SCWF continuously works with state legislators and policymakers to protect precious wildlife habitats and ensure that sound scientific data is used to make decisions that affect wildlife. Below is an update on several issues and bills that we’ve been tracking this session. Our Government Relations Manager, Trip King, represents the SCWF, as well as our conservation partner, Audubon South Carolina (ASC) at the State House.
If you haven’t had a chance, please check out our new state advocacy page on our website here. This page is updated daily during the Session to help you stay informed on the latest status of the bills that SCWF is monitoring in the SC Legislature.
The South Carolina General Assembly adjourned promptly at 5:00 pm on Thursday May 11, 2023. Normally, the constitutionally mandated adjournment of the Legislature on the second Thursday in May is accompanied by a sine die resolution which stipulates what business the House and Senate can take up when they return, usually two weeks after adjournment, to accept and approve conference committee reports and consider vetoes issued by the Governor. This year, the Legislature did not pass a sine die resolution but instead returned to Columbia on Tuesday, May 16, upon the call of the Governor, an agreement that was worked out weeks ago between the Legislative leadership and the Governor. This is an unusual circumstance which was precipitated by a lingering abortion bill that was passed by the Senate but not taken up by the House during the regular session. Because the Legislature will be reconvening at the call of the Governor, the state constitution allows the House and Senate to take up any matters they wish including bills that were still pending when they adjourned at the constitutionally prescribed date and time.
Since neither chamber agreed with the other on a state budget, House and Senate conferees will also meet during the next several weeks to iron out the differences between the Senate and House versions of the state appropriations bill and, once they find agreement, a conference committee report will be presented to each chamber for a final vote on the state budget.
As of June 6, both the House and Senate have met (the House on May 16 and May 23; the Senate on May 16 and May 23) and have passed several bills that were carried over from the regular session which concluded May 11. While House and Senate negotiators on the Budget Conference Committee have also met several times since the regular session adjournment, as of this date, they have yet to reach a compromise on the state appropriations bill and it is unclear when they might find agreement. Both the House and the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution that would fund state government functions after July 1, the beginning on the state’s fiscal year, should conferees be unable to reach an agreement on the FY 2023-2024 spending bill and have it pass both chambers of the General Assembly by midnight June 30.
Conservation Funding in the State Budget
South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) – SCWF supported SCOR’s budget request for $200M to be used for disaster relief, mitigation and statewide resilience planning and implementation because these measures protect and enhance critical wetland habitat for wildlife. The House version of the budget included this amount, but the Senate only included a placeholder amount of $1.00. House-Senate budget committee conferees must now agree on funding SCOR’s non-recurring budget request between the $1.00 and $200M mark.
SC Conservation Bank – The Bank’s baseline recurring annual budget was increased by both the House and the Senate to $12,094,515, a $3M increase from 2022. The House gave the Bank an additional $18M in non-recurring funds for their grants program while the Senate upped that amount to $25M. SCWF has advocated for $25M in the Senate version of the budget and we are hopeful the House-Senate budget conference committee report will reflect that higher amount. This agency is the single most important tool the state has to ensure South Carolina’s most iconic and precious natural resources are preserved and protected for future generations.
Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) – House and Senate appropriators were generous in supporting SCDNR’s budget request which included significant funding for deferred maintenance on our state’s fish hatcheries, maintenance for Marine Resources facilities, waterfowl impoundment infrastructure maintenance, state water planning initiative, and maintenance on public recreational properties. Additionally, for the second year in a row, the Legislature has agreed to provide $20M to DNR for habitat protection and unspecified land conservation acquisitions. SCWF supported the Department of Natural Resources overall budget request and advocated strongly for the additional funding for habitat protection and land conservation acquisitions.
Department of Park, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) – The House earmarked $25M for state parks development, upgrades, and maintenance while the Senate recommended only $11.75M for this line item in the budget. SCWF and many of our conservation partners support the higher spending level recommended by the House which will include some funding for the new Black River State Park being established on segments of the Black River between Kingstree and St. Andrews. This is an exciting new project that holds great promise for wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation.
SC Forestry Commission (SCFC) – For many years, SCWF has supported the budget requests of the SCFC. This agency does a tremendous job of managing our state’s forests and protecting our citizens and doing so with severely limited resources, aging equipment, and staff shortages. For the last several years, SCFC has made significant priority funding requests for staff recruitment and retention and for modernized firefighting equipment. SCWF has supported those requests and has advocated to House and Senate appropriators by letter and in-person with our support for these critically needed funds. The Senate version of the budget is more advantageous to SCFC and more in-line with their original request. SCWF supports the Senate budget recommendations pending before the House-Senate budget conference committee.
Some Priority Bills and Legislation of Interest to SCWF (not all inclusive)
S.280 and H.3786 (SC Conservation Enhancement Act) – Both S.280, and its House companion bill, H.3786 would re-instate the deed recording fee funding mechanism to the Conservation Bank that was the primary source of funding for the Bank from its inception in 2004 until its re-authorization in 2018 when this dedicated stream of funding was dropped in favor of an annual appropriation from the General Assembly. S.280 was introduced in the Senate by Senators Campsen and Davis on 1/10/23 and was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. H.3786 was introduced by Rep. Lowe, and others, in the House on 1/24/23 and was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The House bill received a favorable report by the Ways and Means Committee on March 30, and was placed on the House calendar. On March 4, the House voted 93 to 20 in favor of the bill and it was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Unfortunately, despite much widespread support, Finance Committee Chairman Peeler never scheduled a subcommittee or full committee hearing on either version of the Conservation Enhancement Act before the end of the legislative session. Both bills remain in the Senate Finance Committee and will be carried over into the 2024 session.
Passage of the Conservation Enhancement Act was a priority for SCWF and the SC Conservation Coalition in 2023. Restoration of a portion of the deed stamp fee would have provided considerably more funding to the Bank than the current appropriations from the General Assembly. The additional funding that the deed stamp provides would give the Bank the ability to fund considerably more projects in the ensuing years. We are hopeful that one of these bills will be given a favorable hearing in early 2024 by the Senate Finance Committee and subsequently be approved by the Senate and, if needed, be sent back to the House for a second vote.
Image Credits from L to R: Pawleys Island by Carl Beard; Table Rock by Julie Wyatt; Hunting Island by Teresa Kopec.
H.3951 (Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act) – This legislation, introduced by Rep. Patrick Haddon from Greenville, would create the Working Agricultural Lands Preservation Program and Fund that would be housed within the SC Conservation Bank. The Program and Fund would be funded by a line-item appropriation separate from those annual funds appropriated to the Conservation Bank. The purpose of the Program and Fund is to facilitate the use of conservation easements on working farmlands to permanently protect farmland properties using a selection criterion slightly different from the criteria used by the Bank for its normal grants program.
H.3951 passed through the legislative process in the House and was approved by a vote of 104-2 on March 29th. The bill was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Senator Campsen had an amendment attached to the bill during the committee process which basically included the language of S.280, the Conservation Enhancement Act to re-instate the deed stamp funding mechanism to the Conservation Bank. H.3951, as amended, passed out of the Committee, and was placed on the Senate calendar. Senator Peeler, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, objected strongly to this effort to bypass the Senate Finance Committee where the House and Senate versions of the Conservation Enhancement Act had previously been referred. As a result of his objection, the Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act, as amended, was recommitted to the Senate Finance Committee where it remained when the Legislature adjourned.
SCWF and our legislative partner, Audubon South Carolina, along with Upstate Forever and the SC Farm Bureau strongly supported the original Working Agricultural Lands Protection Act as passed by the House and actively worked to shepherd the bill through the legislative process. Had the Conservation Enhancement Act language not been added to H.3951 as an amendment, the bill would have likely sailed through the Senate and would have become law this year. Our efforts to have the amendment stripped from the bill on Senate floor and the original farmland bill taken up by the Senate failed, so we will have to wait until the 2024 session to right the ship and get this important piece of legislation enacted into law.
H.3868 (Women in Hunting and Fishing Awareness Day) – This legislation introduced by Rep. Heather Bauer of Columbia designates the third Saturday in November as Women in Hunting and Fishing Awareness Day. The bill passed both legislative chambers overwhelmingly and SCWF Executive Director Sara Green testified in support of the bill in both the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction. The bill was signed by the Governor on May 16.
S.96 (Boater Safety and Training Legislation) – This legislation sponsored by Sen. Campsen, Davis and McElveen states that anyone born on or after July 1, 2007 must successfully complete a boater safety training program and be in possession of a boater safety certificate in order to operate a vessel powered by an engine of ten horsepower or greater or equivalent to ten horsepower or greater. The bill passed the Senate and was amended in the House. The Senate amended the bill again by stripping out some of the House amendments and sent it back to the House. The House non-concurred in the Senate amendments thus creating a conference committee to iron out the difference between the two versions. The conferees issued a compromise Conference Report which was agreed to by the Senate by a vote of 43-0 but approval was held up in the House on May 11, the last day of session. After much debate in an extended session, the House finally passed the Conference Report by a 97-7 vote when they returned to the Capitol on June 7. The bill will now go to the Governor for his signature and become state law.
Image Credit: Venus Flytrap in Horry County, SC by Austin Jenkins.
S.581 (A Bill to Name the Venus Flytrap as the Official State Carnivorous Plant of the State) This bill passed both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by the Governor on May 8. The bill would bring awareness to the Venus flytrap which is federally designated as an At-Risk Species and the State of South Carolina is just one of two places in the world where the Venus flytrap naturally occurs. SCWF Executive Director Sara Green testified in support of this bill before House and Senate legislative Committees. You can read her remarks here.
H.3121 (Trails Bill) – This bill states that a taxpayer who encumbers his property with a perpetual recreational trail easement and right of way is allowed a one-time income tax credit equal to ten cents for each square foot of the property that is encumbered by the recreational trail easement. If passed, this legislation would help facilitate the continuation of public trails from publicly owned lands through privately owned property. Late in the session, this legislation passed the House and was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. This exact same bill passed the House overwhelmingly in 2022, but time ran out before the Senate could consider it. Since 2022 was the end of a two-year legislative session, the bill needed to be re-introduced in 2023 and will be consider by the Senate in 2024.
S.281 (SC Public Lands Enhancement Act) – This legislation would capture an amount equal to the annual general fund portion of sales tax revenue derived from sporting goods stores, designated under the 2007 North American Industry Classification System with code 451110, and credit that amount to the Public Lands Enhancement Fund (created by the bill). Funds derived from these sales tax proceeds would be used to create, improve, or restore access to public lands and waters, facilities, natural resources including fish and wildlife populations, or recreational opportunities on parks, forests, wildlife management areas, and heritage preserves that are owned, leased, or managed for public use by an agency of this State. The Bill was sponsored by Sen. Campsen and introduced in the Senate on January 10th where it was referred to the Senate Finance Committee. No further action taken in 2023. Hopefully, this legislation will advance in the 2024 session.
Sunday Hunting on WMAs – The SC Department of Natural Resources promulgated regulations that would allow for Sunday hunting on selected Wildlife Management Areas around the state that are owned or leased by the Department. Committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate approved these new regulations and they became effective May 26, 2023. Since Sunday hunting was not recommended nor approved for all WMA’s, hunters should check with SCDNR to determine which WMA’s are affected and which are not by the new regulations.
Endangered Pine Barrens Treefrog, photo by Nathan Shepard
H.4047 (Endangered Species Disclosure Prohibition) – This legislation authored and introduced by Rep. Ott states that the Department of Natural Resources may not release records in its possession that contain site-specific information, including but not limited to, unique numeric identifiers of precise geographic locations, telemetry, or other locational data, regarding the occurrence of federal- or state-listed rare, threatened, species in need of management, endangered, or otherwise imperiled plant and animal species on public or private property, except in support of scientific, conservation, or educational purposes. The owner or owners of private property upon which threatened, endangered, or at-risk species occur shall be entitled to records specific to said property upon the request to the department. The bill passed the House on a vote of 97-0 on May 3 and was sent to the Senate where it was referred to the Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee. The bill will receive Senate consideration in the 2024 session. SCWF favored this legislation and Sara Green testified in support of the bill before the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee prior to the bill’s passage in the House.
S.484 (SC Waterways Protection Act) – Legislation would create the South Carolina Waterways Protection Fund. Funds would be expended from the trust account primarily for the removal of hazardous, abandoned, or unattended vessels, marine debris, or hazards to navigation from the waters of this State. This bill passed the Senate 41-1 and was sent to the House and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. It will be taken up by the House in the 2024 session.