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The State House Gavel: Senate OKs school bathroom use bill, new Dem gov hopeful stumps at Bojangles

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson
Published March 26, 2026 at 6:01 AM EDT
S.C. Sen. Everett Stubbs, R-York, explains the K-12 public school and college and university bathroom use bill inside the Senate chamber on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
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SCETV
S.C. Sen. Everett Stubbs, R-York, explains the K-12 public school and college and university bathroom use bill inside the Senate chamber on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.

It's Thursday, March 26.

To wrap Week 11, the House will gavel back in at 10 a.m.

The Senate returns at 11 a.m.

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.

A couple of notes before we take you into the Statehouse and the myriad of political happenings that occurred Wednesday.

  • The State Election Commission has named a new interim director it hopes to make permanent after its first choice lacked a necessary statutory qualification to be considered. The board voted 4-0 Wednesday to name longtime Greenville County elections director Conway Belangia the State Election Commission's next director, who will oversee the agency's daily operations and elections. The agency has been without a permanent director since last fall when former Director Howard Knapp was fired in September and jailed a month later on misconduct in office, embezzlement and other charges.

    In December, the commission named chief of staff Jenny Wooten as interim director. Her appointment, however, was pulled because she did not have the required years of administrative experience required by law. Belangia has been an elections official for more than four decades, with a stop in Orangeburg and 34 years in Greenville. His appointment requires confirmation by the state Senate.

  • President Donald Trump's nominee for the federal bench over South Carolina, Judge Sheria Clarke, went before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as she seeks confirmation. Clarke's resume includes serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for South Carolina. She currently is a partner at Nelson Mullins in Greenville. She was picked to fill the position of retired Judge Robert Bryan Harwell. Sen. Tim Scott, who introduced Clarke to the committee (Sen. Lindsey Graham is the second-highest ranking Republican on the panel), said she not only has intellect, but "sound judgment, restraint and a deep awareness of how decisions impact people’s lives." Graham also praised her nomination.

    Among the questions posed to her and the slate of others being considered for the federal bench included who won the 2020 election. Democratic senators criticized the candidates' responses as being too vague, and expressed concern how the nominees would handle undue pressure from the executive branch. Clarke's nomination will have to be voted on by the Judiciary Committee, then sent to the Senate for a final vote.

Notebook highlights:

  • A bipartisan bloc of senators voted to pass the bathroom use bill for public K-12 schools and colleges and universities after one expanded change. The House also fast-tracked medical tort bills, plus other highlights from the chambers
  • A third Democrat enters the conversation over who should be South Carolina's governor
  • The latest in the debate over the state GOP debates for governor
Reporters Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson, host of This Week in South Carolina and the SC Lede podcast.
Andre Bellamy/SCETV
Reporters Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson, host of This Week in South Carolina and the SC Lede podcast.

Senate expands accommodations in bathroom bill

In a bipartisan 35-2 vote, the Senate advanced legislation to restrict bathroom, locker and changing room use at public K-12 schools and colleges and universities that corresponds to a person's biological sex at birth.

The Republican-pushed bill — H. 4756, sponsored by Rep. Tommy Pope, R-York — would codify a law attached to the state budget, but it also would further expand the law by including colleges and universities and adding a private cause of action for a violation.

Democrats have largely criticized the legislation, arguing it targets transgender students, a small percentage of South Carolina's overall population.

Republicans say it's merely an action to ensure privacy.

Senate Democrats on Wednesday tried to remove language related to colleges and universities, saying there was not enough information to know the expense colleges would have to take to install single-user restrooms in all campus buildings — an additional requirement made to the bill by the House.

Though that proposed tweak failed, an amendment proposed by Republican Sens. Richard Cash of Anderson and Wes Climer of York appeared to appease their on-the-fence colleagues by further expanding the definition of "accommodations" that removed the impression that every building had to have a single-use restroom.

S.C. SENATE

The bill also states that any legal action must be brought within two years of the alleged violation, and anyone aggrieved who wins in court can recover attorney's fees from the offending school or college or university.

What else happened in the Senate Wednesday?

Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, and House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, in the ceremonial fashion that process entails, ratified several bills that included H. 4216, the income tax bill.

The bill lowers the state's top income tax rate of 6% down to 5.21%, and requires that anyone with taxable income of up to $30,000 pay a 1.99% income tax. Eventually, the bill would phase out the income tax completely, which could take many years.

Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to sign the legislation.

S.C. Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, and House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, ratify legislation inside the Senate chamber on Wednesday, March 26, 2026.
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
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SCETV
S.C. Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, and House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, ratify legislation inside the Senate chamber on Wednesday, March 26, 2026.

And in South Carolina highway politics, the Senate by voice vote passed two road renaming concurrent resolutions. Neither need the governor's approval.

The first is to ask the state Department of Transportation to rename the future Interstate 73, which does not yet exist, after President Donald Trump. The resolution already passed the House and now heads to the DOT for consideration.

The second? To ask DOT to rename a portion of Interstate 77 in Richland County after former President Barack Obama. The resolution now heads to the House.

What about the House?

Over in the House, while we expected that Wednesday would be all about insurance policy, House leaders decided to pivot to fast-tracking medical tort legislation and push the former to next week.

Instead of a Wicked Wednesday, we got Wonky Wednesday.

Here are some House highlights from the floor:

  • As expected, the House voted 88-22 to override Gov. Henry McMaster's veto of H. 4902, the name, image and legislation that would shield revenue-sharing contracts between colleges and universities and student-athletes. The Senate is expected to take up the veto next week.
  • The House bypassed its typical 24-hour rule and unanimously voted 116-0 to pass H. 4544, sponsored by Rep. Jay Jordan, R-Florence. The medical malpractice legislation, according to its impact statement, modifies situations in medical malpractice cases where noneconomic damage caps do not apply, and it adds a limit of eight times the current limitations on noneconomic damages to those situations. The bill also tweaks the definition of "occurrence." Jordan called the bill a "balancing act," saying it aims to protect payments to ensure fair and timely compensation, and prevent "excessive and unpredictable" lawsuits he said can drive up health care costs.
  • In another tort claim proposal, the House passed 114-0 H. 4670, sponsored by Rep. Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, which deals with time limits for settlements. Jordan said it's to ensure bad actors can't create artificial deadlines without guidelines, dragging parties into a bad faith claim.
  • In a unanimous 111-0 vote, the House sent the Senate H. 3874, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Johnson, R-Horry, which tweaks how the Workers' Compensation Commission sets and reviews the medical fee schedule process for injured workers' medical care.
  • The House voted in a unanimous 113-0 to pass H. 4662, sponsored by Rep. Chris Wooten, R-Lexington, which changes the limits for how charitable organizations are exempt from registration statement filings with the Secretary of State's Office. The bill states that an organization is exempt from the requirements if they do not solicit, collect, earn or receive gross revenue in excess of $25,000 or $10,000 every fiscal year, depending on the type of fundraising conducted, according to the impact statement.
House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens; Asst. House Majority Leader Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster; and House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, in the House chamber at the South Carolina Statehouse on March 25, 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens; Assistant House Majority Leader Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, and House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, in the House chamber at the South Carolina Statehouse on March 25, 2026.

It's 'Bo' Time for Billy

Capping weeks of rumors, Upstate businessman Billy Webster launched his campaign for governor Wednesday.

Webster, 68, is now the third Democrat in the race next to state Rep. Jermaine Johnson and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod.

Stumping at a Bojangles restaurant — a nod to his childhood job making biscuits at the southern fast food restaurant — pledged to run a clean campaign, saying politics should not be a blood sport.

Upstate businessman Billy Webster announces his bid for governor at a Columbia Bonjangles on March 25, 2026. Webster, a 68-year-old Democrat who has worked in federal politics and grew and sold a pay day loan company, chose the spot to highlight his lifetime of work that started making biscuits, pumping gas and managing a laundry before running complex logistics at the White House under President Bill Clinton and working as former Gov. Dick Riley's chief of staff when he was U.S. Education Secretary. He is the third Democrat in the race.
GAVIN JACKSON
Upstate businessman Billy Webster announces his bid for governor at a Columbia Bonjangles on March 25, 2026. Webster, a 68-year-old Democrat who has worked in federal politics and grew and sold a pay day loan company, chose the spot to highlight his lifetime of work that started making biscuits, pumping gas and managing a laundry before running complex logistics at the White House under President Bill Clinton and working as former Gov. Dick Riley's chief of staff when he was U.S. Education Secretary. He is the third Democrat in the race.

He also pledged to donate his salary if elected, and push state agencies to make 15% cuts to their departments.

“There are agencies and other institutions whose budgets are bloated because of relationships and factors that shouldn’t be,” Webster said. “I will get at that. I’m not beholden to any of these folks. I don’t need their money, and I don’t need the good old boy politics. We can find a lot of money to fund a lot of priorities.”

Webster served as former South Carolina Governor Dick Riley's chief of staff when he was secretary over the U.S. Department of Education. He later ran logistics and scheduling for former President Bill Clinton. Outside of politics, Webster co-founded Advance America, a payday lending company, which he sold in 2010. He was also a franchisee for Bojangles.

A Democrat hasn't won the governor's office since Jim Hodges in 1998. And a Democrat hasn't won a statewide race since Jim Rex for superintendent of education in 2006.

Read more:

As of March 25, here who has filed so far for the top office:

  • Michael Addison (United Citizens Party)
  • Walid Hakim (Green Party)
  • Jermaine Johnson (Democratic Party)
  • Josh Kimbrell (Republican Party)
  • Nancy Mace (Republican Party)
  • Mullins McLeod (Democratic Party)
  • Ralph Norman (Republican Party)
  • Rom Reddy (Republican Party)
  • Gary Votour (Works Party)
  • Billy Webster (Democratic Party)
  • Alan Wilson (Republican Party)

Who will attend the SCGOP's gov debate?

The first Republican gubernatorial debate is officially a week away, and is scheduled two days after filing officially closes at noon Monday.

“This debate will provide Republican primary voters with a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the candidates on the issues that matter most to South Carolina families," Drew McKissick, state GOP chairman, said in a statement.

But, so far, not every Republican candidate says they'll be there.

As of early this week, only 5th District Congressman Ralph Norman and Attorney General Alan Wilson plan to share the stage at the Newberry Opera House at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Neither Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette or 1st District Congresswoman Nancy Mace are expected to attend the debate. Mace's campaign has gone as far to publicly criticize the state GOP, alleging the "establishment is trying to rig the election."

Meanwhile, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy, who is self-funding his campaign and not taking donations, does not qualify under the state GOP debate rule that says candidates must have raised $100,000 from 250 donors.

"I'm not going to be participating in some made for TV game with the ruling class," Reddy said last week. "The clowns can have their circus.”

The state GOP has partnered with Gray Media to televise the debates.

Moderating the first one will be Justin Dougherty of FOX Carolina News, along with panelists Judi Gatson of WIS, Raphael James of Live 5 and Edward Earwood, head of the state Association of Christian Schools.

Other state GOP sanctioned debates are set for:

  • April 21 at the College of Charleston
  • May 26 at Wofford College
  • June 16 at Coastal Carolina University (if necessary because of a runoff)

The state Democratic and Republican primaries are June 9.

South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick welcomes attendees to the 56th annual Silver Elephant Gala on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. Former President Donald Trump is slated to keynote the dinner. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Meg Kinnard/AP
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AP
South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick welcomes attendees to the 56th annual Silver Elephant Gala on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. Former President Donald Trump is slated to keynote the dinner. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Statehouse daily planner (3/26)

SC House

SC Senate

SC governor

  • 11 a.m. — Gov. Henry McMaster to attend the Black River State Park ribbon cutting in Salters

Statehouse clips from around the state
News From South Carolina
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