SC lawmakers file nearly a dozen bills in effort to block COVID vaccine, mask mandates
South Carolina lawmakers filed almost a dozen bills this week to curb COVID-19 vaccine and masking requirements.
The pre-filed bills, which range from banning the state Department of Health and Environmental Control from enforcing mask or vaccine requirements to a bill that would make questioning one’s vaccination status discrimination, were released Wednesday, about two months before lawmakers return to Columbia for the 2022 legislative session.
The batch likely won’t be the end of anti-mask or anti-vaccine requirement bills filed ahead or during the 2022 session.
More pre-filed House bills will be released Nov. 17. The Senate has not set a date for its release.
Efforts to curb mask mandates
Though an attempt to ban mask mandates in public schools at at public universities failed earlier this year, some lawmakers are prepared to go back to the drawing board.
One proposal filed this week would block any college or university from requiring employees and students to wear a mask. Another would stop state agencies and public school districts from requiring masks.
Most of the proposals were filed by state Rep. Stewart Jones, R-Laurens, who this year was a focus of the masking debate.
Using the budget, Jones successfully included a measure to block schools from using state dollars to require that students wear masks. The move sparked legal action as the fall semester was nearing and COVID-19 case numbers skyrocketed across the state. Some districts and cities issued mandates in open defiance of the measure, known as a proviso.
The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled the proviso was constitutional, but said school districts could use money provided by other sources to enforce mask mandates.
The provisos were blocked after a federal judge ruled they discriminated against children who were at severe risk of contracting COVID-19 by making them choose between a public education and their own health.
Lawmakers seek to limit vaccine requirements
A majority of the COVID-19 pre-filed House bills dealt primarily with the vaccine.
One proposal, filed by Jones, would block all state agencies and public school districts from requiring people to get a coronavirus vaccine. Another bill, sponsored by Rep. Brian White, R-Anderson, would block the state from requiring students to get the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for attending public school.
Other proposals to limit the vaccine requirement include:
▪ A bill filed by Rep. Chris Wooten, R-Lexington, that would block the state from requiring COVID-19 vaccines for first responders
▪ A bill, filed by Rep. Joe Bustos, R-Charleston, that would stop employers from firing workers who chose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine because they received monoclonal therapy or had natural immunity to the coronavirus after contracting it before.
If fired, an employee could sue to be rehired and paid damages, lost wages and attorney fees.
▪ Another bill, filed by Bustos, that would block colleges from requiring students to get vaccinated or prove they’ve been vaccinated so they don’t have to wear masks. The bill would also block the institutions from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition of employment or enrollment
▪ A bill filed by Rep. Mike Burns, R-Greenville, that would block any public or private establishment from requiring patrons, students or members to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Under the bill, those establishments could be sued.
By far, the bill with the most sponsors — more than 40 — would ban a person or the government from refusing services to someone because they are not vaccinated.
The proposal would make requiring proof of any vaccination — not just the COVID-19 vaccination — a form of discrimination. The bill also would bar any vaccine requirements if the vaccine has only been approved under an emergency use authorization rather than receiving full Food and Drug Administration approval.
It’s modeled after legislation passed in Montana earlier this year. The Montana law has already drawn multiple legal challenges from businesses that argue the law stops them from providing a safe environment.
The bill also seeks to bar employers from discriminating against a potential employee because of their vaccination status. However, employers would be able to recommend that employees or potential employees get vaccinated.
There are some exceptions to the bill.
Public schools would still be able to enforce vaccine requirements. And health care facilities would be able to ask employees to volunteer their vaccine information, but they could not require them to provide it. Under the proposal, those facilities could change how that employee interacts with others based on their vaccine status.
Only roughly 55% of South Carolinians are fully vaccinated.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 10:04 AM.
