COLUMBIA - A bill reducing fees and setting specific deadlines for when South Carolina governments must release documents requested by the public appears dead for this year.
Pickens Sen. Larry Martin said that other senators want to debate the Freedom of Information Act overhaul and there is no time left with the session ending Thursday.
The bill has been on hold since Walterboro Sen. Margie Bright Matthews objected to the bill after it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in March. Bluffton Rep. Weston Newton pointed out senators would have had plenty of time to debate it without that protest.
The decision also likely kills Martin's bill making dashboard camera video available under a public records request. It was combined with the overhaul bill to try to get around Bright Matthews' objection.