Committee approves scholarship enhancements, fee updates and multiple board rule changes

The House Regulations and Administrative Procedures, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Committee approved a set of regulatory updates that included scholarship enhancements, fee schedule adjustments for licensing boards and multiple professional-board rule changes.

The measures cleared the committee without extended debate and were advanced after short staff presentations and roll-call votes. The approvals include updates to scholarship enhancement rules tied to recent legislation, technical corrections and biennial fee adjustments for professional and occupational licensing boards, and several board-specific continuing-education and practice updates.

Why it matters: The regulations put the administrative details in place to implement laws passed by the General Assembly, adjust how licensing boards fund operations, and update continuing-education requirements that affect thousands of licensed South Carolina professionals.

Key approvals and committee actions

- Document 53‑21, LIFE Scholarship enhancements: The regulation implements Act 156 of 2024 changes that add accounting to eligible programs and create a $2,500 enhancement for education majors, and it includes a work‑commitment provision requiring students who receive the enhancement to work in a South Carolina public school for one school year for every year the stipend is received. The committee approved the regulation after staff said the Commission on Higher Education issued emergency regulations last fall so students would have immediate access. Jeff Perez, president and executive director of the Commission on Higher Education, told the committee the rule “allows us to continue providing this enhancement without a lapse for students.” Document 53‑21 was approved by roll call (members recorded saying “Aye” included Mister Guffey, Mister Long, Mister Hearts, Mister Neese, Mister Teeple and Mister Bradley).

- Document 53‑22, Palmetto Fellows scholarship enhancement: The committee approved an analogous enhancement for Palmetto Fellows that mirrors the LIFE Scholarship changes. The subcommittee had recommended approval and the committee adopted the recommendation by roll call (ayes recorded in the transcript: Mister Guffey, Mister Hart, Mister Long, Mister Neese, Mister Teeple, Mister Bradley).

- Document 53‑48, LLR fee schedules: The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) submitted updates as part of a rolling five‑year review to clean up obsolete fees, change some fees from annual to biennial, and add a new board for genetic counselors. The agency asked to withdraw and resubmit the regulation to remove a proposed new $25 burglar alarm registered‑employee fee; the committee voted to request the agency withdraw and resubmit the document with that fee removed so the remainder of the corrections can proceed.

- Document 53‑49, biennial fee adjustments: The committee approved a statutory required two‑year review of professional and occupational licensing board fee schedules. Agency director Emily Farr explained LLR’s model projects board fund balances to avoid excessive surpluses or deficits; the transcript records that boards were consulted and that some fees will rise while others will fall. The roll call in the transcript recorded ayes for committee members and the document was approved.

- Board rule approvals: The committee approved several board‑level rule updates, including rules for the State Board of Dentistry (Document 53‑55) and the Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (Document 53‑56). The veterinary board regulation raised certain continuing‑education requirements for veterinary technicians from 10 to 12 hours and added a three‑year fee waiver for temporary medical disability; it passed by roll call (document recorded as approved 6 to 1 in the transcript). The dentistry changes expand continuing‑education opportunities for dentists and dental hygienists and were approved unanimously by the committee.

Votes at a glance

- Doc 53‑21 (LIFE Scholarship enhancements): approved; recorded ayes — Mister Guffey, Mister Long, Mister Hearts, Mister Neese, Mister Teeple, Mister Bradley. Outcome: approved. - Doc 53‑22 (Palmetto Fellows enhancements): approved; recorded ayes — Mister Guffey, Mister Hart, Mister Long, Mister Neese, Mister Teeple, Mister Bradley. Outcome: approved. - Doc 53‑48 (LLR fee schedules): agency asked to withdraw-and-resubmit to remove proposed burglar-alarm employee fee; committee voted to request withdrawal and resubmission. Outcome: agency withdrawal requested and document to be resubmitted. - Doc 53‑49 (biennial fee adjustments): approved; roll call recorded ayes. Outcome: approved. - Doc 53‑56 (Veterinary Medical Examiners): approved by recorded vote (6 to 1). Outcome: approved. - Doc 53‑55 (Board of Dentistry): approved by recorded roll call (7 to 0). Outcome: approved.

What the committee did not do: Members agreed to have the agency remove the proposed burglar‑alarm employee fee and refile the regulation separately; no new fee was adopted for that item at this hearing.

Next steps: Approved regulations will proceed through any remaining administrative steps required for finalization; the withdrawn item will be refiled after the agency provides additional data.

Ending: Committee chair closed the meeting after the final roll call and no members raised additional business.