Big Updates from Your State Legislators

•  Education Scholarship Accounts (S.935) – The Senate began debate on a bill that would provide roughly $6,000 to parents to cover tuition, fees, course 
    materials, transportation, or other qualified expenses to send their children to private or charter schools. Qualified students must have been previously 
    enrolled in the public school system and must come from a Medicaid eligible family or have an IEP. Students receiving these scholarships must take a 
    national test annually to allow the Department of Education to track their academic progress. Enrollment in the program for year one will be capped at 
    5,000 students. Proponents of the bill argue that it gives parents greater choice in choosing education opportunities best fit for their child. Opponents 
    argue that the bill takes away funding that could be used to improve the state’s public school system and that the scholarship amount is not enough to 
    cover the costs at many private schools around the state. The debate on the bill will continue next week.
•  Open Enrollment (S.544) – The Senate Education Committee advanced a proposal that would allow for open enrollment in public and charter schools 
    across district lines, an option that over 20 school districts across the state already allow but is not uniform statewide. The bill allows for districts that 
    accept out-of-district students under the open enrollment policy to charge a fee to recoup the lost local dollars they receive from in-district students. 
    School districts that accept out-of-district students will still receive that student’s federal and state funding. The bill allows for districts to refuse to 
    receive out-of-district students if there is a documented lack of capacity in that district, and the lack of capacity can be forward-looking by using a 
    district’s projected growth. The bill also does not require or prohibit a district from offering transportation. The bill now heads to the Senate floor.
•  SC Housing Tax Credit Reform (S.1120) – A Senate Finance subcommittee advanced a bill that would reform the state’s affordable housing tax-credit 
    program that was enacted in 2020. The program has far exceeded initial cost estimates, so the legislation seeks to cap the program at $15 million 
    annually. It would also require developers seeking tax credits through the program to submit their proposal to the state’s Joint Bond Review Committee 
    (JBRC), which will develop a scoring system to ensure that the program only distributes credits to projects that promote the highest value and greatest 
    public benefit. The bill would specifically set aside a portion of the $15 million for projects in rural areas.
•  Local Government User Fees (S.984) – A Senate Finance subcommittee advanced a bill that further reemphasizes legislative intent that local governing 
    bodies may enact service or user fees in return for a government good or service as long as the revenue generated from the fee is used to benefit payers 
    of the fee, regardless of whether the general public occasionally benefits as well. Many lawsuits have been filed around the state alleging that counties 
    have been improperly assessing user fees to pay for county roads and road maintenance. Counties may be forced to raise property taxes or cut services       
    to pay back years of collected user fees without clear legislative intent.