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: Jun. 1, 2023 at 11:40 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Protections for working moms who are breastfeeding are now in effect across the U.S., and a 2020 South Carolina state law played a key role in motivating Congress to enact them nationwide.
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. 25, 2023 at 7:46 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
As of Thursday morning, most abortions in South Carolina are now prohibited before the time many women know they are pregnant.
Updated: May. 24, 2023 at 7:58 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. 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 6:30 PM EDT
|By Mary Green and Dylan Leatherwood
The state of South Carolina may soon see a new requirement for people convicted of driving under the influence for the first time.
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 7:51 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
A push to ban almost all abortions in South Carolina is done for the year.
Updated: Apr. 27, 2023 at 8:14 AM EDT
|By Mary Green and Steven Ardary
A push to ban abortion from conception in South Carolina, and enact one of the most restrictive laws in the country, is now seemingly done for the year.
Updated: Apr. 27, 2023 at 7:42 AM EDT
|By Steven Ardary and Mary Green
A bill with personal ties to one South Carolina state representative passed the chamber unanimously Wednesday.
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. 7, 2023 at 11:26 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
More than half of all hate crimes related to religion across the country are perpetrated against Jews, who only make up 2% of all Americans, according to the FBI.
Updated: Apr. 6, 2023 at 9:34 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Most people who get behind the wheel on the state’s waters are not required to have any boater education or training. But, boating safety advocates are hoping to see that changed 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. 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. 17, 2023 at 12:28 AM EDT
|By Mary Green
Republican leaders at the State House have made expanding school choice in South Carolina a priority this year.
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. 15, 2023 at 4:09 PM EDT
|By Mary Green and Dylan Leatherwood
A Senate Finance panel recommends removing South Carolina’s comptroller general from office and transferring his office duties to other agencies.
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. 9, 2023 at 9:59 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A bill filed at the South Carolina State House would crack down on stores that illegally sell tobacco and nicotine products to kids and teens.
Updated: Mar. 7, 2023 at 5:16 PM EST
|By Patrick Phillips and Mary Green
State Sen. Dick Harpootlian, who represented convicted killer Alex Murdaugh in his murder trial, took the floor of the state Senate Tuesday afternoon.
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. 3, 2023 at 8:08 PM EST
|By Mary Green
When Lester Young of Columbia was released from prison after serving 22 years, he was ready to find a job and begin the next chapter of his life outside incarceration.
Updated: Mar. 2, 2023 at 11:24 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 8:58 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, with its supporters calling for senators to get it there as quickly as possible.
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. 22, 2023 at 7:01 PM EST
|By The Associated Press and Mary Green
The South Carolina House voted on Wednesday to allow lawful firearm owners to carry handguns openly or concealed without a state permit.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2023 at 7:56 PM EST
|By Mary Green
In most school districts in South Carolina, students only have one option for which public school they attend: the one for which they are zoned, based on where they live.
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 11:00 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. 1, 2023 at 10:59 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. 16, 2023 at 9:24 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: Jan. 13, 2023 at 9:40 PM EST
|By Mary Green
Public safety is one of the top priorities at the South Carolina State House this year, including bolstering school safety.
Updated: Jan. 11, 2023 at 10:41 PM EST
|By Patrick Phillips and Mary Green
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster took the oath of office on the steps of the Statehouse in Columbia Wednesday morning to start his second full term as the state’s chief executive.
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. 8, 2022 at 8:04 PM EST
|By Mary Green
Legislation on abortion, marijuana, hate crimes and what can be taught in schools has all been filed ahead of South Carolina’s new legislative session next month.
Updated: Dec. 7, 2022 at 7:59 PM EST
|By Mary Green
For the last two years, every student in the country has eaten for free at school, thanks to a federal pandemic-relief program.
Updated: Nov. 16, 2022 at 8:36 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A group of sitting state lawmakers is now suing a South Carolina school district over allegations it is training staff to teach critical race theory, and they vow more lawsuits will follow for other schools and districts.
Updated: Nov. 10, 2022 at 7:57 PM EST
|By Mary Green
A push to further restrict or even ban abortion in South Carolina is now over for this year, but advocates fighting for and against that effort say their work is not over.
Updated: Nov. 8, 2022 at 11:28 PM EST
|By Patrick Phillips and Mary Green
With more than half of precincts reporting, the Republican candidate is maintaining a lead over her Democratic challenger to lead South Carolina schools for the next four years.
Updated: Oct. 20, 2022 at 7:55 PM EDT
|By Mary Green
Stop, drop and roll is what most Americans know to do to escape a fire, but emergency management officials urge South Carolinians to also know what to do in an earthquake: drop, cover and hold on.