COLUMBIA, SC (AP) — The South Carolina General Assembly met Wednesday for what is expected to be the final day of the 2024 session, considering a flood of bills and giving several lawmakers the opportunity to pass.

The legislators sent the governor a bill that changed the way Judges are being reviewed before the General Assembly voted on it and overrode Governor Henry McMaster’s vetoes of bills that would have Deletion of records by persons convicted of certain crimes related to firearms, check fraud, and sale of alcohol to minors.

They also let die Bill that would how topics like race can be taught in public schools from preschool through high school.

But before the hectic legislative action began, there were nearly a dozen farewell speeches between the House and Senate from representatives who were not running for re-election, some who lost the primaries, and one who is likely to move from the House to the Senate.

Farewell speeches

The keynote speech was given by Democratic Senator Nikki Setzler, who decided not stand for re-election after 48 years.

Setzler told stories from the Senate, from before a handful of today's senators were born. There were debates that lasted for days, budget disputes that almost became literal fights, and honorable men who paved the path of service and decency that Setzler hopes will continue after he is gone.

Setzler remained a Democrat under the label of a “caring conservative” even as Republicans took power and now dominate the state. He said that the fact that South Carolina was governed by moderates helped the state grow and prosper in recent decades.

“We are running under the label of a party. But we represent the people. We should vote for the people we represent and not for what some party tells us to do,” said Setzler.

Currently, Setzler is the state's longest-serving representative and holds the record for longest term in the South Carolina Senate, but he said after his last election victory, he realized it was time to go.

This idea was reinforced when his friend, Senator Hugh Leatherman, died in office in 2021 at the age of 90 after 37 years in the House of Lords.

“I can’t get to the point where I can’t give up anymore,” said Setzler, who turns 79 in August.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey was a year old when Setzler took his seat. The two grew closer as they worked together to help the state through the crisis when private utility South Carolina Electric & Gas and public utility Santee Cooper billion dollars in a nuclear power plant project that never produced a single watt of electricity.

“He's there. He's paying attention. He's smart. He works hard and acts in good faith,” Massey said.

Democratic Senator Dick Harpootlian also said goodbye. He said that when he came to the Senate six years ago, he scoffed when a fellow senator called the Senate holy ground. But now he realizes how important this place is.

“This is sacred ground. Things are happening here that affect millions of people. Some of them are good, some of them are bad,” Harpootlian said.

Many bills

Both chambers approved the 14.5 billion dollar budget for the fiscal year beginning on Monday. It accelerates a planned Reduction in income taxincreases the salaries of all teachers and state employees and spends $500 million to repair more roads and bridges across the state.

Both chambers passed a compromise that changes the composition of the Judicial Merit Screening Commission, which determines whether judicial candidates are qualified. The governor expects to make no appointments to the now 12-member panel, but four.

The commission must send all qualified candidates, up to six instead of the current three. Term limits mean that all but three of the 10 current members must retire in July 2025. There is no limit on the number of representatives who can serve, but each member must have been a member of the South Carolina Bar for at least 10 years.

The three vetoes overridden Wednesday on the criminal record expungement bills mean that the General Assembly has rejected six of the Republican governor's seven vetoes this two-year session.

And any new requirements limiting teaching of racism-related topics in schools and requiring teachers to put their lesson plans online will have to wait until next year, after Democrats banded together and failed to secure the two-thirds majority needed in the Senate to pass a compromise proposal.

A new portrait

As the senators entered the chamber on Wednesday, they were presented with a new portrait.

The Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Harvey Peeler, was honored with the painting the day before to celebrate his 44th anniversary of service in the Senate.

Peeler is pictured in the purple robe he wore for nearly three years as President of the Senate, the body's first president after a constitutional amendment removed that role from the Lieutenant Governor. He holds a gavel in his hand. The Statehouse can be seen in the background.

And in the lower right corner is a small replica of a photo of his family taken on his 50th wedding anniversary. A cow represents the Peeler family dairy and the huge peach-colored water tower towers over his beloved hometown of Gaffney.