Last week was the 4th week of the 2023 legislative session. There are 14 legislative weeks remaining before the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on May 11, 2023. Here are the highlights from last week:
SCHOOL CHOICE – The Senate passed S. 39 2023-2024 Bill 39: Educational Scholarship Trust Fund, bill that would create a program for Education Scholarship Accounts. The program would provide scholarships of up to $6,000 to children in public schools. Those children could then use the scholarships to attend private schools, public schools in a different district, pay for transportation, and school-related costs. That program would be limited to 15,000 children whose families earn up to 200% of poverty ($60,000 for a family of 4) in the first year, 300% of poverty the second year, and 400% of poverty thereafter. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.
CERTIFICATE OF NEED – South Carolina law requires medical entities to establish a need before constructing most medical facilities (nursing homes, hospitals, surgical centers, and others), beginning new programs (cardiology, for instance), and purchasing some capital equipment (MRI machines, for example). To establish that need, the medical entity must apply to the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), receive a favorable certificate of need from DHEC, and then outlast lawsuits that come from the medical entity’s competitors. Over the past 50 years, the certificate of need process has been used too often by competitors to prevent hospitals from expanding or offering services demanded by the community.
The Senate voted to repeal the requirement for Certificates of Need last year, but the legislation did not make it across the finish line. Last week, the Senate passed S. 164 2023-2024 Bill 164: State Health Facility Licensure Act , a bill that would repeal the Certificate of Need requirement. I support the repeal because I believe a repeal would give South Carolinians access to more health care options and, as competition always does, lower the cost of most health care services. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.
FETAL HEARTBEAT – The General Assembly passed legislation in 2021 to prevent abortions after a fetal heartbeat was detected. Earlier this year, following a challenge from Planned Parenthood, the South Carolina Supreme Court, in a 3-2 vote, determined that the law violated the state constitution. The effective result of that decision, though, was to allow abortions, without restriction, up to 5 months. While there is clearly a lot of disagreement about what the law should be, I am convinced there are few South Carolinians who believe abortion should be legal for 5 months.
This week the Senate will debate S. 474 2023-2024 Bill 474: Abortion – Fetal Heartbeat , a bill that is designed to address the Supreme Court’s concerns and reinstitute the Fetal Heartbeat law. I will update you next week on how that debate goes.
LAST WEEK’S MEETINGS
On Monday night, I held Edgefield County’s annual intergovernmental meeting. It was an opportunity to hear about what is happening at the towns and different areas of county government.
On Tuesday morning, I attended a Saluda County Legislative Delegation meeting to discuss recreation funding and the potential for a new YMCA in Saluda.
On Tuesday afternoon, I spoke to representatives of South Carolina’s manufacturers. South Carolina has done an incredible job recruiting and supporting manufacturing over the past 15 years. Our district is home to lots of manufacturing, including two of the largest tire manufacturers in the world in Bridgestone and Michelin.
On Wednesday morning, I attended Lexington County Farm Bureau’s annual legislative breakfast. I enjoy this yearly opportunity to talk with agricultural leaders and learn more about the significant impact of agribusiness locally and statewide. Farmers in our district are national leaders in producing peaches, poultry, timber, and many other important agricultural products.
On Thursday night, I attended the McCormick County Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet. It was a great opportunity to learn more about all the successful businesses in McCormick.
Constituent Interests
TOWN HALL MEETINGS – Nearly every year since I was first elected, I have held several town hall meetings across our Senate district. These meetings give me an opportunity to update attendees on what is happening in Columbia and, more importantly, allow me to hear from you. In total, I have held around 150 meetings now. So far this year, I have held four town hall meetings: two in Saluda County and two in Aiken County. This week I have two meetings scheduled in Lexington County: Lexington Three Fine Arts Center in Batesburg-Leesville on Monday at 6:00 and Gilbert High School on Tuesday night at 6:00. I will have meetings in Edgefield County next week and, hopefully, McCormick County the following week. I will give more information
next week.
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 some committees here South Carolina Legislature Online – Broadcast Video
OUR SENATE DISTRICT – Senate district 25 consists of all of Edgefield County and parts of Aiken, Lexington, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. If you’d like to see the district map (effective with the 2024 general election), go here South Carolina Senate H.4493.
VOTING RECORD – If you’d like to see how I’ve voted on issues, go here. Scroll down to “Voting Record” on the right side of the page. 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.
Sincerely,
Shane Massey
P.O. Box 551
Edgefield, SC 29824
Email – shanemassey@scsenate.gov
Cell Phone – (803) 480-0419
Office Phone – (803) 212-6330