Gov. McMaster offers to call SC lawmakers back to Columbia once COVID-19 peak passes
As the number of coronavirus cases in South Carolina continues to climb, state lawmakers are facing an increasingly difficult question: when to return to Columbia to pass essential legislation to keep state government operating and to address a slate of other critical matters, including approving spending for its own response to the unprecedented health crisis.
Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday offered State House leaders a solution.
He offered to call lawmakers back to work after coronavirus cases are expected to peak sometime next month, so they can pass emergency measures that include millions for hospitals and the state’s COVID-19 response. The General Assembly came back to Columbia earlier this month to get outstanding work done, but lawmakers failed to reach an agreement.
That failure means lawmakers, many of whom are in the age range most vulnerable to COVID-19, must return to Columbia at some point soon, where the 170-member General Assembly will be forced to congregate in their chambers at a time when public health officials are telling the public to limit social interactions, maintain distance from others and avoid crowds.
If lawmakers don’t return to work on their own before May 14, the last official day of the legislative session, the governor will be their only way back to the State House.
Instead of returning to the state Capitol before May 14 when work typically ends, McMaster suggested to Senate President Harvey Peeler and House Speaker Jay Lucas in a letter that they both agree to a time and day and he will call the General Assembly back to work in Columbia before June 30 so that South Carolina lawmakers don’t risk their health.
“Returning before May 14th for session, even briefly, could place the health and safety of your members at an elevated risk for exposure to the virus,” McMaster wrote to the Republicans from Cherokee and Darlington counties, respectively. “However, I believe — and hope — that by late June that risk will have diminished to the extent that businesses and activities in our state may be safely resumed and conducted using personal safety precautions.”
Legislators typically leave Columbia for their districts every year the second Tuesday in May, the official “sine die” end of the legislative session. But the COVID-19 outbreak in the Palmetto State has forced the General Assembly to put a major hold on its outstanding business with the exception of emergency votes.
To be able to come back to work after the May 14 end of session, lawmakers must adopt an essential “sine die” resolution that would permit their return and set forth what matters they can take up. If they don’t return before May 14 on their own, the governor can call back the Legislature after the end of the session: on any day and on any issue. But lawmakers have traditionally bucked that option.
Several important matters are outstanding.
Earlier this month, the Legislature returned to the State House for one day of work to vote on legislation to keep state government operating at this year’s spending levels and to establish a date of when the Legislature would return to Columbia to pass a budget. The state’s fiscal year ends June 30, making that date a critical deadline for lawmakers to act.
Tied into that legislation — called a continuing resolution — was $180 million for the state’s coronavirus response, including up to $15 million to ensure the health of voters and poll workers for the June and November elections. And the proposal also included a measure to give the state’s public colleges and universities the option of furloughing employees as they deal with a giant financial crunch stemming from the pandemic.
The full General Assembly failed to adopt those measures this month after a heated debate over what to do with the state’s public utility Santee Cooper, with House leaders accusing Santee Cooper and “rogue” senators of taking advantage of a public health crisis.
“A minority of members of one chamber have delayed the will of the majority of the General Assembly,” Lucas said in a statement Thursday. “However, the House remains unified and ready to overcome those obstacles.”
Lucas’ office clarified on Thursday that the speaker agreed with McMaster’s request.
Peeler, the Senate president, told The State on Thursday he had “a little heads up” that the letter from the governor was forthcoming.
The letter was first reported by the Charleston Post and Courier.
Peeler said he viewed McMaster’s letter as an “insurance policy.”
“I’m not going to get into a back-and-forth with the House, this is far more important,” he said. “I appreciate the letter. I appreciate the governor’s support. I view the governor as not an adversary but an ally, an ally and a friend.”
But Peeler said he is concerned about lawmakers holding off on their return until late June.
“I feel like the majority of South Carolinians, we’re ready to go back to work,” Peeler said. “We’re ready for this to be behind us. Whether it’s false hope or not, while I breathe I hope, I hope (by the) first of May, this thing is going to turn around. ... But, here again, the virus is controlling our lives.”
Peeler said no deal between House and Senate leaders has been reached as of Thursday but said conversations are going on daily.
Could Peeler bet on when the Legislature might return?
“I’m not a betting man,” he said.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 2:01 PM.
