BIG STORY: Abortion, vouchers dominate legislature’s first week

By Andy Brack, news analysis  |  With more than 900 bills prefiled before the Tuesday opening of the 2023 legislative session, it’s not like state lawmakers could twiddle their thumbs.  There was plenty of work to do.

But two perennially pesky issues – abortion and school vouchers – quickly reared their heads to suck the air away from just about everything else.  

Despite lots of action and reaction in 2022 about abortion, the issue rocketed to the top of the Republican legislative agenda last week after the state Supreme Court overturned a 2021 six-week abortion ban.  When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision last June, it triggered the S.C. ban into effect.  But the S.C. high court paused the ban as it considered whether it was constitutional.  On Jan. 5, it ruled 3-2 that the ban violated the state’s constitutional right to privacy.

And in turn, the ruling immediately caused the General Assembly to flip in more ways than one.  First, it steered GOP legislators to start committing more energy into crafting a new ban, despite the fact that the issue seemed all talked out last year.  And second, the court’s action caused a reaction in which any justices up for reelection will be met with extra scrutiny on abortion.  It’s likely that when lawmakers vote for a replacement for Justice Kaye Hearn in February, they’ll pick a solid conservative who could flip the Jan. 5 abortion ban interpretation in a future case.  Furthermore, the ruling may also cause lawmakers to reconsider how all judges are screened and picked.

“What I’m afraid is about to happen is we’re going to focus a bunch of time on abortion [and] we’re going to be derailed and put on this path of trampling on women when we should be focused on making South Carolina Better,” House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, told The Post and Courier.

But abortion wasn’t the only controversial issue discussed in the General Assembly’s first week.  State GOP senators made a very public display of affection for a measure that would provide $6,000 in school vouchers to parents who wanted to send their K-12 children to private schools.  The bill, which almost made it into law last year, was sent to the Senate floor from its education committee on Thursday.  

While abortion and school vouchers are expected to dominate the early part of session, here’s a short look at other key issues that should be on the front burner this year:

Budget.  The single biggest thing that the legislature does each year is to figure out how to spend billions in state tax dollars to pay for services.  This year, they have an easier job than usual because they face a $3.8 billion surplus, which Gov. Henry McMaster is encouraging them to use it for significant pay hikes for state employees and teachers, who are leaving education in droves.  Paying them more is one strategy to stanch the flow.

Redistricting.  After a three-judge panel of federal judges last week ruled the General Assembly’s map for the 1st Congressional District is unconstitutional and racially gerrymandered, lawmakers will have to go back to the drawing board.  Expect a new proposal by the end of March.

Rescue money.  The General Assembly also has a pot of $580 million in federal rescue funds that they have to allocate this year for qualified purposes or they’ll lose it.

Economic development.  State leaders say they want to use some of the surplus to promote more economic development in an effort to have a healthy economy in the event of a national economic downturn.  That means investments in workforce development, technical training, education scholarships and more.

Crime.  Lawmakers may also work on strategies to cut use of highly addictive fentanyl and reform the bail system so violent suspects don’t get out of jail too easily.

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