Legislators filed about 140 new bills during the first week of the General Assembly’s 2016 session. They also formally added about 260 bills that were prefiled in December.
Here are key and newsworthy introductions from the past week:
IN THE SENATE
Domestic violence. S. 971 (L. Martin) seeks a Domestic Violence Fatality Review committees to be established in each judicial circuit.
Animal shelters. S. 979 (Sheheen) seeks to regulate animal shelters, with several provisions.
Prostitution. S. 986 (Shealy) seeks to increase penalties for prostitution and related crimes as a way to thwart human trafficking, with several provisions.
War memorials. S. 987 (Grooms) seeks a constitutional amendment to protect war memorials and monuments “from relocation, removal, disturbance or alteration.” H. 4638 is similar.
Judicial elections. S. 990 (L. Martin) seeks to hold judicial elections in the General Assembly at noon on Feb. 3. There is a similar House resolution.
Refugees. S. 997 (Bright) seeks to require any refugees placed in S.C. to register with the state, prohibit use of state or local funds to directly or indirectly benefit refugees, and other provisions.
IN THE HOUSE
Guns. H. 4561 (Gilliard) seeks to increase penalties in a graduated manner for subsequent offenses of unlawfully carrying or sale of a handgun. H. 4564 (Jefferson) seeks to require registration of all firearms in the state. H. 4628 (Hicks) seeks a state prohibition of use of public funds to implement any federal law or executive order on ownership, use or possession of firearms, ammunition and firearm accessories. H. 4668 (Chumley) is a similar prohibition, but seeks a constitutional amendment.
Do not call. H. 4566 (Lucas) seeks to enact a “do not call” law to reduce telephone solicitations, with several provisions.
Term limits. H. 4567 (M. McLeod) calls for a constitutional amendment to require term limits for state lawmakers to limit them to 12 years of service in each chamber, with several provisions.
Confederate flag. H. 4576 (Tinkler) seeks to establish a state commission to raise private funds to pay for the “appropriate” display of the Confederate flag, with several provisions.
Lt. Governor. H. 4579 (Pope) calls for changes in the role of lieutenant governor to allow governor and lieutenant governor to run on a joint ticket, with several provisions and technical changes in the role of the office.
State of the State. H. 4617 (Lucas) would set the time and date of the annual State of the State address by the governor to be 7 p.m. Jan. 20 in 2016.
Redistricting. H. 4626 (Neal) calls for a state commission to submit reapportionment plans to the General Assembly. Currently, legislators redraw district lines every 10 years.
Digital assets. H. 4627 (Smith) seeks to have a uniform state law to allow management and disposition of digital assets (email, social media accounts) after someone dies or becomes incapacitated.
Abortion. H. 4629 (Hicks) seeks the “Woman’s Ultrasound Right to Know Act” to require doctors to inform pregnant women the probable gestational age of an embryo or fetus before performing an abortion, with several provisions.
DOT reform. H. 4635 (Bannister) seeks substantive reform of the state Department of Transportation to make it a cabinet agency, with several provisions.
Shorter session. H. 4636 (Lucas) seeks to shorten the legislative session by a month and allow for an appropriations act to be done every two years, not every year, with several provisions.
DHEC reform. H. 4641 (Pope) seeks to split the state Department of Health and Environmental Control into a public health agency and devolve several functions into other agencies or divisions, with many provisions.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!