SC politics briefing Zak Koeske, The State (Columbia, S.C.)
May 7 Welcome to your weekly South Carolina politics briefing, a newsletter curated by The State s politics and government team.
As legislative session winds down one week until sine die South Carolina is primed to expand state gun laws.
After a more than 12-hour debate, the Republican-controlled Senate Thursday voted mostly down party lines to pass a House-sponsored bill that would give concealed weapons permit holders the right to carry hand guns in the open.
The bill, which Senate Democrats criticized as a blatant ploy to assuage a minority of Republican voters, now returns to the House, which is likely to reject the Senate s changes, triggering a six-member joint panel to hammer out the differences.
SLED investigating fired SC agency chief accused of helping her husband land contract Maayan Schechter, The State (Columbia, S.C.)
May 4 COLUMBIA, S.C. South Carolina s top law enforcement agency has launched an investigation into fired State Accident Fund director Amy Cofield and her involvement in her husband landing a $600,000 work contract with her agency, a department spokesman confirmed.
Cofield was fired by Gov. Henry McMaster in February after he became aware of the contract.
Asked to probe the contract and Cofield s involvement, the state inspector general reported in April that Cofield tainted the process. The inspector general said Cofield s involvement created a conflict of interest, both organizational and personal.