LWVSC Pre-Filed Bills of Interest 2015

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Accountability & Ethics

S10 / L. Martin / Removes the cause of death by a person examined by an autopsy from the autopsy exclusions of information subject to public release in the FOIA. / Senate Judiciary / Passed Senate 42/0, in House Judiciary since 2/10
S14 / Rankin / A comprehensive ethics reform bill that provides no structural changes to investigations of legislators. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S74 / Campsen / 2015 Ethics Reform Act. A comprehensive ethics reform bill with independent investigation. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S11 / L. Martin / Requires that a public body must provide an agenda for all regularly scheduled meetings and that items shall not be added to that agenda later than twenty- four hours before the meeting, except by a two-thirds vote of the body. / Senate Judiciary / Passed House and Senate, non-concurernce in House so on to committee to reconcile versions
S1 / L. Martin / 2015 Ethics Reform Act". A comprehensive bill. Includes an investigatory State Ethics Commission which covers legislators, judges and public officials and employees / Senate Judiciary / failed 2nd reading Senate, can be reconsidered but probably won’t be this year
H3176 / Tinkler / Prohibits the solicitation or acceptance of legislative and gubernatorial campaign contributions or pledges of contributions during an annual, organizational, special, or extra session of the General Assembly. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3174 / Tinkler / Transfers legislative ethics oversight to State Ethics Commission. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3175 / Tinkler / Constitutional amend to provide that the supervision of ethical conduct by members of the General Assembly, including the authority to discipline members, is vested in the state agency charged by law with investigating, enforcing, and adjudicating allegations of ethical misconduct. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3171 / Tinkler / Requires a candidate to obtain written approval from the appropriate supervisory office before the candidate may be reimbursed from campaign funds in an amount that exceeds five hundred dollars / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3048 / Funderburk / Eliminates the two thousand dollar cap on whistleblower rewards. Removes the one-year limitation on the period during which an employee is protected from adverse employment actions, and to provide for additional remedies. / House Judiciary / Introduced, referred to Judiciary
S259 / Thurmond / 20 day, $250 standard for reporting campaign contributions to shorten blackout period / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S202 / Sheheen / Ethics reform. Provides for independent investigation. Provides for the imposition of penalties and the disposition of technical violations by the legislative ethics committees. Changes rules on campaign finance, lobbying. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S203 / Sheheen / Provides that the State Ethics Commission shall administer training programs on state ethics laws, to provide who shall attend the training sessions. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S223 / Malloy / Enact the False Claims Act to provide procedures for going after fraudulent claims, including private qui tam actions. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced; a hardy perennial
S200 / Sheheen / Outlaws leadership PACs. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced, referred to Judiciary
S258 / Thurmond / Applies lobbying laws to political subdivisions in addition to General Assembly. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S207 / Sheheen / Raises rewards and provides protections for whistleblowers / Senate Judiciary / referred to Judiciary
H3184 / Pope / restructures ethics investigation and enforcement; independent oversight; similar S1, S14, S74, H3185 / House Judiciary / passed House, referred to Senate Judiciary
H3185 / Pope / move to Title 16, definitions, civil/criminal; similar S1, S14, S74, H3184 / House Judiciary / passed House, scheduled Senate Judiciary May12
H3186 / Finlay / income disclosure, SEI reporting / House Judiciary / passed House 2/19, sent to Senate
H3187 / Finlay / committee definition / House Judiciary / passed House, in Senate Judiciary
H3188 / Finlay / eliminates leadership PACs / House Judiciary / passed House, scheduled Senate Judiciary May12
H3189 / Finlay / electioneering disclosures / House Judiciary / passed House, scheduled Senate Judiciary May12
H3190 / Newton / General Assembly no longer exempt from FOIA / House Judiciary / Introduced, referred to Houe Judiciary
H3191 / Newton / FOIA amendments / House Judiciary / passed House 2/19; sent to Senate
H3192 / Newton / public notice for meetings, agenda publication and modification / House Judiciary / passed House, sent to Senate Judiciary
H3193 / Cole / contributions for runoffs / House Judiciary / passed House, scheduled Senate Judiciary May12
H.3194 / Cole / defines candidate / House Judiciary / passed House, sent to Senate Judiciary
H3195 / Finlay / deletes ALEC exemption / House Judiciary / passed House, sent to Senate Judiciary
H3196 / Cole / use of position for financial gain / House Judiciary / passed House, sent to Senate Judiciary
H3197 / Finlay / reduces blackout period before election in campaign reporting to 72 hours / House Judiciary / passed House, sent to Senate Judiciary
H3198 / Lucas / use of position for financial gain; recusal / House Judiciary / referred to House Judiciary
H3199 / Cole / use of campaign funds to retire debt / House Judiciary / passed House, sent to Senate Judiciary
H3200 / Cole / higher education exemption for use of position / House Judiciary / passed House, scheduled Senate Judiciary May12
H3201 / Lucas / invitations to General Assembly / House Judiciary / referred to House Judiciary
H3202 / Funderburk / whistleblower protection / House Judiciary / passed House, sent to Senate Judiciary
H3048 / Funderburk / whistleblower protection; similar S207, H3202 / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3218 / Lucas / Grand Jury reform (S268 similar) / House Judiciary / Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
S268 / Martin / Grand Jury reform to insure independence of AG and Grand Jury / passed Senate and House Judiciary subcomm. w/ favorable report
S333 / Shealy / Provides that any public official who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a felony committed while in office shall be required to serve a percentage of the jail penalty, or one year, whichever is greater, and thirty days or a percentage of the jail penalty, whichever is greater, for a misdemeanor. They would also forfeit retirement benefits. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S310 / Campsen / Requires campaign contribution reports for candidates for election by the General Assembly. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S283 / Verdin / Requires public meetings prior to an agency promulgating, amending, or repealing a regulation. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced; referred to Senate Judiciary
S281 / Massey / Transparency in Private Attorney Contracts Act to regulate contracts between the state and private attorneys for legal services. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
H3722 / Lucas / comprehensive ethics reform bill, combines smaller House bills; in Senate is S.1 reincarnated through strike and replace, with a few amendments / House end reading uncontested / introduced without reference;
passed Senate subcomm. Adn comm. But Williams filed objection and no special order in sight

Elections & Voting

S141 / Coleman / Requires DHEC to furnish the State Election Commission with a monthly report at no charge of persons eighteen years of age or older who have died. Provides a procedure for removing a decedent's name from the official list of eligible voters. Other record-keeping provisions related to persons removed from the voter list. / Senate Judiciary / Senate Subcomm 3/5
S148 / Scott / Creates early voting period. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S87 / Bright / Adds a South Carolina concealed weapon permit to list of acceptable IDs to vote. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S55 / Campsen / Requires each political subdivision of the state whose governing board, commission, or council is popularly elected from single-member election districts, residency requirements, or a combination of at- large and single-member districts to be reapportioned to a population variance of less than ten percent within three years of release of the decennial census. Provides procedures for continuity of representation when reapportionment locates two or more elected members in the same election district. Clarifies certain duties and responsibilities of the SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office regarding reapportionment. / Senate Judiciary / passed Senate, in House Judiciary by crossover date
H3015 / Bingham / Permits an absentee ballot applicant to physically deliver his ballot or ballots in the return-addressed envelope marked "Ballot Herein" to his regularly assigned voting precinct on election day. / House Judiciary / referred to House Judiciary
H3084 / Jefferson / Eliminates the requirement that the absentee ballot applicant's oath be witnessed. / House Judiciary / failed on House floor
H3102 / McEachern / A number of changes to make voter registration, absentee ballots and voting accessible to persons with disabilities. / House Judiciary / referred to House Judiciary
H3059 / Gilliard / Allows candidates for elective office twenty-one calendar days following an election to remove lawfully placed campaign signs. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3087 / Limehouse / Requires registration by party. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3016 / Bingham / Includes a valid and current SC resident concealed weapon permit as an authorized form of identification to vote. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3167 / Tallon / Includes a valid and current SC resident concealed weapon permit as an authorized form of identification to vote. / House Judiciary / Introduced
S216 / Campsen / Requires that the chair of county boards registration and election be appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the county legislative delegation. / Senate Judiciary / subcomm 3/5
S182 / Hayes / Enacts the "SC Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act", to define necessary terms, and provide registration and absentee voting alternatives for certain military and overseas voters. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S234 / Bright / Adds concealed weapons permits as valid photo voter identification. Requires SLED to shall also provide CWP applicant information regarding voter registration and a voter registration form. CWP permit holders are likely to be disproportionately white. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S204 / Sheheen / Provides that the State Election Commission shall conduct presidential preference primaries for certified political parties that received at least five percent of the popular vote in SC for the party's candidate for president of the United States. If more than one state committee decides to hold a presidential preference primary, the committees mutually shall set a single date for the presidential preference primary. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
S215 / Campsen / Provides that an election shall be postponed if the Governor declares a state of emergency for an entire jurisdiction holding an election. Numerous other procedural changes. / Senate Judiciary / Introduced
H3047 / Funderburk / reapportionment commission / House Judiciary / Introduced
H4078 / W. McLeod / General Assembly involvement in voting machine procurement / House Judiciary / Introduced
H4080 / W. McLeod / General Assembly study of voting machine procurement / House Judiciary / recalled from committee 5/5 and passed on House floor; requires 2/3 vote of Senate to be considered there this year

Civil Rights/Immigration

H3120 / Pitts / Restrictive provisions related to undocumented immigrants / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3086 / Limehouse / Provides that an officer or employee of an agency of this state or of a political subdivision of this state may not take any action as a result of an official contact with an individual who is a non-citizen of the United States illegally present in the United States, / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3135 / Rutherford / Constitutional amendment to delete federally unconstitutional prohibition on same sex marriages. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3150 / G.R. Smith / Provides that no agency, official, or employee of this state or any political subdivision thereof shall enforce or impose a civil, administrative, or criminal sanction or penalty which penalizes or otherwise punishes in any manner an individual or entity for its refusal to provide goods or services in connection with a marriage of two individuals of like gender. / House Judiciary / Introduced
H3022 / Chumley / Prohibits the use of taxpayer funds and payment of government salaries and benefits for activities related to the licensing and support of same- sex marriage. / House Judiciary / Introduced

Environment

Bill / Sponsor / Description / Where / Action /
S58 / Campsen / Surface Water Stewardship Act to regulate surface water withdrawal. / Senate Agriculture / referred to Senate Ag
S139 / Cleary / Allows for certain methods to protect beach areas when an emergency order is issued. Eliminates the right to petition the Administrative Law Court to move the baseline seaward upon completion of a renourishment project. / Senate Agriculture / referred to Senate Ag
S229 / Campbell / Clarifies that persons who may file a petition with DHEC under the Pollution Control Act does not include a department, agency, commission, department, or political subdivision of the state. Provides for department decisions that are not subject to judicial review in a civil proceeding, / Senate Medical Affairs / Subcomm
S228 / Campbell / To remove DHEC board from challenges to staff decisions / Senate Medical Affairs / Comm. Favorable with amendment since 3/10
H3564 / J Smith / permits for water withdrawal to avoid mega-farm abuse / House Ag Subcomm / won’t move this year

Budgets and Taxes

S115 / Bright / Provides that private childcare facilities, private schools, and home schools are tax exempt. / Finance / Introduced
S2 / Setzler / Establishes the Interstate Lane Expansion Fund out of car sales taxes. Provides the manner in which the SC Transportation Infrastructure Bank selects eligible projects. / Finance / Introduced
S142 / Coleman / Provides that all General Fund revenues accumulated in a fiscal year in excess of general appropriations and supplemental appropriations must be credited to the state highway fund for improvements to existing mainline interstates and state and local roads. / Finance / Introduced
S27 / Grooms / Provides for an annual two tenths of one percent reduction in tax rates beginning in tax year 2016 and ceasing after tax year 2025. Phases in gas tax increase. / Finance / Introduced
H3064 / Goldfinch / Raises the maximum sales tax on cars and motorcycles from three hundred dollars to seven hundred fifty dollars and to provide that the revenues attributable to this increase must be credited to the state non-federal aid highway fund. Does not raise tax on yachts and private planes. / Ways & Means / Introduced
H3010 / Ballentine / Provides for collection of sales taxes on remote sales if Congress allows it. Provide that sales and use tax revenue collected pursuant to this act must be credited to the state highway fund for the construction and improvement of roads and bridges. / Ways & Means / Introduced
S205 / Sheheen / Provides that the property taxes assessed against the vehicle of a nonresident must be paid before it may be operated. / Transportation / Introduced
S195 / Johnson / Requires DOT to impose a toll along I-95 where it crosses Lake Marion in either Orangeburg County or Clarendon County. / Transportation / Introduced

Courts