SC Legislative Update – 7.15.20
By Ben Homeyer
The South Carolina house adopted the provisions sent to them from Senate which contained various covid related spending. Including in the spending is $500 million which will go towards the states UI trust fund. If the trust fund goes bankrupt it will effect all of the producers in the state.
In the claim week ending July 4, 16,062 people filed their initial claim for unemployment insurance.· This is a decrease of 897 initial claims from the week prior.
· In the last 16 weeks, the total number of initial claims has risen to 651,750 in South Carolina.
· The agency has paid more than $2.9 billion in a combination of state UI benefits and CARES Act programs, FPUC ($600), PUA, PEUC & EB.
· The state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund has a current balance of $645.6 million.
The state still has $600 million left from the original cares act dollars. We are working hard to get $100 million set aside for businesses in the state that were effected by covid-19
While the house was also in session they introduced H5527 by speaker pro team Pope and others which will limit liability exposure to businesses that have been open during covid-19. It will help create a safe harbor of protection from frivolous lawsuits. It is expected the house will take it up when they return sept 15-24
Finally while the state does not have a mandate on mask use many cities and counties have done so. The latest list includes the following – linked here.
