Staff reports | The S.C. House of Representatives is set to adjust its district lines in five counties to settle allegations its newly drawn election maps were unfair to Black voters. The agreement is part of a settlement announced Thursday by the ACLU.
The settlement agreed to by the House would change voting lines in parts of Dillon, Horry, Kershaw, Orangeburg and Richland counties.
“Today is a victory for the Black community in South Carolina,” said Brenda Murphy, president of the S.C. State Conference of the NAACP. “Today marks a historical occasion: our political leadership has listened to our grievances and is working to create a more equitable political landscape.”
Mark Moore, a private attorney for the House in the case, said the settlement, which must be approved by Thursday, ends costly litigation, according to published reports.
“Certainly, our voting process is one of the greatest virtues we have in South Carolina — and trust in that process is of crucial importance to our people,” he said in a statement released by the office of House Speaker Jay Lucas. More: The State.
In other recent news:
S.C. Statehouse allowing two health overhaul bills to fizzle. Legislation that would have overhauled health care regulation in South Carolina appears dead for this year after a S.C. House committee would not agree with Senate versions of the bills. One bill would have split the state Department of Health and Environmental Control into two agencies while the other would have repealed a Certificate of Need law that regulates what hospitals and doctors can build and buy in SouthCarolina. Another outlet reported DHEC’s future was unclear.
S.C. House kills medical marijuana bill. S.C. House Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope, R-Rock Hill, this week shot down a medical marijuana bill by S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, by ruling a 6% fee on medical marijuana sales creates a new tax. That power only is allowed under the state constitution by a bill that originates in the House. The bill originated in the state Senate, where Davis has been fighting to pass the compassionate care bill for seven years.
S.C. Senate passes bill fixing S.C. sex offender registry. The S.C. Senate unanimously passed a bill fixing the state’s sex offender registry. The registry was deemed unconstitutional last June by the S.C. Supreme Court due in part to the registry’s lifetime placement of sex offenders.
S.C. Senate approves transgender sports ban bill. The S.C. Senate on Wednesday approved in a 30-10 vote the bill that would ban transgender students from playing girls’ or women’s sports in public schools and colleges. The approval sends the bill back to the House to review changes.
UofSC board makeover stalled in S.C. Senate. The bill to shrink the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees from 20 voting members to 15 has stalled in the S.C. Senate. Concerns that smaller towns would lose representation on the governing board of the university could derail the effort in passing the bill.
S.C. legislators seek book ban in libraries. South Carolina’s public library leaders are fighting a Statehouse budget proposal that would ban sexual-related books from children’s sections, calling it censorship that threatens what they call the “freedom to read.” The proposal by a vocal minority of S.C. senators calls for cutting aid to libraries that allow kids access to ‘prurient material.’ Small libraries say they could be devastated if the censorship passes. More: The State, WLTX.
Carolina Squat vehicle modification closer to being banned. The S.C. House unanimously voted on Wednesday to ban vehicle modifications like the “Carolina Squat,” a modification in which the front end of a truck or SUV being placed higher than the back end, from roadways. If the bill becomes law, vehicles will be prohibited from raising four or more inches above the height of the rear fender.
Change could be coming to how S.C. observes Confederate Memorial Day. South Carolina currently recognizes May 10 as Confederate Memorial Day, meaning state government offices, for the most part, are closed, but that could be changing.
Hill to pay $12k fine for mishandling campaign account. State Rep. Jonathon Hill, R-Anderson, will pay a $12,000 fine for mishandling his campaign account, the S.C. House Ethics Committee decided May 5 after reaching a settlement with the Townville Republican.
Average teacher salary in S.C. drops. Despite efforts to elevate teacher salaries over the last few years, a new report shows South Carolina actually saw a decrease in average teacher pay.
$61 million to be refunded to customers for S.C. nuclear scandal. Nearly $61 million is being set aside for Dominion Energy South Carolina over the never completed plants at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station near Columbia. The money will be split based on power use by residential, business and industrial customers.
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