Bills of Interest

SCICU tracks and follows bills in the South Carolina General Assembly that may directly or indirectly impact higher education or the operation of a non-profit institutions of higher learning in South Carolina.

Bills being tracked by SCICU include the following:

Bills that did not make the crossover:

S. 0298 (Sheheen, Peeler, Jackson, et al.) Did not move out of the Senate.
Higher Education Opportunity Act – would have brought predictability to funding for the SC Tuition Grants Program.

Bills that did make the crossover:

H.3759 (Lucas, Allison, Felder, et al.) Passed House but slow going in the Senate.
SC Career Opportunity and Access For All Act
Status: Referred to Senate Committee on Education.

S.0007 (Malloy, Climer, Goldfinch, et al.) Passed Senate
Increases liability limit for a public agency from $600,000 to $2 million (may affect cap on not-for-profits as well).
Status: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

S.314 (Alexander) Passed Senate
Creates an individual income tax credit for each clinical rotation for which a physician, an advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant serve as the preceptor for a medical school-required clinical rotation.
Status: Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means.

H.3577 (Allison, Taylor, Felder) Passed House
Authorizes private and public institutions of higher education to offer alternate teacher certification programs.
Status: Referred to Senate Committee on Education.

H.3936 (Davis, Daning, Chellis, et al.) Passed House
Permits technical college students to be eligible for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships.
Status: Referred to Senate Committee on Education.

H.3398 (Clary, Norrell, Loftis, et al.) Passed both House and Senate
Makes permanent the Tucker Hipps Transparency Act, which requires public universities to report wrongdoings by fraternities and sororities.
Status: Takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education tracks a wide range of bills that may impact higher education in South Carolina. Their comprehensive list may be viewed here.

The link for South Carolina Legislature Online (www.scstatehouse.gov) will also allow you to search for additional bills by using the Quick Search function located on the right side of the page. When using the Quick Search function, check the Bill Number search option and enter the number of the bill without the chamber designation (4470, not H 4470) in the search block and click on the magnifying glass button to execute the search. The Quick Search feature may also be used for general searches of all legislation, the South Carolina Code of Laws, and other references using key words.

Please direct all comments or questions regarding legislation to SCICU President & CEO Jeff Perez via telephone at 803-799-7122, email (jeff@scicu.org), or by mail to P.O. Box 12007, Columbia, SC 29211.