House | Roll call Yeas-112 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 27) |
| 4/29/2025 | Scrivener's error corrected | |
| 4/30/2025 | House | Read third time and sent to Senate (House Journal-page 34) |
| 4/30/2025 | Senate | Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 6) |
| 4/30/2025 | Senate | Referred to Committee on Education (Senate Journal-page 6) |
| 4/30/2025 | Senate | Polled out of committee Education (Senate Journal-page 11) |
| 4/30/2025 | Senate | Committee report: Favorable Education (Senate Journal-page 11) |
| 5/6/2025 | Senate | Read second time (Senate Journal-page 62) |
| 5/6/2025 | Senate | Roll call Ayes-44 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 62) |
| 5/7/2025 | Senate | Read third time and enrolled (Senate Journal-page 39) |
| 5/8/2025 | Ratified R 63 | |
| 5/12/2025 | Signed By Governor | |
| 5/19/2025 | Effective date 05/12/25 | |
| 5/19/2025 | Act No. 44 |
View the latest legislative information at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/12/2024
02/05/2025
04/24/2025
04/29/2025
04/30/2025
NOTE: THIS IS A TEMPORARY VERSION. THIS DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN IN THIS VERSION UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
(A44, R63, H3632)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 59-149-15, RELATING TO REQUIREMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL LIFE SCHOLARSHIP STIPENDS, AND SECTION 59-104-25, RELATING TO REQUIREMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL PALMETTO FELLOWS SCHOLARSHIP STIPENDS, BOTH SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN COURSEWORK IN ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS STATISTICS MUST COUNT TOWARDS CERTAIN REQUIRED FRESHMAN YEAR COURSEWORK IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE, AND TO CLARIFY THESE PROVISIONS APPLY BEGINNING WITH ACCOUNTING MAJORS WHO COMPLETED SUCH COURSEWORK AS FRESHMEN IN THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
LIFE Scholarship stipends
SECTION 1. Section 59-149-15(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
(B) The Commission on Higher Education by regulation shall define what constitutes a science or mathematics major, applicable beginning with the 2024-2025 School Year to persons who did not receive a LIFE Scholarship stipend before the 2024-2025 School Year. This definition of a science or mathematics major must include, at a minimum, majors in science or mathematics disciplines, computer science or informational technology, engineering, accounting, and healthcare and related disciplines including medicine and dentistry; provided, that nothing herein prevents a student from changing majors within acceptable science or mathematics disciplines. For purposes of determining stipend eligibility of accounting majors, courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business statistics completed by an accounting major in his freshman year must count towards the requirement in subsection (A) that the student shall complete at least fourteen credit hours of instruction in mathematics and science courses during the student's freshman year, and these provisions apply beginning with students who took microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business statistics courses as freshman accounting majors during the 2024-2025 School Year so as to enable them to have those courses count toward the fourteen-hour coursework requirement in subsection (A) for purposes of attaining LIFE Scholarship stipend eligibility.
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship stipends
SECTION 2. Section 59-104-25(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
(B) The Commission on Higher Education by regulation shall define what constitutes a science or mathematics major, applicable beginning with the 2024-2025 School Year to persons who did not receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship stipend before the 2024-2025 School Year. This definition of a science or mathematics major must include, at a minimum, majors in science or mathematics disciplines, computer science or informational technology, engineering, accounting, and healthcare and related disciplines including medicine and dentistry; provided, that nothing herein prevents a student from changing majors within acceptable science or mathematics disciplines. For purposes of determining stipend eligibility of accounting majors, courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business statistics completed by an accounting major in his freshman year must count towards the requirement in subsection (A) that the student shall complete at least fourteen credit hours of instruction in mathematics and science courses during the student's freshman year, and these provisions apply beginning with students who took microeconomics, macroeconomics, and business statistics courses as freshman accounting majors during the 2024-2025 School Year so as to enable them to have those courses count toward the fourteen-hour coursework requirement in subsection (A) for purposes of attaining Palmetto Fellows Scholarship stipend eligibility.
Time effective
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 8th day of May, 2025.
Approved the 12th day of May, 2025.
This web page was last updated on May 19, 2025 at 1:27 PM