State senators prefiled 173 bills this week in anticipation of the opening bell of the 2015 legislative session. If you want to see all pre-filed bills, please click here. In the meantime, here are brief summaries of major legislation that was introduced:
Ethics reform. S. 1 (L. Martin) calls for major ethics reform that includes provisions on lobbyist fees and reporting, pledges involving judicial candidates, changes to legislative ethics committees, new rules on campaign contributions and much, much more. S. 14 (Rankin) is a related bill. S. 74 (Campsen) is also related.
Road fund. S. 2 (Setzler) calls for an Interstate Lane Expansion Fund to pay for adding lanes on major routes, with several provisions.
Domestic violence. S. 3 (L. Martin) would toughen criminal domestic violence laws, including prohibiting a person convicted of a CDV offense or person subject to a protective order from having a firearm, with several other provisions.
Constitutional officers. S. 8 (L. Martin) seeks to ratify a statewide vote to amend the constitution to make the adjutant general become an appointed position. S. 59 (Campsen) seeks to change the comptroller general from an elected to an appointed position via constitutional amendment. S. 63 (Campsen) seeks the same for the commissioner of agriculture. S. 68 (Campsen) and S. 120 (Bright) seek the same for the state superintendent of education. S. 70 (Campsen) seeks the same for the secretary of state.
Raffles. S. 9 (L. Martin) seeks to ratify a statewide vote to amend the constitution to allow raffles.
Judges. S. 12 (L. Martin) sets a date for judicial elections by the legislature to be Feb. 4, 2015.
Criminal records. S. 17 (Jackson) would prohibit the state from inquiring, considering or requiring disclosure of criminal records for a job applicant until an interview or offer, with other provisions.
Dating violence. S. 18 (Jackson) defines dating violence and calls for penalties.
Initiative petition. S. 22 (Grooms) seeks a constitutional amendment to allow initiative petitions and referendum to repeal laws and constitutional amendments. S. 32 (Cleary) is similar.
Vouchers. S. 24 (Grooms) seeks authorization of an income tax deduction for parents who pay for kids in private schools or home schools, with several provisions.
Unborn children. S. 25 (Grooms) seeks to ban abortion, with limited exceptions, after 20 weeks, with several provisions. S. 28 is similar. S. 130 (Bright) is similar but adds a provision related to pain that may be felt by fetuses.
Fair tax. S. 26 (Grooms) seeks to enact the state Fair Tax Act, with many provisions.
Tax rates, gas tax. S. 27 (Grooms) seeks to cut income tax rates by 0.2 percent for 10 years, but increase the gas tax by two cents every year for 10 years, with several provisions.
Marriage. S. 31 (Grooms) seeks a resolution to call a national constitutional convention to propose an amendment to the U.S Constitution that marriage be considered only between a man and woman.
Abortion drugs. S. 34 (Bryant) seeks to prohibit prescriptions for drugs that induce abortions, with several provisions.
Board of Regents. S. 43 (Malloy) seeks to establish a college and university Board of Regents and repeal the state Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education and state Commission on Higher Education.
Body cameras. S. 47 (Malloy) would require law enforcement officers in the state to have body-worn cameras.
Racial profiling. S. 48 (Malloy) calls for creation of a committee to study racial profiling.
Early education. S. 49 (Malloy) calls for expansion of the S.C. Child Early Reading development and Education Program, with several provisions. S. 50 is similar.
Reapportionment. S. 55 (Campsen) seeks to require all political subdivisions to do reapportionment within three years of the official census, with several provisions, including one related to “continuity of representation” when two elected officials are placed in one district.
Guns on campus. S. 88 (Bright) would allow anyone with a concealed weapons permit to have guns on college campuses, with several provisions.
OBGYN provision. S. 92 (Bright) seeks to require doctors who provide abortions to have admitting and staff privileges at a local certified hospital.
School bonds. S. 94 (Bright) seeks to prohibit school districts from borrowing through general operating bonds.
Heartbeat. S. 96 (Bright) seeks to require doctors to conduct an ultrasound prior to performing an abortion, with several provisions.
Shorter session. S. 123 (Bright) seeks to require the General Assembly to end its session in mid-March in even-numbered years and in mid-April in odd-numbered years, and to pass a biennial budget.
Tax incentives, subsidies. S. 134 (Davis) calls for legislation to require targeted tax incentives or subsidies to be introduced in separate bills and approved by separate recorded votes, with several provisions.
Term limits. S. 137 (Cleary) calls for term limits in the House and Senate for no more than 12 years each.
Dune structures. S. 139 (Cleary) would allow for certain additional technologies, methodologies or structures to protect beaches and dunes when under an emergency order.
Surpluses. S. 142 (Coleman) seeks to steer state revenue surpluses to the state highway fund to improve interstates.
Minimum wage. S. 144 (Scott) seeks a constitutional amendment to impose a mandatory minimum wage. S. 145 (Scott) is a bill to do the same thing. S. 146 seeks a statewide advisory referendum on the issue.
Early voting. S. 148 (Scott) seeks to add early voting procedures, with several provisions.
Child welfare. S. 150 (Shealy) would overhaul the state Department of Social Services into a new agency, with many provisions.
Custody orders. S. 151 (Shealy) seeks to rewrite child custody order procedures, with several definitions and provisions, including shared custody and more.
Income tax. S. 155 (Shealy) seeks to eliminate the state income tax over time.