SC lawmakers consider brief return next week to handle stalled budget
COLUMBIA — South Carolina legislative leaders are considering briefly calling lawmakers back to the Statehouse next week to extend government funding at current spending levels while they wait for the state to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, and House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Hartsville, are eyeing a single-day return for both chambers next Wednesday to approve a funding measure as well as a yet-to-be-drafted resolution to adjourn the Legislature until later in the year, according to an internal email obtained by The Post and Courier.
The decision has not yet been finalized, as the leaders are still soliciting input on the plan from other lawmakers. Peeler sought advice from a state health department physician, who said that it would be best not to return at all, but if needed it would be better to return sooner than later.
Some would prefer to wait until later, fearful of exacerbating the risk of spreading the virus and sending a confusing message to residents who have been asked to stay home.
Read more: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-lawmakers-consider-brief-return-next-week-to-handle-stalled-budget/article_858d675c-7437-11ea-af10-5f54a5ab306a.html