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The State House Gavel
The State House Gavel shares updates about the South Carolina General Assembly, including legislative actions, debates and discussions. Featuring news and interviews, so you have access to the latest developments in policy and decisions that shape South Carolina’s future.

The State House Gavel: Senator walks back tort reform remark, Tim Scott on trade

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney
Published March 5, 2025 at 6:01 AM EST
The S.C. Senate stands pauses session on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, after a senator's remarks on the floor.
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
The S.C. Senate stands pauses session on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, after a senator's remarks on the floor.

Statehouse reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter are back at the Capitol reporting what you need to know when lawmakers are in Columbia. They'll post news, important schedules, photos/videos and behind-the-scenes interviews with policymakers.

Welcome to a soggy Wednesday.

You're reading The State House Gavel, a daily reporter notebook by reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse this year while lawmakers are in session.

It's going to be a busy day at the Statehouse.

  • Before the Senate returns on S. 244 (the tort reform bill), Senate GOP Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and Gov. Henry McMaster are scheduled at 11 a.m. to hold a press conference in support of tort reform legislation. Expect a lot of security and a lot of people.
  • An hour later, both chambers will meet in a joint assembly to hear from James Lacoursiere, the national commander of the American Legion, and state Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge.
  • It’s also Clemson Day and Alzheimer’s Awareness Day — so there will be plenty of orange and purple around the Capitol. 

Notebook highlights:

  • Senate returns to tort reform after Day 1 included an eyebrow-raising allegation that was walked back by the senator who made the comments.
  • The House took testimony on a more restrictive abortion ban bill.
  • U.S. Sen. Tim Scott speaks to South Carolina reporters about Trump administration tariffs and the trade war.
  • A handful of state agency directors get new salaries approved by special House-Senate committee.
  • South Carolina Lede's latest episode takes a look back at the $1.8 billion error, and where the saga stands at this moment.
Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson
SCETV
Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson

Tort reform record scratch

The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday started its closely-watched debate over Sen. Shane Massey's tort reform legislation.

The debate, likely to stretch at least two weeks, continues Wednesday after Day 1 started with an eyebrow-raising allegation by freshman Sen. Tom Fernandez, R-Dorchester.

The allegation resulted in Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, almost immediately calling for the upper chamber to stand "at ease," pausing debate and causing the chamber cameras to stop rolling.

A large group of Senators, including Massey, gathered around the dais.

And Fernandez was immediately surrounded by staff attorneys.

Once session resumed, his remark was not mentioned by other senators, who continued to debate the bill.

But two hours later, Fernandez issued a statement saying he didn't "perceive these offers as a quid-pro-quo."

The statement wasn't the only development in the day.

The debate lasted somewhere around five hours.

State Sen. Michael Johnson, R-York, held the floor for most of the debate, taking questions from colleagues.

Then Massey tapped in.

Reporters spoke to Massey briefly after Tuesday's debate.

On Fernandez's remark, Massey said, "I think the statement speaks for itself. He got cut off, and I think if he had been able to finish, probably would have come across differently than the way that it came across."

On Facebook later Tuesday, Fernandez responded in a post acknowledging that he "misspoke."

He wrote, "the part they didn't let me finish is the other side did the SAME THING. However, i misspoke: they didn't offer in exchange for a vote. They simply offered. BOTH SIDES did."

All that was Day 1. So what will Day 2 hold?

The Senate gavels in at 11:45 a.m., but will head to the joint assembly. Massey said he expects the chamber will return to session about 2 p.m. to continue the tort reform debate.

Reporters were told to expect more question-and-answer about the bill on Wednesday, followed by amendment introductions.

Lawmakers at the South Carolina Statehouse on March 4, 2025.
Gavin Jackson

House panel revives abortion debate — sort of

A South Carolina House panel took testimony on Tuesday over a total abortion ban that would restrict exemptions allowed under current law.

The bill, H. 3457, is filed by Rep. John McCravy, a Greenwood Republican and chair of the conservative House Family Caucus.

The proposal outright bans abortion, and only offers an exception for the mother's life.

Even though current law has cut the number of abortions performed in South Carolina, McCravy said there are still too many.

What the law does now: South Carolina has a roughly six-week abortion ban in law. It includes very few exceptions, but does include sexual assault up to 12 weeks, fatal fetal anomaly and the life of the mother. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic has taken the state to court over the law a handful of times. And, currently, there is one case still being weighed by the state Supreme Court over when doctors can identify a fetal heartbeat.

What happened Tuesday: Hundreds of people from across the state — mothers, pastors, doctors, teachers, women who had high-risk pregnancies, women who had miscarriages, one woman who was sexually assaulted and became pregnant and then chose to have an abortion — testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee.

S.C. House Judiciary subcommittee testimony 3.4.25

What's next: It's unclear. The House Judiciary Committee held the hearing over the bill after McCravy invoked a little-used House rule that required his legislation get a hearing. But, as of the end of the hearing Tuesday, the rule was satisfied and the committee took no vote.

Meanwhile, the S.C. House GOP Caucus — of which McCravy is a member — issued a statement, essentially declaring that the chamber, at least for now, move onto other things.

Recall: The House has in years past voted against similar proposals that lack exceptions, like rape and incest. And the Senate has repeatedly blocked passage of bills more restrictive than six weeks, especially without enough exceptions.

And speaking to the S.C. Daily Gazette, Beaufort Republican Sen. Tom Davis vowed to filibuster the bill should it make it over to the Senate, just as he did in 2022.

“There’s certainly a desire among some senators to have it taken up again,” Davis told the outlet. “If it’s taken up again, I would oppose it the same way I did back in 2022.”

South Carolina Rep. John McCravy, R-Greenwood listens during a House subcommittee hearing on a bill that he sponsored that would ban nearly all abortions in the state on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Jeffrey Collins/AP
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AP
South Carolina Rep. John McCravy, R-Greenwood listens during a House subcommittee hearing on a bill that he sponsored that would ban nearly all abortions in the state on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Stocks down, Sen. Scott up

South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott spoke with reporters Tuesday ahead of President Donald Trump’s congressional address that night.

In the background? Nervous financial markets erased trillions of dollars in gains made since Trump was elected in November. Markets gained some ground later in the day.  

“As chairman the Banking Committee, the one thing I've been focused on is working with President Trump to usher in this new golden era of opportunity and prosperity where the average American experiences the blue-collar come back that President Trump was elected to deliver," Scott told reporters. "The good news is, so far, promises made, promises kept. We're seeing true accomplishments under President Trump. We're seeing a focus on right sizing the regulatory state.”  

  • On tariffs hitting American companies: “One of the things President Trump has been very clear about is that his approach to tariffs isn't simply an economic tool. He sees it as a whole world view of impacting those who are negatively impacting us. And in the area of fentanyl trade, both Canada and Mexico, from the president's perspective, has had a negative impact, and he's 100% right. It's one of the reasons why I created legislation to freeze the assets of the cartels.” 
  • On DOGE impacts: “The truth of the matter is, every action taken by this administration, President Trump is wholly responsible for it and thankfully so. DOGE has already produced billions of dollars of savings. I think it will continue to produce better results going forward, and that's one of the reasons why we can be optimistic about the average person in our state having more of their own resources returned to them, be it through the tax reform that we’ll get done or through the results of finding more savings through waste, fraud and abuse. The good news is that the really sensitive issues and areas where South Carolinians are receiving resources from the government has not been touched at this point.” 
    Republican Sen. Tim Scott greets voters after announcing he's running in the 2024 presidential race at his alma mater May 22, 2023
    Victoria Hansen
    /
    SC Public Radio

Lawmakers OK pay raises for some agency heads

The state's Agency Head Salary Commission met Tuesday, and, briefly, we wanted to share what they voted on.

As background: The commission is made up of four members of the House and four members of the Senate. Those eight members include House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and Senate budget Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee. The governor gets three appointees.

Here are a couple of highlights:

  • Interim state Auditor Sue Moss (who was promoted after former Auditor George Kennedy resigned) will now earn $168,700.
  • Tom Mullikin, the new director of the state's Department of Natural Resources, will earn $195,594.
The South Carolina Statehouse
GAVIN JACKSON

SC Lede deep dive into $1.8B

A new episode of the S.C. Lede takes you back into the Senate Finance subcommittee room last week, when the latest episode of the $1.8 billion accounting discrepancy played out.

Though limited new information came to light, the battle of the wits continued between lawmakers seeking to question Treasurer Curtis Loftis over the accounting error he denies that he has any part of fault over.

And House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, also prepares us for budget week, which kicks off in the lower chamber on Monday.  

Listen to the new episode, or subscribe to the S.C. Lede wherever you listen to podcasts or on the NPR One app. 

Treasurer Curtis Loftis, left, testifies with his attorney Shawn Eubanks before the Senate Finance Constitutional subcommittee on Feb. 27, 2025.
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Maayan Schechter
Maayan Schechter (My-yahn Schek-ter) is a news reporter with South Carolina Public Radio and ETV. She worked at South Carolina newspapers for a decade, previously working as a reporter and then editor of The State’s S.C. State House and politics team, and as a reporter at the Aiken Standard and the Greenville News. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2013.
See stories by Maayan Schechter
Gavin Jackson
Gavin Jackson graduated with a visual journalism degree from Kent State University in 2008 and has been in the news industry ever since. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Louisiana and most recently in South Carolina at the Florence Morning News and Charleston Post and Courier.
See stories by Gavin Jackson
Russ McKinney
Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs. He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta. He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.
See stories by Russ McKinney