Legislative Session Week in Review: April 1-5
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April 5, 2024
Happy Easter! He is Risen!
On behalf of the South Carolina Catholic Conference, we hope you and your family had a blessed Triduum and are having a wonderful Octave of Easter.
St. John Paul II said of the resurrection, “On this night of resurrection everything begins anew; creation regains its authentic meaning in the plan of salvation. It is like a new beginning of history and of the cosmos, because Christ is risen, ‘the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep’ (1 Cor 15:20). Christ, the ‘last Adam,’ has become ‘a life-giving spirit’ (1 Cor 15:45).”
This week, the House of Representatives was on furlough, but the Senate raced to meet their crossover deadline on Wednesday.
See more of this week's highlights below!
Apr 3
This week, the Senate passed S. 849, also known as Xylazine. If passed into law, this bill would criminalize the production, distribution and possession of the dangerous drug xylazine and add it to the list of Schedule III drugs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the drug has been found in the illegal drug supply in the United States and can be fatal when used with opioids like fentanyl. Xylazine is a tranquilizer that is not approved for use in humans and is exacerbating the fentanyl crisis. The CDC further reports that this drug's presence has sharply increased in the south over the last few years.
The Catholic Conference applauds the Senate for taking action to mitigate factors that are contributing to the opioid crisis in our state and around the country. We thank Sens. Danny Verdin and Sandy Senn for introducing this legislation.