Today marks the return of the Statehouse Dispatch, featuring the major bills and hearings this week that could affect your civil liberties.
Every week during the legislative session, we’ll give a preview of what’s coming in the legislature, including opportunities to write to your lawmakers, speak in person at subcommittee hearings, or attend protests and rallies on the Statehouse grounds. If you’re looking to stay in the loop, receive the Dispatch in your email inbox every Monday, and find more ways to get involved, you can fill out our volunteer form at aclusc.org/volunteer.
We will be cohosting a Legislative Kickoff Celebration on the north side of the Statehouse grounds on Tuesday, Jan. 13, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come out and meet some fellow advocates from organizations including Be the Ones, the Legal Defense Fund, South Carolinians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, South Carolina Tenant Union, and the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network. We look forward to seeing you.
Show up to defend trans students’ rights
On Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 10:45 a.m. in Room 110 of the Blatt Building, the House Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity & Special Laws Subcommittee will consider yet another bill attacking the rights and dignity of transgender South Carolinians.
House Bill 4756 would force trans students to use restrooms, locker rooms, and dormitories that do not match their gender. Any public K-12 school or university that does not enforce this rule would have its funding slashed by the state.
Every student deserves to thrive and feel safe at school, and schools across the country have found ways to respect the dignity of trans students while protecting the privacy of all students. Policies that single out trans students for discrimination and harassment do not keep anyone safe, least of all trans students, who already report high rates of bullying and intimidation from their peers.
Join us Wednesday morning if you would like to speak to the subcommittee. If you are not able to attend but would like to write to lawmakers on the subcommittee, you can send an email to [email protected] and watch the hearing at the livestream link below.
Reproductive rights are still under attack
We’re entering the second half of a two-year session, meaning that any bills introduced in 2025 are still active. Some of the worst ideas of the last year are still on the table, and lawmakers also introduced new bills during the pre-file period in December.
In October, hundreds of South Carolinians turned out to oppose a total abortion ban bill (Senate Bill 323) that would have treated abortion as homicide. Even some anti-abortion groups flinched at the extreme harm this bill would inflict, and S. 323 stalled out in a subcommittee because it didn’t have enough votes.
No victory is permanent. On Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 12 p.m. in Room 110 of the Blatt Building, two more bills attacking reproductive freedom will come up for debate in the House Constitutional Laws Subcommittee:
- House Bill 3537 would make abortion a crime equivalent to “homicide of a person who had been born alive.” This echoes one of the provisions that lawmakers found too extreme in S. 323, as it could result in people receiving decades-long prison sentences or even facing the death penalty for obtaining an abortion.
- House Bill 4760 would criminalize the possession and use of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, which are used for medication abortion as well as for managing miscarriages, pregnancy complications, and conditions including Cushing’s Syndrome. Under this bill, the state would imprison people for possessing these essential medications without a prescription, or for using them to obtain an abortion.
Join us in the Blatt Building on Wednesday by noon if you would like to address the subcommittee, or submit a written comment to [email protected]
(POSTPONED) Restricting the rights of voters in primary elections
Update: This hearing has been rescheduled to Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 12 p.m. in Room 516 of the Blatt Building.
The House Constitutional Laws Subcommittee will consider a bill that would restrict the right to vote.
House Bill 3310 would require all voters to register with a political party in order to vote in primary elections. Independent or unaffiliated voters would only be allowed to vote in a primary if a political party decides to open its primaries to them.
Under the current system of extreme partisan gerrymandering, many elections — particularly for state legislative office — are effectively decided in the primaries. Locking voters out of the most important elections in these races is a straightforward attack on representative democracy.
You can join us at the subcommittee hearing or submit written comments to [email protected]
Help us keep the pressure on
South Carolinians from all walks of life showed up last year to speak against bills that would erode our freedoms — and it made a difference.
When House representatives introduced a bill to prohibit programs of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (H. 3927), they heard four-and-a-half hours of public testimony. Every speaker opposed the bill (no really, watch this video), leading the subcommittee to make revisions that removed some harmful parts of the bill. Ultimately the bill passed the House and is now in the Senate, but it hasn’t passed yet. You can write to your state senator today using this form:
The Statehouse belongs to all of us. We hope you’ll join us under the copper dome this year.
