It's Friday, March 20.
That wraps Week 10 of the South Carolina legislative session.
There are eight more weeks and 24 more days left on the legislative calendar until sine die on May 14. That doesn't count any more furlough or perfunctory weeks, which we expect both the House and the Senate to take, respectively, in April.
You're reading The State House Gavel, your daily reporter notebook by Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse.
In lighter, non-policy news, Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday announced Russell "Patrick" Davis as South Carolina's new poet laureate.
A University of South Carolina graduate, Davis was raised in Camden and is a singer-songwriter and producer, according to the governor's office.
Since 1934, South Carolina governors have appointed poet laureates, who are charged with promoting poetry through the state and participating in public programming.
"Throughout his career, Patrick Davis has used music and words to tell the stories of our people, and we are proud to have him represent South Carolina's rich heritage," McMaster said. "His deep South Carolina roots and talent as a songwriter and storyteller make him uniquely suited to serve as our state’s Poet Laureate."
Notebook highlights:
- The South Carolina Senate walked back some provisions in the consumable hemp legislation, opening up sales in retail stores
- The latest 2026 election candidate filings as the deadline nears
Senate reverses course over some THC hemp drink sales
South Carolina senators ended a two-week debate Thursday that included one roughly 13-hour day with a deal to allow some THC hemp drinks to be legally sold in retail stores.
The legislation — H. 3924 — prohibits anyone under 21 from buying consumable hemp products, and now allows retailers with beer and wine and hemp licenses to sell up to 5 milligram single-can 12-ounce THC drinks, which would be kept behind the counter.
Any beverage over that milligram amount would be required to be sold at licensed liquor stores.
And gummies with up to 40 milligrams of THC per package could only be sold at liquor stores. But, like the retail rules, store inventory must be kept behind the counter.
Any preexisting stock, bought before the effective date of the bill should it become law, could be sold through Nov. 12.
What else does the bill do?
- Bans on-premise consumption at bars and restaurants
- Creates a DUI offense for anyone who drives a car with 5 nanograms or more of THC per milliliter found in the blood
- Keeps CBD products legal and under current state regulations
The deal was a major breakthrough and backtrack in the Republican-controlled Senate, which, just after midnight Thursday, initially failed to find enough votes to pass the bill that, initially, pushed all THC product sales to liquor stores.
But after senators got a few hours of sleep — emphasis on a few — Senate Republicans reversed course and agreed with their Democratic colleagues to give retailers some relief.
Ultimately, the bill passed the upper chamber in a 35-4 vote.
Two Republican Sens. Lee Bright of Spartanburg and Billy Garrett of Greenwood, and two Democratic Sens. Ed Sutton of Charleston and Margie Bright Matthews of Colleton voted against the bill.
Hear more from Sutton, who unsuccessfully sought to allow on-premise consumption:
"This is a compromise," Sen. Michael Johnson, a York Republican who shepherded the final deal amendment through, told reporters after the final vote.
How did they ultimately get to a deal?
"Family conversations," Johnson said — on both sides.
Hear more from him below:
After making clear he was not in the business of predicting where the House could go with the legislation, Johnson said it's his hope the lower chamber recognizes the guardrails senators put up and agree to their significant changes.
"It regulates a product that we knew we couldn't ban," he added.
Johnson also added that if the federal government does wind up tightening rules on hemp-derived products this year, the legislature will tighten rules alongside them.
"If they expand it, we will stay where we are," he said.
The House was out on furlough this week.
They return back to session on Tuesday.
Read more:
- The State: Deal keeps hemp THC gummies, drinks in SC. But where can you buy them?
- WIS: Bill regulating THC drinks, gummies clears key hurdle in SC Senate
What else did the Senate do?
- In a 37-1 vote, the Senate passed S. 831, sponsored by Senate Transportation Chairman Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley. The legislation would modernize state transportation department operations that includes measures on public-private partnerships, environmental permits and tolling.
How 2026 gov filings are shaping up
South Carolina's candidate filing deadline does not hit until March 30.
But, already, the race for the governor's office is starting to take shape.
Filings have so far included:
- Michael Addison (United Citizens Party)
- Mullins McLeod (Democratic Party)
- 5th District Congressman Ralph Norman (Republican Party)
- Rom Reddy (Republican Party)
- Attorney General Alan Wilson (Republican Party)
Wilson filed to run Thursday, with his wife, Jennifer, and his running mate, Sen. Mike Reichenbach, R-Florence, by his side.
“Every rule, every policy, every position that we take will be about protecting our families, making life more affordable and making businesses more profitable,” Wilson said.
He invited reporters to tag along and ask questions, including about the latest entry into the race, Rom Reddy, a wealthy Isle of Palms resident who has sought so far to position himself in this contest as an anti-establishment candidate who wants to shake up Columbia. Reddy plans to self-fund his campaign.
Wilson's answers have been edited for length and clarity.
"I think South Carolinians should have as many voices representing them as possible in this race for governor. I welcome Rom. He is a friend. We're not enemies. We're competitors. And that's how I see people like him," Wilson told reporters. "You know, for people who have the ability to write million-dollar checks, good for them. I don't fault people for that. I'm a middle-class guy. I have to go out there and roll up my sleeves and work hard in the trenches to earn each and every vote. I'm not going to be able to, you know, buy the kind of TV that other people can. But I can tell you this right now, we have been campaigning for the last nine months in every single corner of South Carolina and every single county."
Are you concerned he'll pull votes away in the primary?
"The political pundits can determine (whether) they think his entry into the race will affect the race. I'm just going to focus on the things that I can control. What I can control is my message, my vision, my work ethic. Mike and I and our team, we are out there going to earn every single vote. You can't buy this job, right? Some people are going to try to lie their way into this job. But we're going to go out there and we're going to earn our way into this job."
You can watch more of Wilson's remarks below:
On the Democratic side, as we noted above, Charleston attorney McLeod is so far the first and only Democratic candidate to file.
Like other candidates in the race, McLeod has campaigned on cleaning up corruption and the influence of special interests he says exists in Columbia.
"I am running for governor to return the power to the people and give them the voice they have long deserved but not yet had," McLeod said in his filing statement.
McLeod is not expected to be the sole Democrat vying for the higher office, but we're starting to hear the race may not be of the makeup we expected only a couple of months ago.
Upstate businessman Billy Webster, who has quite the resume — he worked with former Democratic Gov. Dick Riley in South Carolina and in Washington and, later, for former President Bill Clinton — is expected to announce his bid soon.
Congressman Jim Clyburn alluded to as much, when the 6th District representative gestured to Webster during his reelection announcement last week. Webster shook off the claim when asked about it by Gavin Jackson who was in attendance.
With Webster potentially in (he has until March 30 to make it official), we've asked around about what that may mean for state Rep. Jermaine Johnson's bid, which has been quiet these last few weeks.
Johnson, a Richland Democrat who delivered the Democratic response to Gov. Henry McMaster’s State of the State in January, had announced he would not seek reelection to his House District 52 seat.
Already, two Democratic candidates have filed to run: Malcolm Taylor and Patrick Tate.
Statehouse clips from around the state
- Campaign quips will turn to verbal elbows as SC GOP governor primary heats up (The State)
- 19 electric cooperatives in SC join forces to require long-term contracts as data centers move in (Post and Courier)
- SC regulations are ‘in place for a reason,’ say opponents of bill’s 2-for-1 cuts (SC Daily Gazette)
- SC school reportedly built on land coated with polluting industry’s waste (The State)
- Up for re-election, SC’s Lindsey Graham appears invincible. And if you oppose him, he doesn’t care. (Post and Courier)
