House advances Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act after prolonged debate

The South Carolina House on Wednesday advanced House Bill 30 21, the South Carolina Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act, moving the measure past second reading as amended after lengthy floor debate and several failed and adopted amendments.

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Wootton, described the bill as an effort to reduce regulatory burden on small businesses statewide by trimming existing rules and increasing transparency for new regulations. "This bill has been crafted to ease the regulatory burdens for South Carolina citizens and small businesses by reducing the number of excessive regulations and making it easier to conduct business," he told the chamber, citing a goal to cut regulations by 25 percent over eight years.

Supporters said the measure would require agencies to propose regulatory removals when proposing new rules, mandate economic impact assessments, impose sunset dates for many rules, and reduce judicial deference to administrative interpretations. Representative Wootton said the state’s code of regulations runs to millions of words and argued the changes would increase economic growth.

Opponents and some supporters pressed for safeguards after the Office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs and several state agencies indicated implementation costs could be substantial or undetermined. Representative Harris offered an amendment to prohibit agencies from receiving additional budgetary or personnel resources to comply; he said fiscal staff indicated the bill "is going to cost at least $4.5 million" and that some agencies estimated needing as many as 51 new full‑time employees to comply. Harris said his amendment was intended as a safeguard to avoid growing government in the name of regulatory reduction.

Debate traced the bill’s principal provisions: automatic expiration for regulations not reauthorized, a requirement that agencies propose two regulations for repeal when proposing a new one, mandatory cost‑benefit analysis, and limiting courts’ application of Chevron‑style deference to agencies. Supporters argued the changes would reduce burdens and spur GDP growth; critics warned of unknown implementation costs, potential loss of federal funds for some programs, and the administrative complexity of executing a sweeping review.

Several amendments were debated and either tabled or adopted. Amendment 1 was adopted; amendment 3 (which sought additional fiscal safeguards) was tabled after a roll call. Amendment 4 (requiring agencies to fix regulations found to adversely affect small businesses within 30 days and report back) was tabled. Representative Pace’s cleanup amendment aimed to prevent agencies from simply renumbering or consolidating existing rules to meet reduction targets; that amendment was tabled. Sponsors argued the committee that would carry out the review would use existing staff where possible.

After the amendments and extended floor discussion, the House recorded the measure as passing second reading as amended. The bill will return for further action on a future day where final reading and additional amendments are possible.

Members repeatedly urged careful monitoring of fiscal impacts; Representative Magnuson and others pressed that revenue and fiscal staff had not had sufficient time to complete deep cost estimates. Supporters reiterated the bill’s goal of accountability and transparency, and said the bill uses an existing Small Business Regulatory Review Committee to avoid creating new agencies.

Votes at a glance: the House advanced HB 30 21 to the next stage (second reading passed as amended); several amendment votes were recorded on the floor during the debate (see actions).