Subcommittee corrects technical errors and advances South Carolina STEM Opportunity Act

Chairman Davis gaveled open the LCI subcommittee and the panel took up House Bill H3863, the South Carolina STEM Opportunity Act. Staff summarized the bill, which would add an article to chapter 1 of title 13 to establish a statewide South Carolina Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Coalition, create a South Carolina STEM Education Fund and an advisory council to manage priorities and spending.

Rebecca, the committee staff member who summarized the measure, told members the fund would be separate from the state general fund and could accept appropriations, donations, contributions and bequests; interest earned would stay in the fund and balances would carry forward. The bill specifies an advisory council to approve spending, set goals and report annually to the governor, the General Assembly and the Education Oversight Committee. The council seats enumerated in the bill cover executive, K‑12 and higher‑education representation plus industry appointees and two seats named for the presidents of the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. Staff noted a textual mismatch: the bill text lists 11 seats but the enumeration named 12.

The subcommittee fixed two technical matters. Members voted to change the listed number of gubernatorial appointees so the council total conforms to 11 seats, and separately approved a technical effective‑date amendment that moves an initial‑appointment deadline from 08/01/2025 to 08/01/2026. The motions were made, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Catherine Mulholland, executive director of South Carolina's Coalition for Mathematics and Science at Clemson University, spoke in favor of the bill. She described the coalition’s work to align education and industry, promote professional development and seed school‑based pilot programs, and said the measure requires no new state appropriations while facilitating broader private fundraising. In testimony she cited recent outreach figures (stated in the hearing as reaching "over 1,350 educators across more than 250 schools, over 50 districts, and more than 40,000 community members in 35 counties"). Tom Peters, emeritus executive director for the coalition, clarified that the bill would not replace Clemson‑foundation‑specific gifts for designated purposes; rather, the proposal creates a separate treasury fund for undesignated gifts that the advisory council would prioritize and allocate.

After hearing testimony and making technical fixes, the subcommittee voted to report H3863 favorably as amended. The committee recorded the action by voice vote and directed staff to perfect the technical language.