The House Medical Subcommittee gave a favorable recommendation to House Bill 4189, a technical cleanup measure tied to earlier legislation that restructured the Department of Health and Environmental Control, after tabling two contested amendments.

Representative Sessions summarized H.4189 as a follow-up to Senate Bill 399 and described it as "literally just a technical bill" to reassign statutory references from DHEC to two successor agencies: the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Services. He told newer members the bill implements changes requested in a report to the General Assembly and replaces references to DHEC throughout the code.

Representative Beach offered a high-profile amendment to repeal a section of law that he said would grant an unelected official broad emergency powers, including quarantine and vaccination authority. Beach framed his motion in constitutional terms, saying the power to impose quarantine or "administer medicine without consent" threatened liberty and asking the committee to "draw a firm line." He cited multiple statutory sections he said the bill would repeal or transfer and described the concerns as "un-American."

Representative Sessions and other members responded that the bill does not create new authority beyond existing law, and that isolation and quarantine orders already include judicial review and due-process protections under the Emergency Health Powers Act. Sessions said the transfer of duties was authorized by the earlier restructuring and offered to work with members on a separate, standalone bill to address specific emergency-power concerns.

Representative Edgerton described personal and family objections rooted in the 2020 pandemic response and said she opposed moving what she viewed as broad powers into a single director-led agency. Representative Brandon Cox and Representative Gilliard also spoke about pandemic-era experience and the need to protect civil liberties while acknowledging the public-health role.

Following discussion, Representative Sessions moved to table Beach’s amendment. The clerk recorded the roll: Mister Beach — No; Mister Bustos — Aye; Mister Brandon Cox — Aye; Miss Davis — Aye; Miss Edgerton — No; Mister Gilliard — Aye; Miss Holman — Aye; Mister Jones — Aye; Mister Sanders — Aye; Mister Sessions — Yes; Miss Waters — Aye; Mister White — No. The clerk announced, "I have 9 in favor of tabling and 3 against tabling the amendment."

A second amendment, described by a member as removing a section that allows municipalities and special service districts to place a lien on property for unpaid sewage charges, was introduced and also tabled by the committee with a 9–3 roll-call vote.

The subcommittee then voted to give H.4189 a favorable recommendation. The clerk recorded the final tally as nine in favor.

Proponents said H.4189 is a necessary grammatical and statutory cleanup after S.399’s restructuring of DHEC; critics urged careful review of emergency powers and quarantine authority and asked for a standalone hearing to address civil-liberties concerns.

Provenance (selected transcript excerpts):
Topic intro: "We are next on H 4,189. Mr. Sessions would you give us the subcommittee report please?" (Transcript segment beginning at 966.46)
Topic finish: "No. 9 are in favor of the bill." (Transcript segment beginning at 2740.32)