Mary Green
Reporter
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Mary Green covers the South Carolina State House for WIS and our sister stations WCSC in Charleston, WHNS in Greenville, WMBF in Myrtle Beach, WTOC in Savannah, WRDW in Augusta, and WBTV in Charlotte.
Prior to moving to Columbia, Mary reported for KCRG in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and WFXL in Albany, Georgia.
She was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, and attended the University of Notre Dame (go Irish!).
Updated: Jun. 6, 2023 at 6:48 PM EDT
|By Mary Green, Patrick Phillips and Steven Ardary
Gov. Henry McMaster is calling on state lawmakers to create stiffer penalties for illegal gun possession and reform the state’s bond process.
Updated: May. 31, 2023 at 9:58 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
A deal intended to beat an impending deadline and avert a global financial crisis if the U.S. defaults on its debt cleared a major hurdle Wednesday night, passing the U.S. House of Representatives.
Updated: May. 24, 2023 at 7:13 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
The signature of Gov. Henry McMaster is all that is now needed to enact a ban on most abortions in South Carolina after about six weeks into a pregnancy.
Updated: May. 18, 2023 at 7:24 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Soon enough, summertime fruits and vegetables will be in season and available across South Carolina.
Updated: May. 17, 2023 at 11:23 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
After a marathon, 23-plus-hour debate, a bill that would drastically slash abortion access in South Carolina has just cleared a major hurdle.
Updated: May. 17, 2023 at 5:05 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Lawmakers continued their debate over a plan for a more restrictive abortion bill on Wednesday.
Updated: May. 15, 2023 at 3:18 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
The state agency that oversees everything from issuing food safety permits to regulating dams to, in recent years, coordinating South Carolina’s pandemic response will likely soon be abolished.
Updated: May. 10, 2023 at 11:04 PM EDT
|By Mary Green and Dylan Leatherwood
A bill that would guarantee paid parental leave for public school teachers in South Carolina when they welcome a new child via birth, adoption or fostering will soon be on the governor’s desk.
Updated: May. 10, 2023 at 2:56 PM EDT
|By Dylan Leatherwood and Mary Green
The South Carolina General Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday that would prevent local governments from passing their own laws on tobacco products.
Updated: Apr. 29, 2023 at 5:43 AM EDT
|By Mary Green
South Carolinians who want to be able to shop at the liquor store on Sundays will have to wait at least another year.
Updated: Apr. 27, 2023 at 6:55 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
A push to ban almost all abortions in South Carolina is done for the year.
Updated: Apr. 19, 2023 at 7:11 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
On Wednesday, the state’s House of Representatives gave second reading, essentially passing, to S.120 in a 75-21 vote largely along party lines.
Updated: Apr. 18, 2023 at 8:52 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
The bill, H.4100, would require there only be one school district wholly located in every county in South Carolina.
Updated: Apr. 17, 2023 at 5:33 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Despite being a monthly essential for many South Carolinians, period products, like tampons, pads, and menstrual cups, are not tax-exempt as other medical use products are.
Updated: Apr. 10, 2023 at 9:06 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
South Carolina’s governor, attorney general, and a number of lawmakers are among those calling for the state to reform how it selects its judges.
Updated: Apr. 6, 2023 at 6:31 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Boating safety advocates are hoping to see a change in boater education in time for the summer.
Updated: Apr. 5, 2023 at 10:47 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Police chiefs from around South Carolina urged lawmakers Wednesday to pump the brakes on a push to make it easier to carry concealed guns in public.
Updated: Mar. 30, 2023 at 7:03 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Lawmakers at the State House are advancing a bill they say will boost South Carolina’s efforts to recruit and retain teachers at a time the state’s educator shortage is growing.
Updated: Mar. 28, 2023 at 7:23 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
For the first time Tuesday, two survivors of the 2015 massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston were in Columbia, urging senators to pass a hate crimes bill.
Updated: Mar. 25, 2023 at 8:13 AM EDT
|By Mary Green
A new bill would ban minors in South Carolina from receiving gender-affirming care.
Updated: Mar. 22, 2023 at 7:46 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
South Carolina senators are renewing a push to split up a major state agency after their efforts fell short last year.
Updated: Mar. 21, 2023 at 11:26 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
A bill advancing at the State House would let beer drinkers take more of their favorite craft brew home from South Carolina breweries.
Updated: Mar. 18, 2023 at 1:05 AM EDT
|By Mary Green
South Carolina is one of just two states where women can face criminal charges for illegally getting abortions.
Updated: Mar. 15, 2023 at 10:46 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Thousands of South Carolinians would get pay raises under the nearly $14 billion state budget the House of Representatives passed Wednesday.
Updated: Mar. 9, 2023 at 10:28 PM EST
|By Mary Green and Dylan Leatherwood
After just two hours of debate, the South Carolina House of Representatives has given a second reading to a hate crime bill.
Updated: Mar. 6, 2023 at 10:31 PM EST
|By Mary Green
During the pandemic, many American discovered the ease of getting groceries delivered straight to their doorsteps.
Updated: Mar. 2, 2023 at 10:19 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A panel at the South Carolina State House is in the midst of investigating how the office of the state’s top accountant made a $3.5 billion mistake over the last decade.
Updated: Mar. 1, 2023 at 7:52 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A bill designed to crack down on offenders who commit violent crimes while out on bond in South Carolina is halfway to the finish line at the governor’s desk.
Updated: Feb. 23, 2023 at 10:15 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A month-and-a-half into its new legislative session, the General Assembly is in full swing at the South Carolina State House.
Updated: Feb. 22, 2023 at 10:11 PM EST
|By Mary Green and Dylan Leatherwood
A bill that would allow people over 18 to carry loaded, concealed weapons without a permit or training will have a third hearing in the South Carolina House.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2023 at 6:41 PM EST
|By Mary Green
In most school districts in SC, students only have one option for which public school they attend.
Updated: Feb. 16, 2023 at 8:59 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A growing number of cities and counties around South Carolina are trying to set regulations around or even outright ban short-term rentals, and some have already passed local ordinances and laws to do that.
Updated: Feb. 10, 2023 at 7:36 PM EST
|By Mary Green
For more than a century, South Carolina law has prohibited the state from sending public dollars to private schools, including religious schools.
Updated: Feb. 8, 2023 at 10:38 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A bill that would restrict what can be taught and discussed about history and current events in South Carolina schools has moved closer to becoming law.
Updated: Feb. 7, 2023 at 7:25 PM EST
|By Mary Green
On Tuesday, senators began a debate on restrictions they just introduced a week before.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 7:26 PM EST
|By Mary Green
bill that could restart lethal injections in South Carolina is now awaiting a debate at the State House.
Updated: Feb. 1, 2023 at 7:05 PM EST
|By Mary Green
Lawmakers are fast-tracking a push to criminalize trafficking fentanyl in South Carolina, where it is currently not a law.
Updated: Jan. 27, 2023 at 7:36 PM EST
|By Mary Green
For the first time in 35 years, South Carolina is poised to have only men on its state Supreme Court bench.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 7:38 PM EST
|By Mary Green
Hendrick returned to lawmakers with a big request: nearly $30 million to build a new juvenile detention center in Columbia.
Updated: Jan. 20, 2023 at 7:36 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A push at the State House could allow capital punishment to resume for the first time in over a decade.
Updated: Jan. 16, 2023 at 6:47 PM EST
|By Mary Green
Hundreds of people gathered outside the South Carolina State House on Monday to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and reflect on how to carry it forward.
Updated: Dec. 16, 2022 at 9:03 PM EST
|By Mary Green
New data released Friday reveals nearly half of South Carolinians who are old enough and eligible to work are not employed or actively looking for a job.
Updated: Dec. 14, 2022 at 8:14 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A new, $3.5-billion electric vehicle battery plant will soon call South Carolina home, with the Berkeley County project announced Wednesday marking the largest economic development deal in state history.
Updated: Dec. 13, 2022 at 8:29 PM EST
|By Mary Green
South Carolina is inviting more people to start driving electric vehicles.
Updated: Dec. 12, 2022 at 8:53 PM EST
|By Mary Green
FBI Hate crimes 2022
Updated: Dec. 7, 2022 at 6:49 PM EST
|By Mary Green
Now a state senator wants every student in South Carolina to eat for free at school, starting next year.
Updated: Nov. 30, 2022 at 9:36 PM EST
|By Mary Green
According to Feeding America, one in ten South Carolinians faces food insecurity, including one in seven children in the state.
Updated: Nov. 22, 2022 at 7:22 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A new campaign is underway to fill thousands of open jobs in South Carolina hospitals.
Updated: Nov. 21, 2022 at 7:20 PM EST
|By Mary Green
The spike comes as Americans are getting ready to gather with their loved ones over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Updated: Nov. 17, 2022 at 10:42 PM EST
|By Mary Green
This year also marks the fourth-straight year educator vacancies have hit a record high.