Recent Statehouse laws provide many benefits

While national attention was fixed on what the Senate would do with South Carolina’s congressional redistricting this past month, several key pieces of legislation important for residents of our region were passed into law with scant media attention.

Here are some I have highlighted:

SCDOT Modernization Act
Unlike past highway, roads, and bridges bills that mainly stipulated how much money South Carolina should spend, this bill (S.831) asks a more important question: who is responsible for making sure the work actually gets done.

It passed unanimously by both houses.

It places authority with the Secretary of Transportation and abolishes the SCDOT Commission. It requires an independent audit every four years, authorizes public-private partnerships for transportation projects, and even creates a “pothole mitigation program” for public reporting of pothole locations.

It is intended to respond more directly to population growth pressures that are vital in coastal counties like ours.

Honest Labeling for Shrimp in Restaurants
One of those bills has a direct impact on nearby shrimpers from Beaufort and Jasper Counties, as well as on other Lowcountry communities along the South Carolina coast. This bill (H.4248), “Truth in Labeling,” now requires that shrimp and shrimp products sold in South Carolina must be labeled with their country of origin.

The significance is that it specifically benefits South Carolina shrimpers by giving buyers clearer information about whether the shrimp on the menu is domestic or imported.

A recent study found that 40 of 44 popular restaurants in Charleston were misleading customers by claiming they sold shrimp from local waters when, in fact, they were buying their shrimp from overseas.

Student Physical Privacy Act
This bill was finally signed into law by Governor McMaster on May 15, after extensive lobbying by various special interest groups.

It now makes South Carolina’s public schools as well as public colleges legally responsible for keeping multi-user restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, showers, and overnight sleeping quarters separated by biological sex (as observed or verified by birth).

For universities, this legislation does not necessarily end co-ed dormitories, but it does require public colleges and universities to rethink how residence halls, shared bathrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations are assigned and managed. The practical effect is a new compliance burden on campuses that have, for many years, operated with more flexible housing arrangements. Several other southern states have taken the same steps

A New Streamlined Department for Mental Health
South Carolinians will also soon have easier access to mental health care as a result of the full legislature passing Senate Bill S.2, which combines three major service areas: mental health, substance abuse services, and intellectual/ developmental disabilities.

This new “South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities” has been created to make care for these areas work more cohesively, rather than the previous network of separate silos. If implemented well, this should mean faster referrals, greater accountability, and more help closer to home for families across the state dealing with these issues.

Jeff Bradley is the representative for District 123 in the State House of Representatives.