Copper Dome Chronicle: 2026 Session Week 11
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Copper Dome Chronicle, sponsored by Advocatus USA. We strive for substantive writing with brevity, inspired by the book Smart Brevity.
This week’s edition, covering March 24-26 is 1,955 words or an 8 minute read. The General Assembly convened on January 13 and will adjourn on May 14. Thanks for reading and sharing; we welcome your feedback and commentary!
Resources
FY 2026-2027 Agency Budget Requests
2026 Candidate Tracking Portal
Week 11 Preview
The House will hold floor sessions on Tuesday (12pm), Wednesday (10am), and Thursday (10am). The House has five bills (two on the contested calendar) and one road-naming concurrent resolution eligible for consideration on its calendar to begin the week. Bills that will generate some debate:
H.3530 (Magistrates' Reform Act)
H.4817 (Insurance Rate Reduction and Policyholder Protection Act)
H.3858 (watercraft & outboard motor taxes)
H.4758 (ban hemp-derived consumables)
H.4767 (prohibit physician non-compete contracts)
The House is anticipated to spend most of its time on Wednesday debating H.4817, which was a priority for House leadership during the 2025 offseason as an ad hoc study committee was formed on the topic of insurance reform. The bill first appeared on a House LCI subcommittee agenda in Week 2, then nothing was heard of the bill until Week 8 when it had two subcommittee meetings in the same week plus was considered at full committee - an uncommon path to the floor. H.3858 is in the status of Senate amendments; we’ll see how the House feels about concurrence and its $39.7M fiscal impact when fully implemented.
The Senate will hold floor sessions on Tuesday (12pm), Wednesday (1pm), and Thursday (11am). The Senate has 64 bills (37 are contested), two joint resolutions (one is contested), and two concurrent resolutions eligible for consideration on its calendar to begin the week. There are 27 bills that are not contested that may generate debate and earn floor time:
H.5060 (St. John’s Fire District)
S.583 (funeral directors continuing education)
S.823 (contact orders & family courts)
H.3924 (regulate hemp-derived products)
S.76 (criminal gang and anti-racketeering)
S.270 (attempted murder)
H.3974 (medically necessary providers in public schools)
S.711 (school crossing guards)
S.688 (unemployment trust fund reform)
S.830 (auto insurance & nonprofit members)
S.851 (financial exploitation)
S.996 (background checks technical corrections)
H.5089 (Beaufort County precincts)
S.97 (county treasurer qualifications)
S.98 (county auditor qualifications)
S.344 (Equine Advancement Act)
S.682 (tax credit for timber casualty loss)
S.866 (Municipal Tax Relief Act)
H.3368 (tax conformity)
H.3514 (Made in the USA American flags)
H.3768 (extend sunset of Act 36 of 2019)
H.4303 (taxes on heated cigarettes)
S.862 (involuntary commitment)
S.893 (underground storage tanks)
S.895 (rural hospitals and certificate of need)
H.3967 (bioenergy forest products)
H.3856 (omnibus licenses and license plates bill)
The Senate will work its calendar as a bevy of bills were reported out of full committees over the past two weeks. All eyes are on H.3368 (tax conformity) as the next Special Order bill, but other candidates for Special Order status include H.4763 (Helping Alleviate Lawful Obstruction “HALO” Act), S.227 (local government concurrency programs), S.688 (unemployment trust fund reform), H.4756 (Student Physical Privacy Act), S.344 (Equine Advancement Act), and H.4303 (taxes on heated cigarettes).
Week 10 Review
The House did not hold any floor sessions or committee meetings last week.
Senate floor sessions consumed 12 hours, 16 minutes, not including the 7 hours, 12 minutes spent in recess on Wednesday and Thursday as the Senate tried to forge a path forward on H.3924 (regulate hemp-derived products). The Senate held three floor sessions, passed eight bills and several congratulatory and memorial resolutions. Legislation that passed the Senate last week included:
S.1020 (Lexington County and partisan school board elections)
H.5182 (Jasper County and local funds for charter schools)
S.831 (SCDOT modernization)
S.504 (distribution of controlled substance within proximity to childcare facility)
S.829 (joint authority water and sewer system governance)
S.961 (reduce red drum catch limit)
H.3629 (Forestry Commission)
H.3831 (AED mandate)
The Senate spent nearly all of its floor time debating H.3924 (regulate hemp-derived products) debating various amendments. At approximately 12:15am on Thursday, which was still the legislative day that began on Wednesday, the bill failed to receive a second reading by a vote of 15-25. A coalition of Republicans who wanted to ban all hemp-derived products plus Senate Republicans and Democrats who wanted a more expansive bill than the amended text would permit killed the bill.
But, as astute observers know, there is always a mulligan available - Senate Rule 12, the motion to reconsider a vote.
Senator JD Chaplin made such a motion on Thursday and after hours long recess, a compromise amendment was adopted and after disposing of a few other amendments, the bill received a second reading by a vote of 35-4. Once the bill receives third reading, the bill will be returned to the House where it can be amended again or the House can concur in the Senate amendments.
How the House will vote is unknown. On February 4 after a protracted floor debate, the House recommitted H.4759 (regulate hemp-derived consumables) after failing to muster majority support. H.4758 (ban hemp-derived consumables) remains on the House calendar, but H.3924 becomes the vehicle for the General Assembly to decide to regulate these products or permit the status quo, which is no state regulation at all.
2026 Candidate Filing Opens
Candidates running for federal, state constitutional, State House of Representatives, solicitors, and local government offices may file the required paperwork and filing fees beginning 12pm on March 16. The filing period closes at 12pm on March 30. Candidate filings are updated in real-time.
As of March 21, 2026:
House Incumbents Retiring (6): Hiott, J. L. Johnson, Taylor, McCabe, M. Smith, Wetmore
House Incumbents Not Filed Yet (9): Bowers (R), Frank (R), Wickensimer (R), Bannister (R), T.Moore (R), Atkinson (D), Waters (D), Stavrinakis (D), Hager (R).
Republican House Candidates: 110 candidates in 92 districts. Note: this includes candidates who are affiliated with the House Freedom Caucus.
Democratic House Candidates: 78 candidates in 69 districts.
Third Party Candidate: 5 candidates in 5 districts (3 United Citizens Party, 2 Workers Party).
Committee Schedule
If a livestream link is not provided with a committee meeting that means livestream is not available. Additional meetings may be added during the week and while 24 hours notice is generally given, it is not always possible to provide such notice.
Senate Finance Budget Subcommittees (4 budget hearings)
K-12 Education; March 24, Upon adjournment of full Senate Finance Committee; Agenda; Livestream
K-12 Education; March 25, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Natural Resources and Economic Development; March 25, 11:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Higher Education; March 26, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Senate Meetings
Senate Finance Committee
March 24, Upon adjournment; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The committee will receive a presentation from the Office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs about current state revenue data and projections. Given the large number of tax legislation this year
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee
March 24, 15 minutes upon adjournment; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are two bills on the agenda: S.902 (regulate data centers) and S.724 (data center water usage reporting).
Senate Family and Veterans’ Services Committee
March 25, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The committee will screen eight candidates for the Foster Care Review Board and the Board of Social Work Examiners.
Senate Education Committee
March 25, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are five bills on the agenda: S.863 (culinary arts management degree programs), H.3195 (physical education requirements), H.3258 (mobile panic alert systems), H.3453 (veterans' children tuition assistance), and H.5064 (Northeastern Technical College Area Commission). Also, there are four higher education regulations and one appointment to the Arts Commission on the agenda.
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee
March 25, 11am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are five bills on the agenda: H.4188 (disposition of unidentified or unclaimed remains), S.1030 (constitutional amendment & international law), S.877 (profits from crime), S.822 (deed theft), and S.733 (public funded entities & drag shows).
Senate LCI Regulatory and Local Government Subcommittee
March 25, 11am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: H.4752 (remove barber apprenticeship requirement).
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee
March 26, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are three bills on the agenda: S.879 (Master-in-Equity terms of office), S.818 (define trust business), and H.3731 (special purpose districts).
Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee
March 26, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are two bills on the agenda: S.788 (psychotherapy & restrict AI use) and H.4730 (billboard structure repairs). Also, there are 11 LLR regulations and two appointments on the agenda.
Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee
March 26, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: S.720 (Humane Dog Breeding Act).
House Meetings
House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
March 24, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will hold its twelfth meeting on the study of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
House Agriculture Environmental Affairs Subcommittee
March 24, 9:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: H.5321 (create Horse Creek Public Service Authority).
House 3M Committee
March 24, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are five bills on the agenda: S.146 (long-term care facilities visitation), S.449 (collaborative practice agreements), H.5164 (hospital beds in hallways), H.4799 (CON exemption for state-owned/operated facilities), and S.695 (Safeguarding American Veterans' Benefits Act).
House Judiciary Committee
March 24, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are 11 bills on the agenda:
H.4544 (medical malpractice reform)
H.4670 (time-limited demands)
H.4764 (287(g) immigration agreements)
H.4804 (sexual exploitation of a minor)
H.4591 (social media)
H.5075 (Personal Privacy Protection Act)
H.4292 (prohibit street takeovers)
H.3034 (law enforcement animals)
H.5038 (interference with workers providing critical services)
H.3013 (guardian ad litem qualifications)
H.4270 (expunge eviction notices)
House Education and Public Works Committee
March 24, 1 hour after adjournment; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are 11 bills on the agenda:
H.4736 (CHE commissioner training)
H.4737 (college board of trustees training)
H.4738 (CHE cleanup bill)
H.4761 (college faculty annual and post-tenure evaluations)
H.3197 (college and workforce readiness)
H.3873 (mandate child identification kits)
H.4610 (American Sign Language Symbol Act)
S.585 (Safeguarding American Families Everywhere “SAFE” Act)
H.4688 (golf cart seatbelts & golf courses)
H.5131 (tribal governments license plates)
H.5168 (official state song - “Carolina When I Die” by Patrick Davis)
House Ways & Means General Government Subcommittee
March 24, 1 hour upon adjournment; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are five bills on the agenda: H.4611 (paid parental leave and stillbirths), H.5018 (governor salary & agency salary head commission), H.5177 (culinary arts management degree programs), H.4464 (Medicaid reimbursement rate for personal care services), and S.11 (state employee paid parental leave).
House Ways & Means Economic Development Subcommittee
March 24, 1 hour upon adjournment; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are three bills on the agenda: H.5173 (rural hospitals and certificate of need), H.3832 (film incentives), and H.4703 (Special Purpose District Accountability and Transparency Act).
House Ethics Committee
March 25, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The committee will screen a candidate for the State Ethics Commission as well as consider fine appeals and advisory opinions.
House Judiciary Criminal Laws Subcommittee
March 25, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: S.52 (DUI).
House Judiciary Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, & Special Laws Subcommittee
March 25, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: H.4679 (Drone Regulation and Public Safety Act).
House Judiciary Constitutional Laws Subcommittee
March 26, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are two bills on the agenda: H.4711 (create new circuit court judgeships) and H.4805 (create new circuit court and family court judgeships).
House 3M Municipal and Public Affairs Subcommittee
March 26, 9am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are two bills on the agenda: S.868 (designate Gold Shield Day) and H.4246 (residential improvement district).
Joint Meetings
Joint Bond Review Committee
March 25, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The JBRC agenda has not yet been posted.
Joint Bond Review Committee
June 9, 1pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The JBRC agenda has not yet been posted.
2026 Key Dates
January 13, 2026: Session Convenes
January 28, 2026: Judicial Merit Selection Commission draft report published
January 28, 2026: State of the State Address
February 12, 2026: BEA revenue forecast update
March 4, 2026: Judicial elections
March 9-13, 2026: House floor budget deliberations
March 16-20: House furlough week
March 16, 2026: Candidate filing opens (all statewide constitutional offices, federal offices, SC House of Representatives)
March 30, 2026: Candidate filing closes
April 9, 2026: BEA revenue forecast update
April 6-10: House furlough week (confirmed)
April 20-24, 2026: Senate floor budget deliberations (projected)
May 14, 2026: Session Adjourns
May 19, 2026: BEA revenue forecast update
