Key Bills the SCRLA is Tracking for the Second Session of the 124th General Assembly

House Bill 4547 would amend the current laws governing short-term rentals. H. 4547 would ban any municipality or country government to prohibit the short-term rental of any residential dwelling.

Senate Bill 367 would prohibit revenue for state government from fees collected from alcohol licenses and prohibiting the curbside delivery/ pickup of liquor. S. 367 is twofold:

1. the bill would prohibit the state legislature from receiving any revenue generated from the distrubuting of licenses for the sale of curbside/ to-go beer and wine at restaurants, and

2. the bill would also prohibit said restaurants from selling curbside/to-go alcoholic beverages that include liquor.

Senate Bill 524 would regulate the sale and delivery of beer and wine. S. 524 would give businesses who sell beer and wine the opportunity to deliver purchased beer and wine to customers, either by employees of said business or via a third-party.

House Bill 3575 would allow curbside delivery or pickup of beer and wine to customers. H. 3575 would grant retail vendors who sell beer and wine the opportunity to offer curbside delivery or pickup of said beverages to customers at the place of business. This would be made possible via purchasing a license or permit to do so.

Senate Bill 472 would establish a mandatory alcohol server training and education program for business who sell alcoholic beverages. S. 472 would require restaurants who sell alcoholic beverages to complete mandatory training in relation to the selling and distribution of alcoholic beverages in a responsible and constructive manner.

Senate Bill 952 would authorize the expenditure of federal funds disbursed to South Carolina via the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. S. 952 outlines how the nearly $1.75 billion South Carolina received from the American Rescue Plan is to be used and distributed. These funds would primarily to go to the SC Department of Transportation, the Rural Infrastructure Authority and the Office of Regulatory Staff and would be used to update rural water and sewer infrastructure, increase rural broadband internet access, and other various rural infrastructure improvements.

House Bill 4408 would authorize the expenditure of federal funds disbursed to South Carolina via the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Similar to Senate Bill 952, H. 4408 also outlines how the nearly $1.75 billion South Carolina received from the American Rescue Plan is to be used and distributed. These funds would primarily go to the SC Department of Transportation, the Rural Infrastructure Authority, the Office of Regulatory Staff, as well as the Office of Resilience and the Department of Administration and would also be used to update, rural water and sewer infrastructure, various state-wide infrastructure projects, to accelerate completion of projects included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, as well as increase rural broadband internet access.

House Bill 3126 would reject any federal funds for the enforcement of a federal mask mandate. H. 3216 would prohibit the SC legislature from accepting any federal funds from the U.S. Congress pertaining to the policing and enforcement of any federal mask mandates

House Bill 3348 would provide tax credits to business who employ formerly incarcerated individuals or veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces enrolled in an apprenticeship program. H. 3348 would provide tax credits to business owners who employ either formerly incarcerated individuals or veterans of the U.S. armed forces who are currently enrolled in some type of apprenticeship program. The amount of the tax credit is $3,000 per eligible employee.

House Bill 3620, the Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act, would increase the severity of punishment for individuals convicted of hate crimes. H. 3620 would promote and allow for the enhancement of additional penalties for hate crimes for performed by convicted accusers.

Senate Bill 14, the Hate Crime Penalty Enhancement Act, would increase the severity of punishment for individuals convicted of hate crimes. Similar to House Bill 3620, S. 14 would also promote and allow for the enhancement of additional penalties for hate crimes for performed by convicted accusers.

These are just a few of the bills we will be tracking. Stay tuned as these bills develop over the next few months.