By Andy Brack and Rodney Welch | The typically conservative S.C. General Assembly will be conservative with the coronavirus pandemic when the 2021 session opens, particularly after at least two members apparently contacted the disease in end-of-the-year organizational meetings.
The virus will control the tempo of the legislature, said Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney.
“COVID-19 will be the boss,” he said. “The state Senate is not a bunch of scaredy-cats, but we are going to continue to act responsibly, so that will be on everyone’s mind — this virus and how it affects the state.
“The whole COVID situation has an Alamo feeling to it, meaning we’re fighting this virus while waiting on the vaccine to arrive and save the day,” he said. “I tell my senators, “Just act like everyone else has the virus.’ That’s the best way to act. That way you’ll be sure to wear a mask, keep your distance and wash your hands. Use good hygiene.”
House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, said despite the uncertainty of what’s ahead with the virus, he’s looking forward to dealing with unfinished business of the 2020 session cut short by the pandemic.
“The House will continue to have every precaution in place to ensure we meet in a safe manner, as well as implement a few new protocols, including a new voting system that will allow members to vote from the balcony and allowing some committee meetings to be held virtually, that we hope will make meeting and voting more flexible for members,” Lucas told Statehouse Report. “While last year was like nothing I have ever seen in my 22 years in the House, I am confident that we will continue to do the work of the people of this state in a safe and productive manner, even if some things may look different.”
In the early days of the session, the Statehouse will feel different as the lobby between chambers likely will be closed to the swarms of lobbyists and advocates who try to snag lawmakers for chats. Statehouse insiders also predict in-person meetings in the House and Senate chambers will be limited early with much legislative work done by videoconferences, which have been used successfully since the summer. As members of the General Assembly get vaccinated, more in-person meetings should occur.
“[For] standing committees and subcommittees, we’re trying to work that out now to where we meet virtually or some type of hybrid meeting in the committee rooms that have virtual capability,” Peeler said, adding that he wanted in-person meetings with the public as soon as practical.
Outgoing Black Caucus Chairman Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, said the COVID-19 pandemic also will change the landscape of the legislative body, weighing on everything from debates on the economy and health care to education and how government works.
“I think the most plausible and prudent thing for the state to do is to thoroughly ascertain where we are as a state and devise a four-, eight- and 12-month plan in response to the ebb and flow of the pandemic, which has clearly gotten worse and is out out of control even as we now have multiple sources of the vaccine in play,” he said. “The problem is that we do not have a uniform logistical system set up for distribution which in my opinion should be handled at the federal level.
“Therefore, the top priorities for the General Assembly must be ensuring that our health care system is both efficient and fair, preserving our economy — particularly small businesses — and diversification of our educational system that ensures that all children learn.”
Here’s a deeper look at some of the issues lawmakers will grapple with in the months ahead:
State budget packs $1.2 billion extra punch
Because the pandemic cut short the 2020 legislative session, lawmakers didn’t pass a new budget. Instead, they approved a measure to keep state spending at the same level as the previous year. In turn, that had a couple of ramifications:
First, it led to a big surplus because of hundreds of millions of unspent reserves that weren’t budgeted. There also were millions of unbudgeted new tax dollars that piled up. According to a Nov. 10 preliminary forecast for the state’s 2021-22 fiscal year, lawmakers should have about $1.2 billion in new revenue to spend over and above what regularly comes in. Read our previous coverage.
Second, the extra funds allowed the state to continue to operate during challenging times without making mid-year cuts experienced by other states — because South Carolina had the ability to channel some of the extra money for emergencies. That provided stability in unstable times — something budget overseers like.
“We were on the cusp of doing teacher pay raises and other things for education,” said Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg. “Obviously, we’ve had to redirect money into the state Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and other things related to health care, so we’re going to have to go back and revisit those budget issues.”
Lucas said there was a lot of uncertainty still around the 2021-22 budget, but would have a clearer view in the coming months.
Redistricting to get attention in 2021
Legislators also will redraw lines for S.C. House, S.C. Senate and congressional districts in 2021 based on the results of the 2020 census. A job done every 10 years, Republicans have used the process since the 1990s to draw districts that boosted the number of GOP members into increasingly larger majorities in each chamber. In 2021, Democrats will start with 43 of 124 House seats (one less than 2020) and three fewer in the Senate (16 of 46).
“I am confident that the process will remain as fair, open and honest as it has been the past three times,” Lucas said. “Last time, our plan received preclearance from the Obama-era Justice Department, a sure signal that South Carolina’s redistricting efforts were fair. I have no reason to believe they would be anything but that this time as well.”
Some Democrats aren’t as hopeful.
“Democrats must first commit to sticking together and not allow Republicans to divide and conquer as they have in past redistricting efforts by picking us off and packing districts to their advantage,” said veteran House legislator Gilda Cobb Hunter, D-Orangeburg. “I have again prefiled legislation requiring an independent commission to draw lines, but I am not hopeful of its chances for passage.
“The [redistricting] plan will be made fairer by a unified Democratic caucus and an active and engaged conversation from voters insisting that legislators draw fair maps. I’m convinced that holding the line is not a position that’s in the best interest of good governance for our state.”
Rep. Wendy Brawley, D-Richland, said she hoped Democratic legislators didn’t “just settle” for lines drawn by Republicans.
“That means we Democrats must get voters involved in the process to ensure the most fair process possible,” she said. “For me, just holding the line is not acceptable. We should be prepared to pursue all legal avenues to ensure lines are fairly and equitably drawn.”
Education improvements on tap
State Rep. Rita Allison, the Spartanburg Republican who chairs the House Education and Public Works Committee, said lawmakers will focus on improving and reforming the state’s education network.
Budget discussions will focus on recruiting and retaining teachers as well as helping students catch-up from work they missed during pandemic shutdowns and alterations.
“A lot of them have gotten behind during COVID,” she said. “[We have] to be able to fund situations so that we can catch them up and hopefully get them back in school in the coming year so that they are caught up.”
Abortion bill will be back
With more state senators in the coming year, Republicans will work to pass stricter legislation related to abortion, Peeler said. It most likely will be so-called “fetal heartbeat” legislation, which permits abortion only in rare circumstances.
“I feel optimistic that we will move forward for a pro-life bill early on in the session.” he said.
Peeler said he could not predict how extensively the bill would limit abortion, but did allow that the Senate’s Medical Affairs Committee will stay busy this year.
But Hutto questioned the annual push, which fails year after year and takes up lots of floor time that could be devoted to issues that impact people hurting across the state.
“We, of course, would like to focus on education and health care,” Hutto said. “They, apparently, would rather focus on something else. I’m hoping we’ll get to a general discussion about the state of our children and how they’ve fared through the pandemic, [and] the state of our economy and how we got a lot of people that are out of work and small businesses that have closed.
“I think the people of South Carolina expect us to get up here and do work that will be productive toward getting everybody back to whatever the new normal is going to be. To me, to have to jump into a social issue that we already know the outcome is going to be declared unconstitutional seems to be a big waste of time.”
Other issues on the table
Health care. With one of every 17 South Carolinians contracting COVID-19 this year, inequities and shortcomings have become clearer in South Carolina’s health care system, lawmakers say, which means they’ll dive into possible changes to broaden accessibility.
“COVID-19 has underscored the importance of making quality health care affordable and accessible for all South Carolinians,” said Rep. Roger Kirby, D-Florence. “We must protect the capacity of our state’s hospital system, support free COVID testing and ensure that distribution of the vaccine goes smoothly until we beat this virus once and for all. Ultimately, we believe that the state must expand health care coverage to more South Carolinians by finally expanding Medicaid.”
DHEC. Peeler also has pre-filed a bill that would split DHEC and change how it operates. Peeler believes the state agency should focus on health while other agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources, look after the environment. “This has been a concern of mine for years,” he said. “DHEC is just too large.”
Gun reform. Lawmakers again will try to close the “Charleston loophole” to require more time for federal officials to do background checks on people who want guns. Brawley said she also is sponsoring legislation to prohibit the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Santee Cooper. Since a $9 billion failure to build nuclear plants in Fairfield County, SCANA was sold to Dominion Energy and state lawmakers have been under a lot of pressure to reform or sell Santee Cooper. After a summer of intensive behind-the-scenes lobbying fueled apparently by a company that wants to buy the state-backed utility, there likely will be hot debate on Santee Cooper’s future.
Hate crimes. Some lawmakers see momentum in South Carolina passing a law against hate crimes, particularly since the S.C. Chamber of Commerce supported the legislation recently. “This is an important piece of legislation for South Carolina to enhance our standing nationally as a forward moving state,” Kirby said.
Lawmakers will juggle lots of more issues with more than 1,000 bills already prefiled. Also getting attention will be potential changes to election laws, clarifying gubernatorial powers during crises, improving diversity in professional schools, raising the minimum wage, approving use of medical marijuana, increasing access to broadband and more.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. Rodney Welch is a freelance writer from Elgin. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
It seems the budget always has a surplus. They should increase the state workers pay . Most of the regular workers pay is at the poverty rate . It was once a good thing to have a state job but now not sure that is true.