COLUMBIA, SC (WSPA) – The regular legislative session ended Thursday, but state lawmakers haven’t finished their work just yet.
Before leaving, the House and Senate agreed to their Sine Die resolution. The concurrent resolution lays out the reasons or issues lawmakers can take up when not in regular sessions.
They included some matters they normally put in the resolution, like the state budget, bills sent to the conference committee, and the governor’s vetoes.
They are set to return for a few days starting June 15, the day after the statewide primaries.
This year, South Carolina lawmakers included redistricting at the end of the session agreement. Some of the proposed districts in the new House map had to be redrawn due to a legal challenge.
Another issue lawmakers could take up this summer is abortion. State lawmakers added this to the resolution due to the leaked Supreme Court opinion on the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Shane Massey (R-Edgefield) said, “We would prefer to be able to control our own destiny about when we come back and when we can plan for it. And ensure we would be able to do enough committee work before the full chamber debates the bill.”
Some lawmakers, including the Governor, have shown support for an outright abortion ban if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court.
In 2021, a six-week abortion with some exceptions was signed into law. The law was immediately blocked by a federal judge and has remained blocked.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg) said Democrats will fight any abortion restrictions, “Anything I can do to stop us from having a trigger ban in South Carolina..whatever it takes up.”
State lawmakers could address the abortion issue starting July 1.
Efforts to include the hate crimes bill at the end of the session agreement failed this week. The legislation passed the House in 2021 and stalled in the Senate. The process for it to become law will start all over again next year.
