Under the Dome – Legislative Report April 9 | 13 – 2021 Crossover Week – Fast and Furious This week was crossover week in the General Assembly, as the Senate and House of Representatives debated dozens of bills on the calendars in an attempt to achieve second and third reading before April 10th. Senate Finance budget subcommittees heard agency requests from the Department of Education, the newly formed Office of Resilience, the Department of Transportation and others in addition to proviso review to prepare for full Senate Finance Committee debate of the budget next week. Senate floor debate of the budget is scheduled for the week of April 26th. Now that crossover is wrapped, committee work and floor debate will be focused on legislation trying to achieve passage by Sine Die adjournment of the General Assembly at 5:00pm on Thursday, May 13th. While no official dates have been confirmed, it is possible several special legislative sessions could be held to complete the FY 2021-22 state budget (fiscal year begins July 1, 2021) and to also allow the General Assembly to consider a supplemental budget bill authorizing state expenditures from the recently-passed federal American Rescue Plan. Board of Economic Advisors – April 8th Revenue Forecast During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the General Assembly opted to not enact a 2020-21 state budget and instead allowed the state to operate under a Continuing Resolution utilizing the 2019-2020 state budget. As such, many priorities were put on hold as the General Assembly worked with the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, the Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) and the Executive Budget Office to ensure South Carolina remained fiscally strong through pandemic uncertainty before crafting a new state budget. When the House completed its version of the FY 2021-22 state budget in March, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Murrell Smith (R, Sumter) termed it a “worst case scenario budget” and noted the House would return with “House II” later in the year once the May 17th tax filing deadline passed and the BEA was able to report a new revenue forecast reflecting state income tax filing data. Yesterday at its regular monthly meeting, the BEA voted to increase its revenue forecast for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 by a significant amount. “The BEA had reduced its Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 revenue estimate prior to the pandemic by $803.7 million in November 2020. Today’s action restored $610.4 million of that reduction. With the adjustment to the current fiscal year estimate, the state projects to end FY 2020-21 April 9, 2021 Page 1 of 11 Copyright 2021 © Riley Pope & Laney, LLC. All rights reserved. on June 30 with a budget surplus of $646.7 million,” states the Press Release. The BEA was careful to note South Carolina has not fully rebounded from the pandemic economic downturn, most notably in job losses. Click here for Meeting Materials. In summary, for the Senate Finance Committee’s consideration, at this time the General Assembly will have available for appropriation: - $1.72 billion in unobligated revenue o $385.8 million in recurring funds (up from about $189M) o $1.334 billion in nonrecurring funds (up from about $956M) - Estimates do not include (will be authorized by the General Assembly later this year) o Savannah River Site Settlement dollars – about $525M o Forthcoming federal stimulus dollars – about $2B FY 2021-22 Budget Outlook *Source: BEA Net Unobligated (New) Recurring General Fund Revenue $385.8 million (less tax relief trust fund) Non-recurring Revenue FY 2018-19 Contingency Reserve Fund $44.5 million FY 2019-20 Contingency Reserve Fund $514.8 million FY 2020-21 Capital Reserve Fund $176.1 million Projected FY 2020-21 General Fund Surplus $646.7 million Less Reserve Fund Contributions ($47.6 million) Total Non-recurring Revenue $1,334.5 million Total Estimated Unobligated (New) General Fund Revenue for Appropriation $1,720.3 million Contingency Reserve Funds are net of amounts already appropriated. Non-recurring Revenue estimates do not include anticipated funds from the Department of Energy settlement and other pending litigation. S.150 – South Carolina Compassionate Care Act The Senate did not debate S.150, the South Carolina Compassionate Care Act, this week. Senator Tom Davis (R, Beaufort) took the podium Thursday on a point of personal privilege to discuss the bill and thank his colleagues for working together in hammering out compromises on other bills in the Senate. “There is a process we go through,” said Senator Davis while giving numerous examples of bills he has helped other Senators with through the years. He told the story of his first constituents who brought this initiative to light and asked his colleagues to put out of their minds the notion that cannabis does not have medicinal purposes to provide relief. Seven years of living with countless people who could benefit, seven years of research, seven years of working to come up with a narrow, tightly regulated bill. Senator Davis indicated he is willing to flex his power to block other legislation and force consideration of S.150. He recognizes that members need time to read, familiarize themselves with the language and vet it. “Come next week, I am going to be pushing for this bill to get a hearing,” said Davis, referring to a hearing on the Senate floor. “After seven years, it deserves a hearing.” April 9, 2021 Page 2 of 11 Copyright 2021 © Riley Pope & Laney, LLC. All rights reserved. H.3681 – Tobacco Preemption On Tuesday, the full House Judiciary Committee met to consider one bill – H.3681, the tobacco preemption bill. H.3681 was amended with compromise language preserving local zoning and business licensing of tobacco/vape shops, which brought the Municipal Association of South Carolina to a neutral position on the bill. Health advocacy organizations remained vigilant in opposition, but H.3681 received a favorable as amended report by a vote of 15 – 7 with 3 members not voting and moved on to the House floor. Some have speculated that a deal may have been struck, as no member of the House raised the 24-hour point of order on H.3681 when it was up for second reading consideration on Wednesday. Second reading was granted by a vote of 80 – 23 with third reading by voice vote on Thursday. H.3681 was sent to the Senate and referred to the Senate Medical Affairs Committee. H.3589 – Schools of Innovation Conference Committee members on H.3589 regarding Schools of Innovation were named this week: - Senator Greg Hembree (R, Horry – Chairman, Senate Education Committee) - Senator Rex Rice (R, Greenville – Senate Education Committee member) - Senator Nikki Setzler (D, Lexington – Senate Education Committee member) - Representative Rita Allison (R, Spartanburg – Chairlady, House Education and Public Works Committee) - Representative Raye Felder (R, York – EPW Subcommittee Chair) - Representative Terry Alexander (D, Florence – EPW Committee member) Save Women’s Sports Act --- Revived from the Ashes Several weeks ago, the full House Judiciary Committee voted to table H.3477, the original Save Women’s Sports Act bill, after Representative Micha Caskey (R, Lexington) made the motion to table due to the fact that he did not agree with the preamble of the bill, which states, “the General Assembly finds there are two biological sexes, female and male, and that the sex of a person is objectively determined by genetics and anatomy existing at the time of birth.” A motion was made for a roll call vote, but five additional Committee members would not support the motion, leading to a voice vote to table the bill. This week, a last-minute House Judiciary Special Laws Subcommittee hearing was scheduled on H.4153, the new version of the Save Women’s Sports Act introduced on April 6th. Lead sponsor, Representative Ashley Trantham (R, Greenville), explained the bill and said it was basically the same as H.3477 with a revised preamble to remove the language noted above. The preamble of H.4153 states that public and private middle school-level and high school-level teams and sports designated for females may be restricted to students of the female sex and provide protections for public and private schools, as well as relief for violations. Numerous people testified, all in opposition to the bill, with many saying they were in shock and disbelief that this bill was considered a top priority of the Subcommittee to the point that a new bill was introduced after the first was tabled. More than 40 people have testified on the initiative to date. Many emotional statements were made, pleading with the Subcommittee to vote no on this bill which would vilify children, the very children the state should be trying to protect instead of discriminating against. State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman (R) has also asked the General Assembly to not pass this bill, as it is her duty to protect every student April 9, 2021 Page 3 of 11 Copyright 2021 © Riley Pope & Laney, LLC. All rights reserved. attending South Carolina schools. Representative Spencer Wetmore (D, Charleston) was the only Subcommittee member to vote no, Representative Jason Elliott (R, Greenville) did not vote, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Chris Murphy (R, Dorchester – not a Subcommittee member but as Chairman can cast a vote) also attended the Subcommittee and cast a yay vote. Subcommittee Chairman John McCravy (R, Greenwood) and Representative Sylleste Davis (R, Berkeley) were the two additional yay votes for a total of 3 – 1. H.4153