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Regulatory Reform Act advances after heated floor fight over municipal fines and flag ordinances
Summary
The House passed the Regulatory Reform Act after adopting multiple amendments; members debated a contentious amendment that would have wiped prior municipal fines tied to flag ordinances, a proposal opponents said would let 'bad actors' escape penalties and supporters described as a reset to resolve disputes.
The House took up the Regulatory Reform Act (House Bill 926 / House Bill 9 26) on June 24 and considered a lengthy series of chair’s and member amendments covering permitting, mining permits, annual local financial reporting and more. Several amendments were adopted by voice and roll call votes.
A particularly contentious amendment (debated as part of section 17B on the floor) would have removed accrued municipal fines related to certain flag‑ordinance violations and provided a pathway for communities to address public‑health or safety concerns. Representative G. Brown argued opponents of the amendment were allowing a company to avoid fines: "No 1, and I mean no 1, is above the law," she said, describing unpaid fines in Greenville and urging colleagues to reject language that would erase liabilities.
Representative Chester responded on the floor, saying, "I don't believe in this country or this state we should penalize or criminalize patriotism," framing his opposition as a defense of the bill's protections for flag displays. Representative Reeves and others debated whether the amendment was targeted at a specific community or intended as a general reset. The amendment failed on a recorded vote, 49 yeas to 61 nays.
After resolving the sequence of amendments, the House passed the House committee substitute number 3 to House Bill 926 on third reading (vote recorded as 81 yeas and 29 nays) and ordered the bill to be engrossed and sent to the Senate. Floor exchanges made clear municipal officials, community groups, and local code enforcement will be watching how the bill’s provisions interact with local ordinances going forward.
What to watch: Municipal governments, interested private parties and legal counsel will likely weigh in during any Senate consideration or conference committee to clarify how the state‑level changes affect existing local enforcement and any outstanding fines or litigation.
