Staff reports | Here’s a rundown of what happened in the Statehouse and around the state over the last week:
Tough storm season predicted. Weather officials predicted Thursday that the 2021 storm season, which starts June 1, likely will include “above normal” hurricane activity. They said there is a 70 percent chance that there will be 13 to 20 named storms. And of those, six to 10 are expected to become hurricanes and as many as five could strengthen into major hurricanes. More: National Public Radio | The Post and Courier.
Death row inmates sue after being forced to choose between firing squad or electric chair. South Carolina is now asking death-row inmates to choose between the electric chair and firing squad, citing a lack of lethal injection drugs. More: SC Public Radio | NPR.
S.C. lawmakers lean in on jail reform bills. As the fallout around the January death of Jamal Sutherland in a Charleston County jail mounts, members of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus is pushing for reforms — in bills already filed and others in consideration as the session breaks. The bills focus on the way law enforcement officials treat people with mental illnesses and seek to ensure more accountability. More: The Post and Courier | WCBD.
Lawmakers favor transparency, but pet projects abound. A survey of 170 state lawmakers in South Carolina say they want more transparency when it comes to budgeting. In the past five years, there have been at least $104 million set aside for pet projects that many lawmakers didn’t know about. More: Myrtle Beach Sun News.
Two S.C. Democrats owe thousands in ethics fines. S.C. Rep. Cezar McKnight, D-Williamsburg, owes $59,150.88 and Rep. Carl Anderson, D-Georgetown, owes $6,000 the Senate Ethics Committee. More: The Nerve.
Legislators grill S.C. juvenile prisons director. South Carolina legislators are pushing to replace the director of the state’s embattled juvenile prisons, who stumbled through more than three hours of questioning Thursday. More: AP News | The State.
Internet access expanding in rural S.C. as part of utility partnership. A pair of rural utility cooperatives announced a five-year, $150 million project to install broadband internet service in the mountainous, far-western reaches of South Carolina. More: The Post and Courier | Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
SCDOT’s paving program to be ‘largest in S.C. history.’ The S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) announced Thursday its new 2021-2022 paving program, which DOT officials promise will rehab nearly 1,000 miles of roads through funding from the state’s gas tax. More: WSPA TV
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!