NEWS BRIEFS: State chamber urges passage of hate crimes legislation

Staff reports  |  Long-ignored proposals for South Carolina legislators to pass a law making hate crimes illegal got a big boost this week when the S.C. Chamber of Commerce called on the General Assembly and Gov. Henry McMaster to pass and sign such a bill.

“The events we’ve seen across the country over the last year have reinforced that we have much to do as a society to fight racism and injustice,” said Tim Arnold, the chamber’s current chair who also is president and CEO of Colonial Life.  “Passing a hate crimes law in South Carolina is one more step we can take to show the nation that our great state will not tolerate crimes motivated by hate of a person because of their race, religion or ethnicity.”

Currently, South Carolina is one of three states without a comprehensive bill against hate crimes.  A chamber letter to policymakers was signed by more than 80 businesses and urged passage to “show that S.C. is not a place that condones crimes motivated by hate,” according to a press release.  Arkansas and Wyoming don’t have hate crimes protections.  Georgia passed a law in June.  

• Read our previous coverage on a citizen coalition that is rallying for the law, too.

“The time has come to pass a hate crimes bill this coming session,” said S.C. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ted Pitts.  “The state’s business community looks forward to working with the House, the Senate and the governor to quickly pass a meaningful bill that shows South Carolina does not condone crimes motivated by hate.”

Also in recent news:

State says it’s ready for vaccines as cases spike.  South Carolina’s immunization director, Stephen White, said he anticipates the state receiving its first shipments of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by mid-December, but officials are not releasing estimates of how many doses will be received. The first doses will go to frontline health care workers and nursing home residents.  Meanwhile, coronavirus cases seem to be spiking in South Carolina. State officials announced Thursday that 1,754 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 21 reported deaths. Of those getting tested for the disease, 23.8% are positive. More.

Lawmaker test positive for COVID-19.  An unnamed lawmaker tested positive for coronavirus after attending an S.C. House organizational session this week, according to this story.  A memo from House Speaker Jay Lucas’ office “said that anyone who had had close contact with the infected person had been asked to quarantine for the time period recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” The State newspaper reported.  In a separate Lancaster News story, a different House member, freshman Rep. Sandy McGarry, watched the session live after testing positive before the organizational session.  House members were offered rapid COVID-19 tests at the session.

S.C. House reorganizes. The state House convened briefly this week to reinstall many of the same heads of committees following the November election. Sumter Republican Rep. Murrell Smith will return to head the House Ways and Means Committee.  He said the 2021-22 budget will face a tough year. One big change was the leader of the House Judiciary Committee. The past chair, former Charleston Republican Rep. Peter McCoy, left his House seat to become U.S. Attorney for South Carolina. Summerville Republican Rep. Chris Murphy, also a lawyer, was tapped to replace McCoy. More.

Legislation pre-filing starts next week.  Members of the S.C. House and S.C. Senate will be able to pre-file legislation for the 2021 session on Dec. 9.  House members also will be able to submit new bills on Dec. 16.  Because the two-year session begins anew in 2021, any legislation unapproved in 2020 must be resubmitted.  More.

S.C. chief justice closes all state jury trials.  S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty has ruled temporary closure of all state jury trials due to the rise in coronavirus cases. More.

Thousands in S.C. still receiving federal jobless benefits.  About 179,000 South Carolinians were filing jobless claims with the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce in the middle of November. More.  Some jobless benefits will expire Dec. 12.

SCANA, Dominion agree to pay $25 million in nuclear fraud case.  SCANA and the company that purchased it, Dominion Energy, have reached an agreement to pay a $25 million civil fine to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission in one of the state’s largest civil fraud cases, according to public court records filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. More.

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