Last week was the 6th week of the 2024 legislative session. There are 12 weeks remaining before the legislature adjourns on May 9, 2024.
Here are the highlights from last week’s Senate action:
MEDICAL MARIJUANA – Following several amendments, the Senate passed S. 423 2023-2024 Bill 423: Compassionate Care Act, a bill that would authorize the use of medical marijuana in the form of edibles and vapes. It would not allow marijuana to be smoked for medicinal purposes. The bill would have required patients to receive a doctor’s prescription and have the drug dispensed by a pharmacist. It would not authorize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration.
INSURANCE INVESTIGATIONS – The Senate passed S. 957 2023-2024 Bill 957: Department of Insurance procedures, a bill that would authorize the Department of Insurance to conduct market-based examinations of health insurers and HMO providers to evaluate the cost and products offered by insurers. The bill would also ensure certain investigations are confidential so as to prevent disclosure of citizens’ private information. The bill will now go to the House.
DEER MEAT FOR PET FOOD – The Senate passed H. 3993 2023-2024 Bill 3993: Venison, a bill that would allow processors to use deer meat for the production of pet food. The House already passed the bill, so it will now go to the Governor.
PROTECTION OF ANIMALS AND SPECIES – The Senate passed H. 4047 2023-2024 Bill 4047: Nongame and endangered wildlife species, a bill that would prohibit the Department of Natural Resources from disclosing the location of rare, endangered, or threatened plants or species except to the owners of the property on which those plants or species are located. The House already passed the bill, so it will now go to the Governor.
REORGANIZATION OF HEALTH CARE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES – Last year the legislature passed legislation to split the Department of Health and Environmental Control into separate agencies that focus on health and the environment separately. This week the Senate will consider S. 915 2023-2024 Bill 915: Executive Office of Health Policy, a bill that would complete the implementation of that government restructuring effort. The goal is to ensure citizens are better served by government and also to ensure the legislature – and the public – can hold the right people accountable.
CONSTITUENT INTERESTS
VOLUNTEER SERVICE OPPORTUNITY – The legislative delegation in each county is responsible for making or recommending a large number of appointments to various local and statewide positions. One of the local boards is the Foster Care Review Board. The FCRB members review the progress of some of the most vulnerable children in South Carolina, those children who are in the foster care system, and work with DSS and other child-serving agencies to identify barriers to permanent homes for those children. FCRB members are not required to be foster parents. They meet monthly, often in a virtual format, to perform their work. You can learn more here – Local Review Boards | Foster Care Review Board. In our area, the FCRB that oversees children in foster care in Edgefield, McCormick, and Saluda is in desperate need of members. If you are interested in serving in this role, please email or call me.
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.