WEEK IN REVIEW: We’re no longer number one!

Staff reports  |  S.C. no longer has the least number of women in its Senate. 

Thanks to this week’s swearing-in of Tameika Isaac Devine of Columbia as South Carolina’s sixth woman in the state Senate, the Palmetto State no longer has the lowest percentage of women in its upper chamber in the United States.  Devine was elected in a special election to replace the late S.C. Sen. John Scott, D-Richland.

“Devine’s election means women now make up 13% of the South Carolina Senate, up from a previous lowest-in-the-nation rank of 10%,” according to the Associated Press. “Alabama has the least, with 11%; West Virginia, the second-least, at 11.8%; and Louisiana the third-least, at 12.8%, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.”

In other recent news:

Republicans fast-track ban on transgender health care. This bill would ban minors in South Carolina from undergoing “gender-transition procedures,” including surgeries, hormone therapy and puberty blockers. Meanwhile, parents, advocates are decrying  the push from lawmakers. Also this week during the first week of the legislative session:

• • Senate panel backtracks on prescription drug notification for minors
  • Some S.C. lawmakers want ID requirements for social media, porn sites
  • Sunday alcohol sales, delivery under consideration at S.C. House
  • Statehouse weighs limiting bill debate causing friction among Republican factions
  • S.C. lawmakers to consider if nonbank lenders violate trade laws
  • Setzler, state Senate’s longest-serving member, won’t seek reelection 
  • S.C. Sen. Dick Harpootlian announces re-election bid. 

Tuesday’s storm causes damage across the state.  A semi-truck overturned in the northbound lanes of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston about 4 p.m. Tuesday during a gusty storm, leading to an hours-long closure of the entire bridge while first responders were on scene. Elsewhere in the state, the severe storm system led to flooding, road closures and property damage, especially in Bamberg, where a tornado left buildings in rubble and toppled trees across roads.  Four people across three states are said to have died due to the storm conditions.

S.C. technical colleges sign deal with 2 state universities. A statewide transfer agreement was announced between the state’s technical college system, the University of South Carolina and Clemson University, which guarantees students who complete 30 hours of credit at a South Carolina technical college in core curriculum classes will have those credits accepted if they transfer to one of the two universities.

Mount Pleasant passes hate crimes ordinances.  Mount Pleasant Town Council unanimously voted Wednesday night to enact two different ordinances to address hate crimes — something the state of South Carolina, one of two states without an anti-hate crime statute, has failed to do.  Mount Pleasant leaders began discussing ways to fight back against hate crimes after antisemitic flyers were passed around neighborhoods in last September and October. Two Mount Pleasant council members received antisemitic postcards at their homes in December. 

Haley, DeSantis spar in 5th Republican presidential debate; Christie bows out. Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis squared off Wednesday night in their first one-on-one matchup ahead of the first Republican presidential primary. Meanwhile with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie out of the race, Haley has gained an advantage in New Hampshire where Christie had spent significant time trying to woo voters.

U.S. Supreme Court delays decision on Leatherman Terminal labor dispute. The U.S. Supreme Court did not rule Jan. 8 on whether it will hear a dispute over who should operate the ship-to-shore cranes at the Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston, leaving attorneys confused as to when a decision will be made.