STATEHOUSE REPORT | ISSUE 25.13 | MARCH 27, 2026
- BIG STORY: Hate crimes bill still in limbo as session nears end
- ROUNDUP: S.C. taxpayers get filing extension as Statehouse debates additional tax cuts
- ISSUE TRACKER: S.C. House advances immigration enforcement bill
- LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Highway to nowhere
Hate crimes bill still in limbo as session nears end
By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | Greek mythology tells the story of Sisyphus, forced to spend eternity pushing a boulder up a hill, only to see it roll back down to the bottom — where he has to start again.
For the past 11 years, since the death of his friend and colleague Sen. Clementa Pinckney in the 2015 Mother Emanuel church massacre, Charleston Democratic Rep. Wendell Gilliard has been pushing a hate crimes bill up the S.C. Statehouse hill.
Twice, in 2021 and 2023, he shouldered it to the top in the S.C. House, passing the bill with big bipartisan majorities — only to see it roll back down to the bottom in the S.C. Senate, where it died without a vote.
Still, Gilliard says he hasn’t given up hope. In fact, he told Statehouse Report this week that he likes his chances of getting the bill through the House again this year — even with the legislation currently stuck in committee and the clock ticking down to a May adjournment…