By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | The legislature is readying to convene for the first time since April 8, and just three work days before the official end of session.
Today, the Senate tested meeting virtually via Zoom, and a Joint Bond Review Committee will be held virtually at 10:30 a.m. May 6.
But the House and Senate have plans to meet in-person beginning noon May 12, just days before the May 14 end of session, according to a statement from the House Speaker’s office.
The House will meet each of the three days leading up to the deadline, according to House Clerk Charles Reid in a Thursday email to House members.
House Speaker Jay Lucas issued a statement Thursday saying the House intended to take up the continuing resolution to fund the government at 2019-2020 levels past the June 30 end of fiscal year, and the sine die resolution, which would allow the legislature to reconvene at a later time. Both measures were the sole focus of the April 8 meeting, but debate over language that barred state-owned utility Santee Cooper from entering long-term contracts including in the continuing resolution derailed passage. Each body passed similar versions, and now one body must concur with the other body’s bills.
According to Reid’s email to lawmakers, the Blatt building and the House chamber will be restricted to staff and members. The public will not be allowed access to either. Members of the media will be allowed access to the chamber. Committees and subcommittees will not convene, Reid said.
May 14 is also scheduled for a meeting of the state Board of Economic Advisers, which forecasts state revenue for the budget. According to Reid’s email, the session could be extended by two weeks if that meeting results in a revenue forecast reduction.
In other news:
South Carolina could see new version of famous state flag. A new report is giving guidance to state lawmakers to codify the state flag. The last time South Carolina had an official state flag, it was repealed in 1940. For 80 years, the state’s flag has been up to interpretation by flag manufacturers. “South Carolina’s state flag has been voted one of the most beautiful. It’s beautiful for its simplicity. It’s always been high in the ranking for vexillologists,” said S.C. Department of Archives and History Director Dr. Eric Emerson, who chaired the committee that wrote the report. “This one thing that represents us more than anything else should be codified.” Like the repealed 1910 version, the latest version is based on a pencil sketch by Ellen Heyward Jervey of Charleston. Read the report here.
“The funds are here:” Federal relief in state coffers. S.C. Department of Administration Executive Budget Director Brian Gaines told lawmakers and business CEOs Monday that federal relief for state and local governments is available and funds will “start rolling out as expeditiously as possible.” The federal funds cannot replace revenues lost by governments, and are only to be used for “direct reimbursements” related to the pandemic or its prevention from March 1 until Dec. 31, Gaines said. About $91 million will go to Greenville County, which meets the criteria of direct federal aid by having a population more than 500,000. That leaves $1.01 billion for Gaines to coordinate along with the AccelerateSC resource subcommittee. The state will reserve 45 percent for local entities with any balance left over going back to the state, and 55 percent reserved for state government, Gaines said.
South Carolina’s poorest families pay 35% of income for higher education. Families in need in South Carolina pay 35 percent of their income to pay for educational expenses for a full-time student at a four-year institution, and 15 percent of their income for a two-year institution, according to a new report from Southern Regional Education Board. SREB is a 16-state membership nonprofit that seeks to improve public education.
Bring your own pen for in-person absentee voting. State election officials said South Carolinians can begin absentee voting Monday, and that they recommend voters bring their own pens to sign in. Election officials told Statehouse Report they expect record absentee voting. South Carolina allows more than a dozen reasons to vote absentee, including having to work on election day and being over the age of 65. Avoiding a virus is not one of the reasons allowed. Read more about absentee voting here, including a list of all allowed reasons for voting absentee.
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