Last week was the 11th week of the 2024 legislative session. There are 7 weeks remaining before the legislature adjourns on May 9, 2024.
Here are the highlights from last week’s Senate action:
TENURE REVIEW AT UNIVERSITIES – The Senate passed S. 538 2023-2024 Bill 538: Tenure, a bill that would require all colleges and universities that grant tenure to professors to establish a tenure review process and have the Commission on Higher Education oversee that review process. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.
REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE JOBS – The Senate passed S. 859 2023-2024 Bill 859: Skills Based Hiring, a bill that would require the Office of Human Resources to review education, experience, and training requirements for all state government positions and determine whether the posted hiring qualifications fit the job description. The purpose of the bill is to eliminate college degree requirements from state government positions if the job duties really do not require a college degree, thereby opening those jobs to more applicants. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS – The Senate passed S. 969 2023-2024 Bill 969: Income tax deductions, a bill that would expand the existing income tax deduction for subsistence that is offered to federal, state, and local first responders. I supported the expansion. The bill will now go to the House.
ABANDONED BUILDINGS TAX CREDIT – The Senate passed S. 1021 2023-2024 Bill 1021: Abandoned buildings tax credit, a bill that would increase the total amount allowed for tax credits offered to those who revitalize, refurbish, or redevelop abandoned buildings. I supported the bill. The House will now consider the legislation.
AUTOMATIC RENEWAL OF SERVICE CONTRACTS – The Senate passed S. 434 2023-2024 Bill 434: Service contracts, a bill that would prohibit the automatic renewal of service contracts unless the contract holder is given written notice of the renewal terms at least 30 days before the cancellation deadline. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC RECORDS – The Senate passed S. 954 2023-2024 Bill 954: Electronic Records, a bill that would grant law enforcement, solicitors, and the Attorney General authority to issue subpoenas for electronic communications and transaction records as allowed by federal law. Since the custodians of these electronic records are most often outside South Carolina, law enforcement often have difficulty getting those custodians to cooperate with criminal investigations. This bill should help law enforcement in that effort. I supported the bill. The House will now consider the legislation.
SALES TAX ON LIVESTOCK TRAILERS – The Senate passed S. 107 2023-2024 Bill 107: Maximum Sales Tax, a bill that would clarify that livestock trailers are taxed at the same rate as other trailers and personal vehicles. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION – The Senate passed H. 3295 2023-2024 Bill 3295: Education: Competency-based education, a bill that would allow public schools to offer competency-based education programs that focus on real- world performance and outcomes. I supported the bill. The Senate passed the House version, so the bill will now go to the governor.
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF “MORPHED” IMAGES OF MINORS – The Senate passed S. 995 2023-2024 Bill 995: MPIC, a bill that would criminalize the use of “morphed” images of minors when those images depict the minor engaged
in sexual activity. Unfortunately, technology allows for the manipulation of photographs such that a person’s face can be transposed onto other images, making it look like the person is performing certain acts. In this case specifically, some people have been morphing photographs of minors’ faces onto photographs depicting sexually explicit activity. Those recreated images
then appear to show the minor engaged in sexual activity. This bill would make that practice a crime. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
CERTIFIED MEDICAL ASSISTANTS – The Senate passed S. 1074 2023-2024 Bill 1074: CMA, a bill that would expand the scope of practice for certified medical assistants. The bill will now go to the House.
BENEFITS FOR FIREFIGHTERS – South Carolina offers supplemental insurance coverage for firefighters who have been diagnosed with cancer. Last week, the Senate passed S. 728 2023- 2024 Bill 728: Firefighter residency, a bill that would offer that coverage to all firefighters who have served in South Carolina even if the firefighters later move to another state. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
TAX CREDIT FOR RECREATIONAL TRAIL EASEMENTS – The Senate passed H. 3121 2023-2024 Bill 3121: Recreational Trail Easement Income Tax Credit, a bill that would offer a tax credit to property owners who encumber their property with perpetual recreational trail easements. I supported the credit. The bill will now be returned to the House to consider Senate amendments.
SEIZURE SAFE SCHOOLS – The Senate passed H. 3309 2023-2024 Bill 3309: Seizure Safe Schools Act, a bill that would require each public school district and charter school to adopt and implement a training program for all school staff to identify and treat students who experience seizures. I voted against this bill. While I certainly appreciate the sentiment, I am concerned about adding additional training requirements for teachers who have no background in medicine. I would support additional training for school nurses, but I am concerned about the additional requirements for teachers. The Senate passed the House version of the bill, so the bill will now go to the governor.
PROTECTION FOR ORGAN DONORS – The Senate passed H. 3255 2023-2024 Bill 3255: Kidney donation, a bill that would prohibit insurers who offer policies for life, disability income, or long-term care from declining or limiting coverage for living organ donors. I supported the bill. The Senate passed the House version, so the bill will now go to the governor.
INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP FUND TAX CREDIT – The Senate passed H. 3811 2023-2024 Bill 3811: Industry Partnership Fund Tax Credit, a bill that would expand the existing Industry Partnership Fund tax credit from a total of $9M to $12M per year. The Industry Partnership Fund provides coaching, grants, investments, and other types of support for technology startups and for academic research and development. I voted against the expansion because I was not persuaded an expansion is necessary and am not convinced of the value of the program itself. The Senate passed the House version, so the bill will now go to the governor.
CONTINUING RESOLUTION – The Senate passed H. 4720, a resolution that would keep state government operating for the 2024-2025 fiscal year at the same levels as approved in the 2023- 2024 fiscal year. The legislature passes these resolutions every year in the event the House and Senate cannot agree on budget language before the fiscal year ends on June 30. That very rarely
happens, though. I fully expect the House and Senate will agree on a budget well before June 30. This is an insurance policy just in case. The resolution will now go to the governor.
LAST WEEK’S MEETINGS
On Monday night, I held a town hall meeting at Graniteville Elementary School. This was my 6 th town hall meeting this year.
On Wednesday morning, I attended a Lexington County legislative delegation meeting.
On Wednesday afternoon, I attended the inauguration for the newly elected Senate and executive officers at the University of South Carolina. One of my former pages, Patton Byars, was elected president of the student body for 2024-2025.
On Thursday, the Strom Thurmond High School mock trial team visited the State House. The team from STHS recently won its 10 the state championship and will represent South Carolina at the national competition in Delaware in May. I enjoyed recognizing these champions and introducing them to other senators.
On Thursday night, I attended a meet and greet for Sen. Billy Garrett in Saluda.
CONSTITUENT INTERESTS
SCDOT ROAD PROJECTS – SCDOT has an interactive map to allow citizens to see the road and bridge projects going on around the state. You can see that map here.
How is the gas tax being used? – SCDOT’s website allows you to view a detailed revenue statement and project list that is funded by the Infrastructure Maintenance Trust Fund (IMTF). SCDOT updates this site monthly as the revenue comes in. You can see that report here.
WANT TO SEE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN ACTION? – The Senate meets in statewide session on Tuesdays at 12:00, Wednesdays at 1:00, and Thursdays at 11:00. Committees and subcommittees meet Tuesday afternoons, Wednesday mornings, and Thursday mornings. You can watch live coverage of the Senate, House of Representatives, and committees here.
OUR SENATE DISTRICT – Following the 2020 Census, the legislature redrew House and Senate districts. The new Senate districts will go into effect with the 2024 general election. Our district, Senate District 25, consists of all of Edgefield and McCormick Counties and parts of Aiken, Lexington, and Saluda Counties. If you’d like to see the district map, go here South Carolina Full Judiciary Plan. Senate District 25 is, appropriately, the peach-colored district along the western, middle part of the state. You can zoom in to see precincts and street names.
VOTING RECORD – If you’d like to see how I’ve voted on issues, go here. You can always check to see how I vote by going to my website, www.senatormassey.com, and clicking on the “Voting Record” tab.
SPEAKING WITH GROUPS – Several groups, clubs, and classes around our Senate district have invited me to attend their meetings and provide legislative updates. If you would like for me to come speak with your group, please let me know.
EMAIL UPDATES – If you know of people in or around District 25 who do not receive my updates but would like to get them, please email their names and email addresses to me. You can also forward this email to them and encourage them to sign up for the updates at www.senatormassey.com.