It’s Budget Week in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Today we’re forecasting the week ahead as lawmakers continue to attack our civil liberties from all angles.
But first, let’s talk about how you can get involved. Please register for our next virtual Advocacy 101 training on Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. Let us know which issues matter most to you, and we’ll get you plugged in with advocates from across our state.
Last week we saw an outpouring of protest and a crowd of public speakers that literally overwhelmed the capacity of legislative conference rooms. We need to keep that energy going in the years ahead. Whether you want to show up for reproductive rights, protection of democracy, academic freedom, or any other area of civil rights in our state, we are so glad to have you join the work in any way you are able.
Budget provisos: Lawmaking for cowards
The House will spend this week deliberating about the next annual budget. Check the House Meeting Schedule for daily schedules and livestream links.
One vocabulary word I had to learn when I started paying attention to state politics is “proviso.” A proviso is a one-year law attached to the budget, although lawmakers will frequently repeat a proviso year after year once it’s incorporated in a budget.
All too often, when lawmakers want to enact an unpopular policy without taking public testimony and going through the usual bill-passing process, they will try to sneak it in via a budget proviso.
To cite two examples from an early phase of this year’s budget writing process:
- On Feb. 18 the House Ways and Means Committee approved a proviso from Rep. Nathan Ballentine (R-Chapin) that would prohibit programs promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in all school districts, colleges, universities, and state agencies. In the absence of public comment, some of Ballentine’s colleagues had to explain why this is a terrible idea. The proviso received initial approval from the committee anyway.
- At the same Feb. 18 meeting, the Ways and Means Committee approved a proviso from Rep. Steven Long (R-Boiling Springs) that directs the Department of Health and Human Services to “withhold funding to abortion providers to the fullest extent allowed under the law.”
In both cases, state lawmakers are trying to use a backdoor method to enact deeply unpopular policy. They do this in small conference rooms with no public input, in marked contrast to the robust democratic process we saw in legislative committees last week.
Speaking of robust democracy ...
An update on the total abortion ban bill
So many South Carolinians showed up to oppose the total abortion ban bill H. 3457 last Tuesday that we filled the legislative conference room, spilled out of two overflow rooms, and formed a line out the door of the Blatt Building that doubled back on itself. Medical experts and people from all walks of life showed up to tell lawmakers this bill is an attack on our freedom and will lead to the deaths of pregnant women if it passes.
There were so many of us that we didn’t all get a chance to speak. Over on our Instagram account @aclusc, you can watch short interviews with a few of the people who were waiting in line outside.
The House Constitutional Laws Subcommittee adjourned without taking a vote, and a second hearing has not been scheduled yet. Keep an eye out on social media, and we’ll let you know as soon as we hear the date. In the meantime, keep sending emails to the subcommittee members making it clear that we don’t want this actively harmful bill:
One thing that became apparent as the handful of anti-abortion activists delivered their speeches is that they will not be satisfied even if this extreme and dangerous bill passes. They made it clear they aim to take away contraceptives and family planning next. We cannot give them another inch.
A shutout hearing for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
On the same day as the abortion ban hearing, the House Education and Public Works Committee held a hearing on H. 3927, a sweeping attack on programs of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in schools, universities, state agencies, state contractors, and private institutions.
Again, the crowd of public commenters overflowed onto the sidewalk. As the SC Daily Gazette noted, something remarkable happened in this hearing, which lasted four-and-a-half hours:
“Every person who testified opposed the legislation. None of the speakers were in favor.”
South Carolinians showed up to oppose bigotry and demagoguery. We compiled 10 minutes of highlights for a video on Instagram if you’d like a recap. If our lawmakers are going to try dismantling the protections of the Civil Rights era, they are not going to be able to do it quietly.
As with the abortion ban bill, the committee took no vote on the DEI ban. We anticipate a second hearing soon, but a date has not been announced. In the meantime, you can help keep the pressure on by writing to your lawmakers and sharing this message action:
DEFEND DIVERSITY EQUITY & INCLUSION
We heard y’all like public input
Mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 19, at 1:30 p.m. That’s when the House Government Efficiency & Legislative Oversight Committee will host a public input meeting in Room 110 of the Blatt Building (1105 Pendleton St., Columbia).
The committee is reviewing the performance of numerous state agencies, but we’d like to highlight that the S.C. Department of Education and the S.C. Law Enforcement Division are on the list. The agenda is here. To provide testimony, you must register by 9 a.m. on March 19 by calling 803-212-6810 or emailing [email protected].
It’s totally up to you what input you want to give, but you could certainly highlight the time and resources being expended on near-monthly book ban hearings in Superintendent Ellen Weaver’s Department of Education. Or perhaps lawmakers would be curious to know why the superintendent’s office paid more than $40,000 to an outside lawyer to promote and defend book-banning regulation 43-170.
Stay loud, South Carolina. See you at the State House.
