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H 3225

South Carolina Service Year Act

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Gilda Cobb-Hunter and 1 co-sponsor

Establishes the South Carolina Service Year Program: paid, supervised placements with training/benefits and a fund delivering $10k at 10 years, $25k at 20, $40k at 30.

Scrivener's error corrected
0
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Bill Summary · H 3225

Summary: H 3225 — South Carolina Service Year Act

Purpose

H 3225 establishes the "South Carolina Service Year Program" (SCSYP) to create paid, supervised service-year placements that provide job training, professional development, and work experience while addressing critical state and community needs (public sector staffing, public/community health, clean energy, early childhood education, arts & humanities, etc.). The bill also creates related administrative structures and a long‑term program completion award mechanism.

Key provisions

  • Establishes SCSYP in the South Carolina Department of Education (Section 59-1-910 et seq.) and creates an Office of Service and Civic Innovation in the Governor’s office (bill text references this office).
  • Program goals: recruit diverse cohorts statewide, equip participants with mentoring, job training, financial literacy, workforce credentials, and to strengthen pipelines into state/local government and other critical sectors.
  • Department responsibilities:
    • Seek and expand service placements with state/local agencies and nonprofits.
    • Develop processes to award academic credit or credit toward credentials and apprenticeships.
    • Seek grants, gifts, and federal or private funds; administer grant‑based placements.
    • Maintain relationships with current/former participants and oversee program design, evaluation, and expansion.
  • Regulations to be adopted covering employer eligibility (community vs. large‑scale), centralized participant screening/placement, disability accommodations, compensation, benefits, and employer matching requirements.
  • Participant compensation: monetary pay at least equivalent to comparable permanent job levels; health insurance and potential wraparound services; workforce training provided by host organizations or agencies.
  • Program evaluation requirements include participant demographics, post‑program trajectories, and community needs assessment.

Program completion award and Fund

  • Establishes the "South Carolina Service Year Program Fund" and requires the State Treasurer, in coordination with the Department, to create an individual account for each eligible participant.
  • Treasurer shall credit each account so that it contains:
    • $10,000 at 10 years after program completion,
    • $25,000 at 20 years,
    • $40,000 at 30 years.
  • Participant may access funds after 10 years if they have been residents of South Carolina for a majority of the intervening years.
  • Death, inheritance, and unclaimed funds handled under state inheritance law and the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.
  • The bill does not specify initial appropriations; it authorizes the Treasurer to credit accounts and allows the department to seek external funding and employer matching funds.

Who is affected

  • Program participants (e.g., recent graduates, job‑seekers) who serve in placements.
  • State Department of Education (program administration), State Treasurer (accounting), the Governor’s Office (Office of Service & Civic Innovation).
  • State and local government agencies, nonprofits, and employers (host placements); large employers may have matching obligations.
  • State fiscal authorities/taxpayers due to the long‑term financial commitments implicit in the completion awards (funding mechanism unspecified).

Procedural status & timeline

  • Prefiled: 2024-12-05
  • Introduced/read first time: 2025-01-14; referred to Committee on Education and Public Works (also shows referral to Revenue 2025-02-27)
  • Scrivener's error corrected: 2025-02-05
  • Senate concurred: 2025-02-27
  • Hearing scheduled: 2025-09-29, 1:00–5:00 PM in A‑1
  • Related bill: HD 3189 (replaces)

Fiscal and implementation considerations

  • The statutory crediting schedule creates long‑range liabilities per participant (up to $40,000 at 30 years). The bill anticipates grants, gifts, and employer matching but does not appropriate funds or define a specific funding source; implementing agencies will need appropriations or identified revenue sources.
  • Operational responsibilities (participant recruitment, placements, evaluation, benefit administration) will require staff and systems within the Department of Education and coordination with the State Treasurer and Governor’s office.

Note: Provided bill text in the record is partially truncated; some implementation details (eligibility definitions, participant obligations, and the Office of Service and Civic Innovation's specific duties) may appear elsewhere in the full bill.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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