This year’s S.C. General Assembly officially ended this week following enactment of a number of GOP-favored priorities, including a new six-week abortion ban, reform of the state’s bail bond system, a new law to combat the fentanyl epidemic and a measure to streamline the state’s public health agency.
Lawmakers also approved a nearly $14 million state budget, a record amount for South Carolina. It calls for the state’s public employees tol get at least a $2,500 pay boost starting next month. Teachers from kindergarten to 12th grade also will receive a $2,500 pay bump, though it may vary by district. Legislators passed the budget Wednesday. It heads to the governor for his signature.
In other recent headlines:
2024: Trump pleads not guilty as 2024 candidates wrestle with messaging. Former President Donald Trump, now twice indicted since leaving the White House, surrendered and pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 37 federal charges in Miami. His lawyers have asked for a jury trial. Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley first said she would consider pardoning Trump, but later changed her messaging to criticize him for being reckless. Next week, Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, another Republican presidential candidate from South Carolina, will hold town halls in the state. Trump says he’ll spend July 4 in the Upstate.
Bond restrictions for repeat criminals passed by S.C. legislature. Criminal defendants with repeat violent charges could have a harder time getting out of jail as they await trial and could spend more time in prison if they are convicted of the crime while out on bond, according to a new proposal heading to the governor’s desk.
IAAM announces public watch event at Marion Square. The International African American Museum is set to open its doors to the public on June 27. To kick off the opening, the museum will host a simulcast of the dedication ceremony, viewable on screens mounted in Marion Square June 24 at 10 a.m.
How the Myrtle Beach area could become a global internet hub. Subsea cables, garden hose-sized fiber optic lines that run along the ocean floor, will soon connect the Grand Strand to the globe with a station in Myrtle Beach.
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