Statehouse
Deal to move SC environmental agency called off, new office search begins
COLUMBIA – Two days after a panel of South Carolina lawmakers gave key approval for plans to move thousands of state agency employees to offices outside of downtown Columbia, a portion of the deal fell through. Realtors representing Colonial Life insurance company told the state Department of Administration it was unable to relocate an existing […]
Theft of SC symbol of power remains a mystery 8 decades later
COLUMBIA — Call it South Carolina’s “National Treasure” mystery — except, in this true caper, the lost relic’s existence was never in doubt, and there is no hidden map with clues on its location. At least, not that anyone’s discovered since it went missing nearly 83 years ago. How South Carolina’s original sword of state, […]
This land is our land: States crack down on foreign-owned farm fields
Andy Gipson gets concerned even when American allies such as the Netherlands and Germany invest in large swaths of Mississippi’s farmland. “It just bothers me at a gut level,” he said. For Gipson, Mississippi’s commissioner of agriculture and commerce, the growing trend of foreign ownership could threaten what he views as the state’s most valuable […]
Proposal replaces SC High School League with legislators’ own governing board
COLUMBIA — After studying for months how to level the high school playing field, a House GOP leader believes the answer is to ditch the South Carolina High School League and create a new board to govern student athletics. Calls to change the classifications of high school sports teams have ramped up for years following […]
As school vacancies exceed 1,600, proposal requires SC legislators to substitute teach
COLUMBIA — As South Carolina schools continue to grapple with teacher shortages, one legislator is calling for fellow lawmakers to spend more time inside schools. Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Hopkins, said he will introduce a bill next month that would require legislators to substitute teach or volunteer at K-12 schools at least five times a year […]
Clemson, USC ask lawmakers for $1B, including for vet and medical schools
COLUMBIA – Clemson University is seeking an additional $175 million from the Legislature for the state’s first veterinary school, while the University of South Carolina wants $50 million more for a new medical campus, according to the colleges’ budget requests to lawmakers. In all, South Carolina’s two largest university systems – and biggest rivals – […]
Under state deadline, SC employers phase out subminimum wage
COLUMBIA — Angela Greene spent 20 years making as little as pennies an hour for cleaning houses. The Columbia resident worked for a so-called sheltered workshop, which are employers allowed to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage under a federal waiver. Her biweekly paychecks ranged from 50 cents to $3.50, depending on how […]
Former GOP legislator elected mayor of SC’s largest city
South Carolina’s largest city will be led by a Republican mayor for the first time since Reconstruction. In Charleston’s mayoral runoff election Tuesday, former state Rep. William Cogswell won over two-term incumbent Mayor John Tecklenburg by 569 votes out of 27,291 cast. Although the job is non-partisan, Cogswell was a Republican in the House, and […]
Married couples would get a tax break on 2nd home under SC proposal
COLUMBIA — Married couples who own two homes in South Carolina would get a big break on their property taxes under legislation certain to be opposed by local government officials. Under state law, South Carolinians can claim just one home as their primary residence for tax purposes. A second home — whether it’s rental property, […]
Golf courses could sell cocktails earlier under SC proposal
COLUMBIA — An early tee time could start with a bloody mary under a proposal expanding the hours and confines for cocktails at South Carolina golf courses. Currently, liquor drinks can’t be sold in South Carolina before 10 a.m., said Tim Smith, spokesman for the state Department of Revenue, which oversees alcohol licenses. But legislation […]
Proposal would allow shooting wild hogs from a helicopter in SC
COLUMBIA — For anyone wanting to hunt wild hogs from a helicopter in South Carolina, there’s new legislation to allow it. The proposal sponsored by Rep. Bill Hixon to allow aerial hunting of feral hogs was one of dozens pre-filed Thursday ahead of the 2024 legislative session. “The state of Georgia does it. And Texas […]
SC high court refuses to take up latest abortion challenge, lets ban stand at 6 weeks
COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s high court refuses to directly take up abortion providers’ latest attempt to overturn the state’s abortion ban, keeping it illegal roughly six weeks into a pregnancy. Justices unanimously denied the request from Planned Parenthood and the Greenville Women’s Clinic to directly consider their latest challenge, which centered on what point in […]