SCBaptist Legislative Update
SCBaptist Legislative Update
The Constitutional Laws Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing for the Human Life Protection Act on Tuesday, March 4. Rep. John McCravy and many House and Senate Family Caucus members are sponsors of the bill. It goes far beyond the current Heartbeat bill, restricting nearly all abortions except to save the mother’s life or in the case of medical emergencies.
Rep. Jay Jordan chairs the Criminal Laws Subcommittee. Other subcommittee members include: Rep. Justin Bamburg, Rep. Cody Mitchell, Rep. Weston Newton, and Rep. Spencer Wetmore. Please contact your House Member and the members of this subcommittee and encourage them to support laws that protect life. Be on the lookout for more information on the location of the subcommittee hearing. Please plan to attend the hearing if possible.
The Senate passed the bill, and the House Education Committee amended it last week. The amendment expands the qualifications, allowing more students to qualify for the scholarship. It also changes the funding mechanism from the lottery to the general fund in a way supporters of the bill believe will satisfy questions of constitutionality raised by the South Carolina Supreme Court. In the 2025-2026 academic year, students whose families fall within 300% of the federal poverty limit will qualify. That limit rises to 400% in 2026-2027, and beginning with the 2027 academic school year, the poverty limit no longer applies. The program will cap qualification at 10,000 students for the 2025-2026 academic year, then increase it to 15,000 for 2026-2027. Beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year, the program will have no limit on the number of qualifying students. The House will begin debating the bill on Wednesday, February 28. If the House version passes, the Senate will have an opportunity to concur. If they cannot concur, the bill will be sent to a conference committee to work out the differences.
Parental Rights – Medical
H. 3638 – House version
S. 62 – Senate Version
The House bill is currently in the 3M Committee (Medical, Military, and Municipal Affairs). The Senate bill is currently in the Family Veterans Affairs Committee. Neither the House nor the Senate Committees have scheduled a hearing. This bill protects the rights of parents to be informed of all medical recommendations for their children, and it protects their right to make decisions regarding their medical treatment. Every member of the Senate has a copy of the Parental Rights resolution passed at the 2024 SCBaptist meeting. House members will receive a copy of the resolution along with a copy of my column on parental rights published in the Baptist Courier.
Parental Rights – Education
H. 3011 -House version
S. 243 – Senate version
Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Tommy Pope is the chief sponsor of the House version. Co-sponsors include House Family Caucus Leader John McCravy (R-Greenwood) and nineteen other House members. Sen. Richard Cash (R-Anderson) is the lead sponsor of the Senate version. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Matt Leber. Both the House and Senate bills are currently in their chambers’ Education Committee. either bill has a scheduled hearing.
This bill prohibits the promotion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training in all sectors of SC government and in all public education institutions from Kindergarten through college. The lead sponsor for the bill is Rep. Doug Gilliam, (R-Union). It is co-sponsored by 76 House members, including Family Caucus Chairman John McCravy, House Speaker Murrell Smith, and House Majority Leader Davy Hiott. The bill is currently in the House Education Committee. The House Education Committee has not scheduled a hearing.
This bill is relatively simple…it states for the purpose of biological identification, there are only two sexes, male and female. The House Judiciary Committee has received the bill and no hearing has been scheduled.
Last week, the House passed H3431, regulating social media use by minors. The bill would require social media companies to verify the age of users and prevent minors (those under age 18) from accessing social media without their parents’ permission. It would also prevent adults from messaging minors unless they are already connected. The bill now moves on to the Senate.
He must increase, I must decrease,
Tony Beam
Policy Consultant
SCBaptist
