By Lily Levin | South Carolina legislators have hate crimes, education and judicial reform on their minds as they prepare to head into the 2024 session after a year marked by some bipartisan agreement and a lot of polarization.
Hate crimes on tap — again
Lawmakers again will try to pass a hate crimes bill in South Carolina, the only state other than Wyoming without the law. While the S.C. House passed the bill last year, it’s on the docket in the state Senate and is expected to get scrutiny in 2024.
House Bill 3014 calls for “an enhanced penalty of certain violent crimes when the offender intentionally selects a victim due to the offender’s belief or perception regarding the victim’s race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability.”
S.C. Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston, who has been a staunch advocate for the bill, earlier this year praised bipartisan collaboration among House representatives. “This is a great way not only to honor the nine lives that we lost on June 17, 2015, but to all victims that have fallen because of a hate crime.”
S.C. Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Berkeley, said he didn’t think the bill would pass the Senate. He added that he personally voted against the bill because he disagreed with its listing of sex and gender as “separate” — and how this might make room for lawsuits against religious organizations. He told the Charleston City Paper that though he supports harsh penalties for violent crime, he questions why some groups, such as the LGBTQ community or anyone harmed by institutional racism — should “get more protection from the law.”
School choice, tax incentives
Some lawmakers emphasized the need to support public schools — in particular, by increasing pay for teachers and school personnel such as cafeteria staff. Rep. Chandra Dillard, D-Greenville, said the state must “continue to support public education, specifically the recruitment and retention of teachers.”
State Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, said a priority of his will be a bill currently sitting in the House. It’s called a “Parental Bill of Rights,” and it would require school officials to tell parents if their student has switched pronouns or is using a different bathroom. Moreover, it would necessitate parental permission for gender-affirming care for minors.
In South Carolina, conservatives are also using “parental rights” to censor education materials: A Berkeley County chapter of Moms for Liberty made headlines this year after releasing a proposal to ban 93 books. Rep. J.A. Moore, D-Berkeley, however, said education improvements would not occur as a result of policies targeting a “culturally diverse education.”
A new way to pick judges?
Lawmakers from both parties said judicial reform is a top issue in 2024 — and a bill has already been prefiled to enact various measures. It would, among other things, ensure that two members of the Judicial Merit Selection Committee must be appointed by the South Carolina Bar and that a judicial candidate can’t withdraw their name after the committee has started its investigation.
Abortion may take a back seat in 2024
Despite a six-week abortion ban being passed after a lot of time spent on the issue in 2023, S.C. Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, who voted against the bill, and Pace, who voted for it, said they weren’t confident abortion would be a priority during the 2024 session. Pace, however, noted that “as long as babies are getting killed in the womb, it’s going to be a big deal to me.”
Other issues expected in 2024
Other issues expected to be discussed in 2024 include the following:
Affordable housing. Dillard said lawmakers will “continue to work on tools that advance affordable housing in our cities and towns, like inclusionary zoning,” and Moore echoed that sentiment, speaking of the lack of affordable housing — in particular, in Goose Creek and North Charleston.
Drug-induced homicide. One bill currently in the House Judiciary Committee proposes a penalty for “drug-based homicide,” which would allow the state to consider a homicide charge for people who, knowingly or not, supply fentanyl or a schedule one substance used in an overdose. Though the bill passed the Senate nearly unanimously, public health and harm reduction advocates have noted that it does not decrease overdose deaths and is an “inhumane” method of confronting the opioid epidemic.
Mental health. Rep. Spencer Wetmore, D-Charleston, explained that mental health for children would be an important personal priority: “Our teachers want to teach, which means we must fund more support and services for students who need them.” She said the state could accomplish this task through grant funding from accredited nonprofits, which would keep costs conservative and reasonable. Dillard also expressed the need for the state to solicit more 988 suicide and crisis lifeline funding from the federal government.
Constitutional carry. Grooms said in the new year, he’ll work toward striking the permit requirement to carry a weapon on public premises. Current law mandates a permit based on the owner’s age, training and background check status. According to Grooms, removal of this requirement to enact what’s known as constitutional carry would “restrict governmental interference on an individual’s right to self-defense.”
Economic development. Sen. Sean Bennett, R-Dorchester, told the City Paper that one of his priorities would be to “continue to improve workforce development with a focus on increasing the labor participation rate. … While enjoying a very low unemployment rate, more and more citizens are either choosing not to enter the workforce or are unable.”
Infrastructure. Given the amount of growth that South Carolina — and in particular, the Lowcountry — is experiencing, Charleston-area legislators also say they are looking to invest more in funding roads and projects to confront increased flooding.
Medical marijuana. According to Shealy, medical marijuana will be a top priority of the session, but Pace said it depends on whether Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who has been the main champion of the legislation, continues to push it. Pace noted that it was a “pretty conservative bill” with a variety of stipulations he felt were reasonable.
Artificial intelligence (AI). Moore said AI will take the driver’s seat of his agenda, especially because it doesn’t seem to be a top priority for his coworkers. He expressed the importance of monitoring AI given its rapid, unprecedented acceleration, noting his perspective as a board member of a tech nonprofit. “We need a better understanding of where artificial intelligence is going.”
Lily Levin is a reporter with the Charleston City Paper, where this story first appeared. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
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