Staff reports | After Democrats put up 1,000 amendments in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to derail a bill requiring student athletes to compete on teams that correspond to their gender at birth, the House gave passes to controversial abortion and teaching bills, according to observers.
“We got bogged down. People just didn’t want to go through another in-depth debate,” Spartanburg County GOP Rep. Rita Allison told The Post and Courier. “Knowing the number of amendments that were on it and where that would keep us and how long we’d be here, a lot of people just didn’t have the appetite for it, on both sides.”
House lawmakers decided not to take up the abortion and teaching bills before the so-called “crossover deadline.” After April 10, bills in one chamber have to receive a supermajority to be considered by the other, which means controversial measures have a tougher time moving forward “after crossover.”
The anti-abortion proposal would have required women using an abortion pill to end a pregnancy to read a statement that doctors and advocates disputed as misinformation. Bills related to teaching focused on so-called “critical race theory” which isn’t even taught in South Carolina. Critics, however, said proposals would have limited classroom teaching.
In other recent news:
S.C. Senate votes to ban employer vaccine mandates. The state Senate approved a bill April 6 that prevents employers requiring a COVID vaccination mandate and businesses from denying services from unvaccinated.
S.C. schedules 1st execution with firing squad. South Carolina scheduled its first execution after corrections officials updated the death chamber to prepare for executions by firing squad. The execution is scheduled for April 29.
Hearing set for Upstate Republican charged with 133 ethics violations. S.C. Rep. Jonathan Hill, R-Anderson, faces 133 ethics charges, including allegations he spent campaign money on a personal mortgage. He will have a chance to defend himself later this month.
S.C. House moves to replace USofC Board of Trustees. The state House of Representatives this week voted overwhelmingly to replace and restructure the University of South Carolina’s governing board.
Two GOP candidates for S.C. superintendent who lack master’s degree withdraw. Two of the eight GOP candidates for state superintendent have withdrawn from the race, acknowledging they lacked an almost-forgotten qualification for the job – a master’s degree.
Busy hurricane season projected with 19 named storms, 9 hurricanes. A forecast from Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project calls for 19 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher. Forecasters say the season is expected to be more active than usual. Last year, for example, was the third most active season on record with 21 named storms, including seven hurricanes.
Class-action suit filed on behalf of AME ministers. African Methodist Episcopal ministers who have seen more than 70 percent of a church retirement fund lost in recent months have filed a class action lawsuit against the church in an attempt to recover millions of dollars in pension monies. One of the defendants is a South Carolina bishop. The denomination, with strong historical roots here, has about 600 churches in South Carolina.
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