Rural broadband access and fiscal accountability among the issues that will greet new agency head.

Days before South Carolina's first scheduled execution in a decade, death penalty opponents turned to Gov. Henry McMaster as a last, albeit highly unlikely, hope for a reprieve. 

An advisory council over the state's Department of Juvenile Justice met June 11, under a cloud of controversy amid claims by employees of absenteeism and incompetence leveled at agency head Freddie Pough.

The ruling marks the second time this week that efforts to block the executions have failed, suggesting the inmates will likely be killed by electrocution later this month.

South Carolina state law requiring lifetime registration for sex offenders is unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court declared in a unanimous ruling.

South Carolina's first death penalty execution in a decade is currently scheduled for June 18 by electrocution.

The $10.7 billion spending package advanced by the House includes a 3 percent cost-of-living raise across all state agencies, providing more than the 2 percent in the Senate's version.

Legislators are considering increasing fees for electric vehicles in South Carolina as a way to help offset the growing gap in taxes not paid at the gas pump

Attorneys for two death row inmates argued June 7 a new South Carolina law cannot force the condemned to die by electrocution, as they asked a judge to halt the executions set for later this month.

"It is no longer necessary to have a state of emergency, although it is still necessary for us to be smart, to follow the rules, to follow the guidelines and be very careful," McMaster said in a news conference at the state's Emergency Operations Center.

South Carolina's tourism agency is asking legislators for nearly $8.4 million to restore the historic homes and gardens next to the Governor's Mansion and turn a taxpayer expense into a money-maker.

Legislators could send the state Department of Mental Health an additional $3 million in the wake of Jamal Sutherland's death in the Charleston County jail to improve treatment of the mentally ill who wind up arrested.

Legislators want to preserve 23 acres in Charleston Harbor so future generations can enjoy the "pristine" beauty of South Carolina's coast.

A 43-year-old man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a 1997 robbery spree is South Carolina's second death row inmate set for execution after legislators passed a law enabling the state to carry out capital punishment

A death row inmate convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat has been scheduled to die in June, a month after lawmakers passed a South Carolina law enabling executions to resume

The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations launched the Original Six Foundation when she was South Carolina governor and is now distributing 12,500 new books to schools in high-poverty areas around the state.

The five justices peppered both sides with a litany of questions in the hourlong hearing but did not give any indication of when they may issue a ruling.

The long-debated question of whether a controversial law that blocks South Carolina cities from taking down Confederate monuments and other war memorials passes constitutional muster will come before the state Supreme Court this week.

This past election cycle was a win for Democrats nationwide by propelling President Joe Biden to the White House and delivering control of the Senate. But in South Carolina, it was a different story.

After previously being elected as chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association in 2013, Wilson will retake that position from Missouri's Eric Schmitt, who stepped down to focus on his campaign for U.S. Senate.

If the court sides with Mississippi, it could create an opening for South Carolina's law banning most abortions to eventually take effect.

As the regular session came to a close May 13, Democrats blasted the Republicans who dominate both chambers as prioritizing "red meat" issues for socially conservative primary voters over improving South Carolinians' lives. But the Legislature's Republican leaders called it a hugely successful year.

McKissick secured another two-year term leading the state's majority party after fending off an eccentric challenge from Wood, who accused the incumbent of not fighting hard enough for former President Donald Trump even after Trump repeatedly endorsed McKissick.

The Legislature's regular session ended May 13 with the state Chamber of Commerce applauding lawmakers for what they came close to accomplishing over the last five months — passing a hate crime law

A bill aimed at resuming death penalty executions in South Carolina will soon be law, pending Gov. Henry McMaster's expected signature. 

In the letter submitted May 12 to chairman John Wells and obtained by The Post and Courier, S.C. Election Commission executive director Marci Andino did not specify a reason for her departure but referenced an undisclosed discussion she had with Wells last week.

The Republican governor has long said he would sign the legislation into law and is expected to do so soon, letting South Carolina's concealed weapons permit-holders carry openly in public.

Gov. Henry McMaster ordered an immediate end to mask mandates in South Carolina, saying the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines means governments must stop ordering face coverings. 

Legislators will carry over a lot of work into next month's limited special sessions, primarily passing a state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The funds come from a national pot of $350 billion in emergency funding for state and local governments from the latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, dubbed the "American Rescue Plan," which passed out of Congress and was signed into law by President Joe Biden in early March.

In an attempt to draw a crowd for the event on May 9, the group gave out 250 of Lindell's patented pillows.

State Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a former prosecutor, argued the method is more humane than the electric chair because the death is more likely to happen instantly with less risk of error.

The House and Senate will need to reconcile differences between their two versions of the bill before it can head to the desk of Gov. Henry McMaster, who has long said he would sign it into law.

Death row inmates in South Carolina would be forced to die by electrocution or firing squad, unless lethal injection drugs become available again, under legislation steps to becoming law.

South Carolinians could continue paying for wine and beer curbside after the pandemic's over under legislation sent May 4 to the Senate floor.