Last week was the 8th week of the 2024 legislative session. There are 10 weeks remaining before the legislature adjourns on May 9, 2024.
Here are the highlights from last week’s Senate action:
PHARMACY PRACTICE ACT UPDATES – The Senate passed H. 3592 2023-2024 Bill 3592: Compounding pharmacies, a bill that would update the Pharmacy Practice Act by revising requirements for compounding pharmacies and updating standards for the preparation, labeling, and distribution of sterile products. I supported the bill. The bill will now go back to the House of Representatives to consider Senate amendments.
MEDICAID FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS – The Senate passed S. 578 2023-2024 Bill 578: Disclosure of records, a bill that would allow state tax return information to be disclosed to the Attorney General or a federal grand jury for purposes of investigating Medicaid fraud. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House of
Representatives.
PROPERTY TRANSFERS ON DEATH – The Senate passed S. 755 2023-2024 Bill 755: Property transfer upon death, a bill that would allow owners of personal property that have titles (cars, boats, etc.) to have Transfer of Death designations noted on the title. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.
DISCLOSURE OF BLOOD TYPE ON DRIVER’S LICENSES – The Senate passed S. 968 2023-2024 Bill 968: Drivers License Blood Type, a bill that would allow drivers license holders to opt to disclose their blood type on their driver’s license. It would not be required; it would give the license holder the choice to make the disclosure. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICES FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED SUSPENSIONS – The Senate passed H. 3518 2023-2024 Bill 3518: Motor vehicle financial responsibility, a bill that would allow a person to enroll in the Ignition Interlock Device Program if the person’s driver’s license has been suspended for an alcohol-related driving offense. The Interlock program allows a person to drive, but the person must install an ignition interlock device on the vehicle that will prevent the vehicle from starting if the driver’s alcohol concentration is above a certain threshold. I supported the bill. The bill will return to the House
to consider Senate amendments.
USE OF CELL PHONE DATA TO LOCATE ENDANGERED PEOPLE – The Senate passed S. 235 2023- 2024 Bill 235: Telecommunications location information, a bill that would allow wireless service providers to disclose cell phone
location data to law enforcement if there is a risk of death or serious physical harm. The purpose of the bill is to help law enforcement locate kidnap victims. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
KIDNAPPING – The Senate passed S. 947 2023-2024 Bill 947: Kidnapping, a bill that would allow kidnappers to be sentenced for up to 30 years in addition to a murder conviction. Currently, the law does not allow for a kidnapping sentence if the perpetrator is also convicted of murder. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House.
CHILD LURING – The Senate passed S. 877 2023-2024 Bill 877: Child Luring, a bill that would create a new criminal offense of luring a child into a vehicle or structure without the consent of the child’s guardian. I supported the bill. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.
HOMICIDE BY CHILD ABUSE – The Senate passed S. 839 2023-2024 Bill 839: Homicide by child abuse, a bill that would expand the crime of homicide by child abuse from the current law requiring victims to be under the age of 11 to
allowing victims be under the age of 18. I supported the change. The House will now consider
the bill.
VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE – The Senate passed S. 996 2023-2024 Bill 996: AI Child Abuse, a bill that would create the new crime of Obscene Visual Representations of Child Sexual Abuse. The purpose of the bill is to get at new technologies that use artificial intelligence to depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. I supported the bill. The House will now consider the bill.
SUPER-KARTS – Super-Karts are amusement go karts that may exceed 50 miles per hour. They are not regulated by the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. Current law requires a person to have a driver’s license and be at least 18 years of age to drive a Super-Kart at an amusement park. Last week the Senate passed S. 780 2023-2024 Bill 780: Super-Kart Act, a bill that would allow a person who is at least 15 years old to operate a Super-Kart if the person has a driver’s license or permit. I voted against the bill. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.
TRIPLE TOW – The Senate passed H. 3355 2023-2024 Bill 3355: Towing trucks with fifth-wheel assembly, a bill that would allow vehicles that tow with a fifth-wheel assembly to tow an additional vehicle with certain restrictions. This would allow a vehicle to tow two vehicles. I voted against the bill. The bill will now return to the House to consider Senate amendments.
REFORM OF THE JUDICIAL SELECTION PROCESS – There has a been good bit of focus this year on the process by which South Carolina elects judges. The Senate agreed to debate S. 1046 2023- 2024 Bill 1046: Judicial Merit Selection Commission, a bill that would reform that selection process. I expect the Senate to spend most of this week debating this legislation.
LAST WEEK’S MEETINGS
On Monday night, I held a town hall meeting at Highland Springs Middle School in North Augusta.
On Wednesday, I met with several high school students from our senate district who were participating in Youth Corps Day at the State House.
On Thursday morning, I met with teacher cadet students from Saluda High School. We talked about a number of issues facing South Carolina, including the weakness of our state’s DUI laws. I was impressed with the large number of students who are considering education as a career.
On Thursday night, I attended the Saluda County GOP monthly meeting.
On Friday morning, I spoke with South Carolina’s appellate judges during their annual meeting.
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.