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ISSUE 13.49
Dec. 05, 2014

RECENT ISSUES:
12/04 | 11/27 | 11/20 | 11/13

Index

News :
Common snore
Photo :
Old signs, Clarendon County, S.C.
Legislative Agenda :
More prefiling, meetings
Palmetto Politics :
A primer on flashpoint politics
Commentary :
Fix South Carolina's roads now
Spotlight :
United Way Association of South Carolina
My Turn :
Here we go again
Feedback :
Why aren’t immigration laws enforced?
Scorecard :
Three up, one down
Megaphone :
Thurmond on Thurmond
In our blog :
Take a peek
Tally Sheet :
Eight score and more
Encyclopedia :
Market Hall, Charleston

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NUMBER OF THE WEEK

15,700

Number of South Carolinians living with HIV, according to state DHEC figures. That includes 200 children and teen-agers. South Carolina ranks eight nationally for the rate of new cases, currently transmitted at a rate of one new case every nine hours. More.

MEGAPHONE

Thurmond on Thurmond

"I oftentimes get frustrated at the national message about my father. I want to make sure the full story is told. ...

"I would love to (show) how he got so effective. Did he kill them with kindness? Did he hang things over their head like appropriations? Did he just have such a reputation that they didn't want to say 'no'? Did he put people in places that when he needed something done he already had the relationship? I would imagine it was probably all of these, but getting to how would be really interesting to me."

-- State Sen. Paul Thurmond, who is collecting video memories of his father, the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond. More.

IN OUR BLOG

Take a peek

To get a more in-depth look at subjects ranging from ethics to education, head over to our blog, which offers thoughts of policy experts from across the state.
 

TALLY SHEET

Eight score and more

State senators prefiled 173 bills this week in anticipation of the opening bell of the 2015 legislative session. If you want to see all pre-filed bills, please click here. In the meantime, here are brief summaries of major legislation that was introduced:

Ethics reform. S. 1 (L. Martin) calls for major ethics reform that includes provisions on lobbyist fees and reporting, pledges involving judicial candidates, changes to legislative ethics committees, new rules on campaign contributions and much, much more. S. 14 (Rankin) is a related bill. S. 74 (Campsen) is also related.

Road fund. S. 2 (Setzler) calls for an Interstate Lane Expansion Fund to pay for adding lanes on major routes, with several provisions.

Domestic violence. S. 3 (L. Martin) would toughen criminal domestic violence laws, including prohibiting a person convicted of a CDV offense or person subject to a protective order from having a firearm, with several other provisions.

Constitutional officers. S. 8 (L. Martin) seeks to ratify a statewide vote to amend the constitution to make the adjutant general become an appointed position.  S. 59 (Campsen) seeks to change the comptroller general from an elected to an appointed position via constitutional amendment. S. 63 (Campsen) seeks the same for the commissioner of agriculture. S. 68 (Campsen) and S. 120 (Bright) seek the same for the state superintendent of education. S. 70 (Campsen) seeks the same for the secretary of state.

Raffles. S. 9 (L. Martin) seeks to ratify a statewide vote to amend the constitution to allow raffles.

Judges. S. 12 (L. Martin) sets a date for judicial elections by the legislature to be Feb. 4, 2015.

Criminal records. S. 17 (Jackson) would prohibit the state from inquiring, considering or requiring disclosure of criminal records for a job applicant until an interview or offer, with other provisions.

Dating violence. S. 18 (Jackson) defines dating violence and calls for penalties.

Initiative petition. S. 22 (Grooms) seeks a constitutional amendment to allow initiative petitions and referendum to repeal laws and constitutional amendments. S. 32 (Cleary) is similar.

Vouchers. S. 24 (Grooms) seeks authorization of an income tax deduction for parents who pay for kids in private schools or home schools, with several provisions.

Unborn children. S. 25 (Grooms) seeks to ban abortion, with limited exceptions, after 20 weeks, with several provisions. S. 28 is similar. S. 130 (Bright) is similar but adds a provision related to pain that may be felt by fetuses.

Fair tax. S. 26 (Grooms) seeks to enact the state Fair Tax Act, with many provisions.

Tax rates, gas tax. S. 27 (Grooms) seeks to cut income tax rates by 0.2 percent for 10 years, but increase the gas tax by two cents every year for 10 years, with several provisions. 

Marriage. S. 31 (Grooms) seeks a resolution to call a national constitutional convention to propose an amendment to the U.S Constitution that marriage be considered only between a man and woman.

Abortion drugs. S. 34 (Bryant) seeks to prohibit prescriptions for drugs that induce abortions, with several provisions.

Board of Regents. S. 43 (Malloy) seeks to establish a college and university Board of Regents and repeal the state Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education and state Commission on Higher Education.

Body cameras. S. 47 (Malloy) would require law enforcement officers in the state to have body-worn cameras.

Racial profiling. S. 48 (Malloy) calls for creation of a committee to study racial profiling.

Early education. S. 49 (Malloy) calls for expansion of the S.C. Child Early Reading development and Education Program, with several provisions. S. 50 is similar.

Reapportionment. S. 55 (Campsen) seeks to require all political subdivisions to do reapportionment within three years of the official census, with several provisions, including one related to “continuity of representation” when two elected officials are placed in one district.

Guns on campus. S. 88 (Bright) would allow anyone with a concealed weapons permit to have guns on college campuses, with several provisions.

OBGYN provision. S. 92 (Bright) seeks to require doctors who provide abortions to have admitting and staff privileges at a local certified hospital.

School bonds. S. 94 (Bright) seeks to prohibit school districts from borrowing through general operating bonds.

Heartbeat. S. 96 (Bright) seeks to require doctors to conduct an ultrasound prior to performing an abortion, with several provisions.

Shorter session. S. 123 (Bright) seeks to require the General Assembly to end its session in mid-March in even-numbered years and in mid-April in odd-numbered years, and to pass a biennial budget.

Tax incentives, subsidies. S. 134 (Davis) calls for legislation to require targeted tax incentives or subsidies to be introduced in separate bills and approved by separate recorded votes, with several provisions.

Term limits. S. 137 (Cleary) calls for term limits in the House and Senate for no more than 12 years each.

Dune structures. S. 139 (Cleary) would allow for certain additional technologies, methodologies or structures to protect beaches and dunes when under an emergency order.

Surpluses. S. 142 (Coleman) seeks to steer state revenue surpluses to the state highway fund to improve interstates.

Minimum wage. S. 144 (Scott) seeks a constitutional amendment to impose a mandatory minimum wage. S. 145 (Scott) is a bill to do the same thing. S. 146 seeks a statewide advisory referendum on the issue.

Early voting. S. 148 (Scott) seeks to add early voting procedures, with several provisions.

Child welfare. S. 150 (Shealy) would overhaul the state Department of Social Services into a new agency, with many provisions.

Custody orders. S. 151 (Shealy) seeks to rewrite child custody order procedures, with several definitions and provisions, including shared custody and more.

Income tax. S. 155 (Shealy) seeks to eliminate the state income tax over time.

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Market Hall, Charleston

Completed in 1841, Market Hall was one of several monumental buildings that arose along Meeting Street in Charleston during the 1830s and early 1840s. Located at 188 Meeting Street, Market Hall occupies a narrow lot between North and South Market Streets that had been used as the public market since the late eighteenth century. It was designed in the form of a Roman temple by Edward Brickell White, the most successful Charleston architect of the late antebellum period.

The two-story building is set on a rusticated base and is built of brick covered with a brownstone stucco. The second story is scored in an ashlar pattern. A double flight of brownstone steps leads to a pedimented portico supported by four Doric columns. The elaborate entablature includes bucrania, ram skulls, and triglyphs. The moldings of the column capitals and bases extend along the side and rear elevations.

Behind the building, sheds stretch toward the river, which provided space for merchants selling meats, produce, seafood and other goods in earlier years. The United Daughters of the Confederacy have met in the building since 1899 and in the early twenty-first century used it for their Confederate Museum.

Market Hall sustained damage during Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and underwent a $3.5 million restoration that was completed in 2002. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1973.

-- Excerpted from the entry by Daniel J. Vivian. To read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina, check out The South Carolina Encyclopedia by USC Press. (Information used by permission.)

PALMETTO PRIORITIES

Palmetto Priorities Statehouse Report encourages state leaders to develop and implement Palmetto Priorities involving several issues to make the state better a better place. Click the link to learn more about our suggestions for bipartisan policy objectives.

Here is a summary of our Palmetto Priorities:

CORRECTIONS: Reduce the prison population by 25 percent by 2020.

EDUCATION: Cut the state's dropout rate in half by 2020.

ELECTIONS: Increase voter registration to 75 percent by 2015.

ENVIRONMENT: Adopt a state energy policy that requires energy producers to generate 20 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.

ETHICS: Overhaul state ethics laws.

HEALTH CARE: Ensure affordable and accessible health care.

JOBS: Develop a Cabinet-level post to add, retain 10,000 small business jobs per year.

POLITICS: Have a vigorous two- or multi-party political system of governance.

ROADS: Strengthen all bridges and upgrade state roads by 2015.

SAFETY: Cut the state's violent crime rate by one-third by 2016.

TAX REFORM: Remove outdated special interest sales tax exemptions as part of an overall reform of the state's tax structure to be completed by 2014.

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News

Common snore

Attempt to improve national school standards stalls

By Bill Davis, senior editor

DEC. 5, 2014 -- South Carolina’s attempts to improve on its Common Core educational standards took a big hit this week, as a swath of educators roundly criticized a series of improvements offered by the state Department of Education.

The improvements were flogged at a hearing hosted by the Education Oversight Committee on Monday as being insufficient, inadequate and inferior to existing Common Core standards. The EOC reviews public K-12 efforts and makes recommendations to the governor and the legislature regarding education.

EOC Chair Neil Robinson of Charleston said that he’d never seen “five educators, much less 50 educators, agree on anything in such unanimity.”

Common Core is a nationally state-created set of education standards in math and English language skills  for students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade.   Those standards are set on a grade-by-grade basis so educators, students and their families can accurately assess their progress toward gaining admission into higher education or entering the workforce.

Critics, such as Lugoff resident Sheri Few, who recently lost in the state Republican primary for state superintendent of education, say Common Core is “left wing,” “dumbs down” education and merely forces teachers to “teach to the test” instead of creating higher-thinking skills.

Approved, but ...

South Carolina’s legislature approved the Common Core standards in 2010, and set implementation for this current school year.

But something funny happened along the way to the public forum, according to Debbie Elmore, the spokesman and director of legislative services for the S.C. School Boards Association.

When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan began including Common Core in the list of prerequisites for federal education grants, Common Core, which had been the product of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, became a “federal” program, Elmore said.

And South Carolina has never had an easy time swallowing reform, or what has been perceived as “federal intrusion” from Washington, D.C., whether in the form of emancipation, integration, bailouts, Obamacare -- or now immigration. (Just this week, Gov. Nikki Haley joined a 17-state coalition this week suing the federal government over President Barack Obama’s executive order sparing as many 5 million illegal aliens from deportation.)

This year, in the wake of Duncan’s move and despite legislative support four years before, the state legislature ordered the state Department of Education to come up with its own set of standards.

Coming up with new standards

In the past, efforts to revamp standards started with and included the existing standards, which in this case would have been Common Core. Current Superintendent of Education Mick Zais said he would include Common Core in the department’s offering to the EOC.

Judging from the blowback at Monday’s hearing, Elmore believes the improvements were more of a “from scratch” rewrite and that the five months allotted to the writing panels was not sufficient.

In an interview, EOC Executive Director Melanie Barton said wholesale rewriting of educational standards is usually a two-year process.

Barton generally praised the math standards presented Monday saying the state could “work with those,” but said a lot of work remained in tuning up the English and language arts components.

Barton said the main problem with the English components was that they didn’t build student knowledge “vertically, in that it has to build from first grade going forward” in a methodical and logical manner. “Big gaps” showed up in the English component, perhaps, because of the time element and perhaps the panels were writing standards separately and couldn’t knit together their efforts, she said.

Barton added that the hearing Monday was merely “the first one out of the box” and improvements will come.

State Superintendent of Education-elect Molly Spearman said Thursday that she would “push for more time” from the legislature, which has demanded full implementation of the new standards by next school year.

Spearman promised to “work around the clock” following her first state School Board meeting Jan. 21 to make the new standards work for all students, whether they are from a poorer rural school district or from a well-heeled city.

State Education Department spokesman Dino Teppara cautioned Friday the public needed to understand this was merely the first step in a process.

“This was a first draft – we never said ‘take it or leave it,’” he said, likening it to a multi-draft college essay.

Teppara said the department included Common Core, best practices from states around the country and input from more 4,000 public comments. He agreed with Spearman, Barton and Elmore that five months to rewrite the standards didn’t provide enough time.

Bill Davis is senior editor of Statehouse Report.  He can be reached at:  billdavis@statehousereport.com.

RECENT NEWS STORIES
Photo

Old signs, Clarendon County, S.C.


Kingstree, S.C., photographer Linda W. Brown spied these old signs along a fence of what she thought was an abandoned baseball field in rural Clarendon County, S.C. More: Center for a Better South.

Legislative Agenda

More prefiling, meetings

Members of the state House and Senate will be able to prefile bills on Tuesday through noon. Meanwhile, here are some meetings that are scheduled:

  • College boards. The joint legislative committee that screens potential college trustees will meet 11 a.m. Dec. 9 in 110 Blatt. More.

  • Ethics. The Investigation and Enforcement subcommittee of the House Ethics and FOIA Study Committee will meet 10 a.m. Dec. 9 in 516 Blatt. Agenda.

  • DSS. The Senate General Committee DSS Oversight Subcommittee will meet 10 a.m. Dec. 11 in 110 Blatt to continue oversight hearings. While no agenda was available at publication, the hearing is expected to be broadcast live on the General Assembly’s website.

Palmetto Politics

A primer on flashpoint politics

If you want to get a good idea of coming controversial flashpoints of the 2015 legislature, also known as the obsessions of the flickering remnant of the tea party in South Carolina, just take a look at the plethora of recycled bills introduced this week by state Sen. Lee Bright, a Spartanburg Republican who proudly wears the badge of reactionary. 

On the only day so far for prefiling of bills in the Senate, Bright sponsored or co-sponsored 40 of the 173 bills submitted to the Senate. (See a list here.)

Among the bills with his name on them are these:

  • 11 bills on gun rights, including one measure to allow voters to take concealed guns to polls and another bill to allow students to have them on college campuses;

  • Six tax and budget measures, including one bill that calls for a special committee to look into effects of reducing or eliminating federal funding for South Carolina;

  • Five health care proposals, such as a bill to prevent enforcement of Obamacare and another to deny state funding for sexual reassignment hormonal therapy for prisoners; and

  • Five bills related to abortion, including a bill seeking to recognize fetuses as people and another to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The pro-life abortion-related bills got the attention of Planned Parenthood, which blasted those who introduced the measures for wasting taxpayer time and money. 

“A strong majority of voters -- 62 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of independents and 78 percent of Democrats -- say Congress and state legislators should not spend their time attacking women’s health, according to a  2013 nationwide poll conducted by Hart Research Associates,” said Alyssa Miller, S.C. public affairs director at Planned Parenthood Health Systems. 

 “While some would prefer to waste more taxpayer money on yet another series of divisive and unconstitutional bills with dangerous unintended consequences, it’s time to move forward and work toward policies that will support South Carolina families. Given South Carolina’s high rates of sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy and teen births, it is time to focus on putting prevention first, rather than working to restrict access to care."

-- Andy Brack

Schieffer to speak at Wilkins awards dinner in January

Longtime CBS News reporter and “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer will provide the keynote address at the Riley Institute of Furman’s 10th annual David H. Wilkins awards dinner set for Jan. 13 in Columbia.

Winners of the 2014 Wilkins awards for excellence and legislative and civic leadership, will announced next week.

Commentary

Fix South Carolina's roads now

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher

DEC. 5, 2014 -- South Carolina’s highways are embarrassing.

Pockmarked with potholes, cars and trucks shuck and jive to make sure they get from one place to another. On Interstate 95, vehicles bump along as if on an old washboard dirt road. When they slip into Georgia, however, it’s like starting to glide on smooth water.

For a generation, South Carolina lawmakers have underinvested in roads, causing the problems we now have from the Upstate to the Pee Dee and Lowcountry. The Palmetto State has the nation’s fourth largest road system, in part because more than 19,000 miles of local roads have been piecemealed into the state system. 

What needs to happen -- and what the General Assembly must focus on next year with laser precision -- is a real and long-term solution to preserve the roads we have, fix the Interstates and crumbling bridges and add lanes to existing high-traffic areas to make traveling easier for commerce and residents.

You won’t like this, but it’s going to take more revenue. One way or another, it’s just going to take more money. 

The S.C. Department of Transportation says state roads and bridges need an extra $42.8 billion -- yes, billion -- over the next 29 years to ensure that the system is in good condition. That’s the equivalent of $1.47 billion every year in recurring new money for the next three decades. 

When you consider the annual budget of the highway department is $1.6 billion a year -- which includes $890 million in funding from the federal government -- you get an idea of how much we have underinvested in state transportation infrastructure.

State officials say transportation needs can be broken into four categories:

  • Preservation. The state gets the biggest bang for its buck by preserving good roads by resurfacing them to keep them in good condition. For every $1 million, the state can preserve 87 miles of roads versus rehabilitating six lane miles or rebuilding four lane miles. Currently, the state needs an extra $584 million per year to preserve existing roads, according to the highway department.

  • Expansion. To expand the network by adding more lane miles for widening projects, for example, the system needs an extra $352 million a year.

  • Routine maintenance. Rehabilitating, modernizing and rebuilding for maintenance that has been deferred too long will cost an extra $397 million a year.

  • Bridges. To bring the state’s 8,419 bridges into shape, the DOT says the state needs to spend an extra $71 million a year on bridges that are substandard (1,610), structurally deficient (839), functionally obsolete (771), load-restricted (398) or closed (12).

How to pay for all of this extra work every year?  The litany of alternatives for a blended solution includes:
  • Raise the gas tax. S.C. has a 16.8 cent tax per gallon of gas, while neighboring states are much higher (28.5 cents/gallon in Georgia; 37.8 cents/gallon in N.C.). Raising the tax by a dime a gallon will generate about $350 million a year.

  • Bigger slice of the pie. Legislators could add an additional statewide tax or fee to generate more General Fund revenue, or it could gamble on an unpredictable scheme to direct dollars from growth to roads. It would have to be a significant amount, however.

  • Fees, tax cap. Increasing registration fees or doubling the $300 sales tax cap on vehicles would generate about $60 million each -- not enough to make a big dent in the problem.

  • Raise the sales tax. The legislature also could pass a statewide special penny tax for roads, which would yield about $600 million annually. But with sales taxes already very high -- and with billions of exemptions -- it might be smarter to eliminate $1 billion in special interest exemptions than to raise a tax on all.

  • Borrow. This isn’t really an option as it won’t do the big job that’s needed and the state doesn’t have the capacity to borrow its way out of the festering problem.

“We need to have a minimum of a $600 million infusion of capital into the process -- that’s a minimum of recurring dollars per year,” said state Chamber of Commerce President Otis Rawl.

Doing nothing on roads isn’t an option any more. Otherwise, we’ll lose jobs and, perhaps, lives.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report.  He can be reached at: brack@statehousereport.com.

Spotlight

United Way Association of South Carolina

The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Statehouse Report to you at no cost. This week, we shine a spotlight on the United Way Association of South Carolina. It is the common voice of the 29 independent, locally-government United Ways in the Palmetto State that work together to create long-lasting opportunities for everyone to have the good life. The organizations focus on education to help children and youths achieve their potential so they can get a stable job; income to promote financial stability and independence; and improving people’s health. 

Advancing the common good is about helping one person at a time and about changing systems to help all of us.  The associations believes we all win when a child succeeds in school, when families are financially stable, and when people are healthy. The organization’s goal is to create long-lasting changes by addressing the underlying causes of these problems. “Living United” means being a part of the change. It takes everyone in the community working together to create a brighter future. Give. Advocate. Volunteer. LIVE UNITED.

My Turn

Here we go again

By Phil Leventis
Special to Statehouse Report

DEC. 5, 2014 -- Recent articles in The State newspaper by Sammy Fretwell focus on the Pinewood commercial hazardous waste dump which closed in bankruptcy 15 years ago. Why is it in the news today?  The state Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is now asking for $40 million in public money over the next 10 years to pay for the mess this private firm made. The total could reach hundreds of millions in the coming decades.

The site, literally on the banks of Lake Marion, contains 4 million TONS of toxic waste. Seventy-five percent came from outside S.C. Laidlaw/Safety-Kleen opened the site in the late 1970s using crude technology with no public notice. The site was fined millions of dollars over the years, a pittance compared to almost a billion dollars in cash flow it generated.     

A DHEC staff report in the late 1980s indicated over $250 million (in 2014 dollars) of cash should be deposited with the state for expected monitoring, maintenance and leaks during the period 100 years after closure. Gov. Carroll Campbell and the DHEC Board shot that down, taking instead a “promise” that the company would provide what was needed, when it was needed. Then the operators declared bankruptcy and left S.C. 

Why is it in the news again? It’s been closed 15 years. DHEC allowed politics to trump public interest. DHEC says the site is safe.  Independent sources say it is not. Regardless, now public money is needed.

"Moral hazard takes place when those who make the money take none of the risks."
-- Phil Leventis
This is particularly pertinent today because a gold mine wants to expand in South Carolina. One farm in the low state is being allowed to suck the Edisto River dry. And our governor and attorney general are pressing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to loosen regulation of wetlands in the name of development. All three are like the dump -- the profit is up front and the liabilities may be left to the public when the industry closes, takes their money and runs out of S.C.                   

Moral hazard takes place when those who make the money take none of the risks. 

With the gold mine, the water sink farm and the wetlands, citizens should demand that DHEC, on our behalf, get cash to pay us for the natural resources of the state these “developers” are using or abusing. If these costs make the business model unworkable for the owners, why should we allow them to shift costs to us for their profit? If we do, someone may be writing the media across the state in 2050 saying the citizens now have to pay millions because these companies made money here but left their mess to us. . . like the dump. 

We told governors, DHEC boards and staffers. It would be dereliction of duty for this governor and current DHEC board to allow this to happen again. We told you so then and we are telling you again:  Regulate in the interests of our citizens, not corporations that will leave us once they have had their way with our resources. 

Phil Leventis is a former Democratic state senator from Sumter.

Feedback

Why aren’t immigration laws enforced?

To the editor:

Why have the laws now in place not been enforced?   Why can't able-bodied folks on the system pick fruit, why can't minimum security prisoners pick up trash on the highways, pick fruit etc.?

Obviously, you [Dean, My Turn, 11/28] don't have a problem with rewarding cheaters, liars, thieves etc., but some of us do.  If we reward lawbreakers, won't we get more lawbreakers?   We need another Eisenhower who wasn't afraid to round them up and send them home.

-- Carol Martin, Spartanburg, S.C.

Almost objective

To the editor:

Your edition of this date [Brack, Commentary, 11/28] regarding the Hon. Jay Lucas was very good. The way it was written, one could almost believe you  were objective in your take on politics in this state. Too bad you aren't . At any rate, thank you for this take on the new Speaker of the House.

-- Gary W. White, Hartsville, S.C.

Refreshing profile

To the editor:

Your very interesting piece on Jay Lucas’ plans for the speakership never mentioned his political party.  I assume he’s a Republican, but the intriguing thing is that as a Democrat, I couldn’t tell his party by what he said.  How refreshing is that!

-- Susan Breslin, Folly Beach, S.C.

Don't keep your opinions to yourself. We love hearing from our readers and encourage you to share your opinions.  But you've got to provide us with contact information so we can verify your letters. Letters to the editor are published weekly. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.We generally publish all comments about South Carolina politics or policy issues, unless they are libelous or unnecessarily inflammatory. One submission is allowed per month. Submission of a comment grants permission to us to reprint. Comments are limited to 250 words or less.  Please include your name and contact information.  Send your letters to:

Scorecard

Three up, one down

Tinkler. Congratulations to new State Rep. Mary Tinkler, the Charleston Democrat who can stop sweating that somebody is going to take away her seat, held formerly by ex-Speaker Bobby Harrell.

Lucas. Hats off to a new Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Hartsville. It was pretty smooth sailing during this organizational week, but be ready for trouble as the House grapples soon with road funding, ethics reform, education funding, workforce development and much, much more.

Shealy, Lourie. A big nod to state Sens. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, and Joel Lourie, D-Columbia, for efforts to overhaul the broken state Department of Social Services by scrapping a lot of it and starting over with a new agency. More.

Haley, Wilson. Do we really need to join another national effort to just say no to something the federal government is doing, Governor Nikki Haley and Attorney General Alan Wilson? Seems like yet another political grandstanding effort that wastes taxpayer money. More.
credits

Statehouse Report

Editor and Publisher: Andy Brack
Senior Editor: Bill Davis
Contributing Photographer: Michael Kaynard

Phone: 843.670.3996

© 2002 - 2024 , Statehouse Report LLC. Statehouse Report is published every Friday by Statehouse Report LLC, PO Box 22261, Charleston, SC 29413.
Excerpts from The South Carolina Encyclopedia are published with permission and copyrighted 2006 by the Humanities Council SC. Excerpts were edited by Walter Edgar and published by the University of South Carolina Press. Statehouse Report has partnered with USC Press to provide readers with this interesting weekly historical excerpt about the state. Republication is not allowed. For additional information about Statehouse Report, including information on underwriting, go to http://www.statehousereport.com/.