By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | Gov. Henry McMaster and other elected officials pushed for legislation this week that would transform the S.C. Division of Veterans Affairs into a standalone cabinet agency.
Currently, the veterans advocacy agency is housed under the S.C. Department of Administration. About nine years ago, the effort began to bring the agency under the governor’s office.
The cost of such an office is unknown at this time, according to the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs (RFA) Office. In a Feb. 5 fiscal analysis, RFA reported the governor’s office will have to provide the projected additional expense.
“It ought to be done this session,” McMaster said this week. He billed it as a promotion to bring the agency to a “full-fledged” cabinet agency.
Two similar bills call for the transformation:
- S.C. Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, sponsored S. 454; and,
- S.C. Rep. Bobby Cox, R-Greenville, sponsored H. 3438.
South Carolina Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Van McCarty called the bills “the right thing to do” and “long overdue” because it would create greater advocacy for veterans in the state.
In other news:
House passes Energy Freedom Act. The solar industry is commending the S.C. House of Representatives for unanimously passing a landmark energy bill, The Energy Freedom Act, in a bipartisan vote this week. Now the Senate will take up the bill. The legislation removes the cap on solar energy in S.C. homes. Solar advocates say this protects thousands of jobs in the growing solar industry. Read more about the bill here.
Trump admin visits. South Carolina was visited by members of the Trump administration this week for its work in education and investments in low-income communities:
- U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos stopped by Florence Thursday to view under-performing schools that saw state intervention, and to view workforce development at a technical college 20 miles away, S.C. Department of Education spokesman Ryan Brown told Statehouse Report. Read more in Florence Morning News.
- Vice President Mike Pence joined U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, for tour of a Columbia “opportunity zone” on Thursday. The Opportunity Zones were established in the major federal tax overhaul in 2017 and encourages business investment in low-income areas. Read more about the visit here.
Weekly update on Palmetto Priorities
Throughout the legislative session, we’ll provide you relevant updates related to our list of Palmetto Priorities, which are 10 big policy areas where major progress is needed for South Carolina to escape the bottom of lots of lists. Over the last week:
HEALTH CARE: S.C. rural hospital miss ‘high risk’ listing. Rural hospitals in South Carolina are not on a list of “high risk” of closure. A new list puts 430 hospitals across 43 states on the list. See the list here.
GUN REFORM: S.C. congressmen seek to close “Charleston loophole.” U.S. Reps. Jim Clyburn and Joe Cunningham, both Democrats in South Carolina, spoke at Emanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston this week about lengthening gun background checks for some gun buyers. Clyburn said the federal legislation has a good chance of passing the House. Read more here.
GUN REFORM, PART II: Statehouse Republicans introduce bill for ‘constitutional carry.’ S.C. Rep. Bobby Cox, R-Greenville, is the lead sponsor of a bill that would expand gun carry provisions and remove concealed weapon laws through a “constitutional carry act.” Read the bill here.
ENVIRONMENT/JOBS: See above for House passage of solar-related legislation.
TAXES: House tax reform committee meets. The House Tax Policy Review Committee meets 15 minutes after adjournment Feb. 28 in room 516 of the Blatt building. On the agenda, the committee will look at sales tax exemptions and sales tax reform. See the agenda here.
POLITICS: Redistricting workshop Saturday. A free workshop is being held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 23 at 2015 Marion St. in Columbia. S.C. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, and S.C. Sen. Mike Fanning, D-Fairfield, are among the facilitators in the meeting, which calls for an end to gerrymandering in the state. Read more here.
Looking ahead
Click below for other items coming up in the Statehouse:
- House calendar
- Senate calendar
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