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ISSUE 8.03
Jan. 16, 2009

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

Index
News :
Alternating weeks
Legislative Agenda :
Meetings continue
Radar Screen :
Tracking tax reform
Palmetto Politics :
Olive branch or bee hive?
Commentary :
Lift the hood on "reform" efforts
Spotlight :
The Felkel Group
My Turn :
SC should be model in responding to crisis
Feedback :
1/9: Report is awesome
Scorecard :
Up, down and in-between
Stegelin :
The State of the State
Number of the Week :
8.4 percent
Megaphone :
Yes, we can
In our blog :
Schools, greatness and leftovers
Tally Sheet :
Bills filed this week
Encyclopedia :
SC Constitutions

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NUMBER OF THE WEEK

8.4 percent

UNEMPLOYMENT: 8.4 percent. That’s the state’s most recent joblessness rate. Worse news; economists fully it expect it to keep climbing. More: The State.

MEGAPHONE

Yes, we can

“We can no longer afford to follow the same old leaders preaching the same old things. They say that government can never work and then they try to prove themselves right. To make government work better, you must first believe that it can work.”
 
-- State Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D-Camden), delivering the state Democratic Party’s response to Gov. Mark Sanford’s State of the State Address earlier this week.

IN OUR BLOG

Schools, greatness and leftovers

  • Schools.  Voucher loving FITS News was home to a blog this week that school districts across the state may be holding onto $2 billion in fund balances:
“In the meantime, it remains to be seen how the always cash-hungry S.C. General Assembly will react to the news that local governments in this state are sitting on more than $2 billion in surplus funds.” Or how it will react to a political wing that had the foresight to save for a rainy day.
  • Greatness.  S.C. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom issued a six-point plan to help everyone survive the financial upheaval. Number one?
“Above all, believe in the greatness of America.”
 
He then referenced Ronald Reagan’s buoyant optimism, but not his deregulation which, ironically, helped create the nation’s current financial problems.
  • Warmed over.  Voting Under the Influence was less than impressed with Sanford’s State of the State address, calling it “a warmed-over, leftover of the Club for Growth after-dinner speech he has been giving for years.” Then VUI picked over the various “courses“ the governor served up.

TALLY SHEET

Bills filed this week

(to be updated Saturday)

We’re still going through the more than 100 bills that were filed this week. We’ll post and update on Saturday. For now, here are some of the measures introduced:
 
HOA liens. S. 277 would make some liens by homeowners’ associations superior to those of other creditors.
 
Late fees. S. 278 would allow counties to waive some late payment penalties for property taxes.
 
Payday loans. S. 279 would require payday loan employees to have licenses.
 
Voter accessibility. S. 280 calls for the SC Voter Accessibility Act to allow early voting, and more.
 
Custody. S. 281 would define joint custody.
 
Warrants. S. 282 would require law enforcement officers to be the only officials to seek arrest warrants.
 
Judicial selection. S. 283 calls for all qualified and properly screened candidates to be considered for judicial slots.
 
Father registry. S. 284 would establish a father registry with DSS.
 
Civil jurisdiction. S. 285 would increase the civil jurisdiction of magistrates to $1,500.
 
Dental health. S. 286 calls for a targeted dental community health program in three to five counties.
 
Dental residents. S. 287 would allow dental residents to treat some conditions.
 
Violent crime. S. 288 requires people convicted of violent crimes to surrender their driver’s licenses, and more.
 
Domestic violence. S. 289 would extend the time of work for a Criminal Domestic Violence Study committee.
 
Deadly weapon. S. 292 calls for a misdemeanor penalty for someone who assaults a law enforcement officer, and more.
 
Drilling. S. 293 calls for anyone licensed to drill offshore for oil or gas to use advanced technology to minimize environmental risks.
 
Salary review. S. 294 calls for a review of law enforcement salaries, and more.
 
Consumer choice. S. 295 calls for the Consumer Choice and Technology Act of 2009.
 
Drycleaning. S. 296 would toughen the state law on a restoration trust fund for drycleaning facilities.
 
Obama. S. 297 and H. 3219 are resolutions to invite Barack Obama to speak to the General Assembly.
 
Judicial elections. H. 3162 calls for judicial elections to be held on Feb. 11, 2009, by the legislature.
 
Dating violence. S. 266 calls for the state Department of Education to develop a model dating violence policy.
 
Building inspectors. S. 268 would establish certain special building inspectors.
 
Waste, fraud and abuse. S. 269 calls for a special toll-free number to be established to get complaints of state waste, fraud and abuse.
 
Traffic stops. S. 270 would let a law enforcement officer stop a vehicle outside his jurisdiction if the vehicle were dangerous.
 
Testimony. S. 271 would require people testifying before the Senate or House to be sworn, and more.
 
Northern right whale. S. 272 would designate the northern right whale as the state’s official marine mammal.
 
Community residential care. S. 273 would prohibit DHEC from removing a resident from a residential care facility if there is agreement by family and professionals that the resident should stay, and more.
 
Water withdrawal. S. 275 calls for changes to the state’s water withdrawal policy and permitting.
 
Dorchester schools. S. 234 calls for an annual report from Dorchester school District 2. S. 235 would authorize the district to impose development impact fees.
 
Charleston schools. S. 236 would amend the constituent school district board’s authority in Charleston County.
 
Lottery tickets. S. 237 would broaden the people who could buy state lottery tickets.
 
Car taxes. S. 238 calls for sales taxes on vehicles to go to the state Transportation Infrastructure Bank, and more.
 
Earmarks. S. 239 calls for the “Appropriations Bill Earmark Disclosure Act.”
 
Impact fees. S. 240 would allow schools to be included in “public facilities” related to impact fees.

Election employees. S. 241 would exclude election day employees from the SC retirement system.
 
TERI. S. 242 calls for the closure of the Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive program.
 
Tenant ejection. S. 243 allows for expedited tenant ejectment with certain procedures and more.
 
Votes. S. 244 requires each state board and commission to take recorded votes when awarding compensation or a method of paying people or bonuses.
 
Child support. S. 245 would allow a judge to allow child support continue beyond age 18 in certain cases.
 
Annexation. S. 246 would add provisions on density to annexation law. S. 247 defines concurrency requirements, and more.
 
Beer, wine. S. 248 would create a new offense of unlawfully providing beer or wine to someone under 21 when death or great harm occurs, with penalties.

ENCYCLOPEDIA

SC Constitutions

 South Carolina’s royal charter of 1663 allowed eight Lords Proprietors to develop a code of laws for the colony with the advice and consent of selected settlers. The result was the 1669 Fundamental Constitutions. Although revised several times until abandoned in 1698, the Fundamental Constitutions framed the colony as a social hierarchy, encouraging new settlement based on landownership and a provision for religious freedom. It also inspired the colonial Commons House of Assembly, which became the significant governing body of the colony.

South Carolina adopted its first state constitution in 1776. Since then, it has adopted six more: in 1778, 1790, 1861, 1865, 1868, and 1895. The constitutions of 1790, 1868, and 1895 are especially noteworthy since they were adopted at critical turning points in the state’s history: in 1790 after the state entered the federal union; in 1868 during Reconstruction; and in 1895 after general economic distress. The revision and modernization of the 1895 constitution, especially since 1966 in response to federal civil rights policies and state and local reform pressures, caused some to say that there is actually an “eighth” South Carolina constitution.
 
The Committee to Make a Study of the South Carolina Constitution of 1895 made its report to the General Assembly in July 1969. In the course of its work, the committee focused on each section of the 1895 document, painstakingly reviewed each one, and made a specific evaluation to carry over or delete a section. For a section that was to be carried over, the report recommended any needed revisions. The committee also drafted and made the case for some new sections in the constitution. It proposed seventeen new articles to the General Assembly to be considered through an article-by-article amendment process aligned with the original seventeen articles in the 1895 constitution. The General Assembly also approved the study committee’s proposal for appointment of a legislative steering committee of five senators and five representatives to shepherd the individual articles through the legislature to general election referendums.
 
The plan was to complete the article-by-article revision in committee and submit all seventeen articles at the same time in the 1970 general election. Each proposed article had first to be authorized by a two-thirds vote of the S.C. House and Senate and then approved by a majority of general election voters. The revised article then had to be ratified again by the General Assembly before it was finally included in the constitution. The date of ratification was the effective date for the new amendment.
 
The hope for complete revision in one general election was not achieved. Five revised articles were approved by voters in 1970 and ratified in 1971. Since then, developments have gone more slowly. Article III regarding the legislative branch has not been revised, but an amendment in 1977 fixed the times and terms of the legislative session. In 1979 a general reserve fund requirement was ratified under this article.
 
Excerpted entry by Cole Blease Graham Jr. To read more about this or 2,000 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

Alternating weeks

General Assembly trims calendar, expenses

By Bill Davis, senior editor

JAN. 16, 2009 -- So, what was the legislature doing in session this past week?
           
There’s no money to fight over thanks to a continuing drop in tax revenues. Pre-filed bills have just begun winding their way through committee assignments. And it costs a lot of money to turn the lights on and gas-up legislators’ cars.
           
“Everybody knows the first week of the session is [expletive],” said one legislator requesting anonymity. And then another. Then a third decided not to cuss, and just called it “a waste of time.”
           
“Other than those of us on Ways and Means and its subcommittees, I don’t see the point in anyone else being here,” said Rep. Chip Limehouse (R-Charleston), not one of the aforementioned, or coarser, legislators.
           
Sen. Greg Ryberg (R-Aiken) said the only reason for the legislature to be in session this week, other than to lay down some rules for the coming session, was for members to meet in “back rooms, front rooms, wherever, to figure out what to do about our budget situation.”
           
The state’s current fiscal year baseline budget has been trimmed by over $1 billion since summer, thanks to mid-year cuts spurred by falling tax revenues. The current baseline has been reset to $5.9 billion.
           
“Well, the first reason we need to be here is that the Constitution requires it,” said Sen. Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston).
           
The bigger reason, said McConnell, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, was that “deep problems the state is facing at this time” required immediate attention.
           
That being said, McConnell is also the chair of the Senate’s powerful Judiciary Committee which last year pushed through a rule change that allows for half of the legislature to b e in recess while the other half is hard at work on the other side of the Statehouse rotunda.
           
So next week, while Ways and Means subcommittees take in budget information from a host of stage agencies departments, the rest of the legislature will not be in session, but furloughed.
           
The result could be as much as $50,000 a week saved, considering the per diems, gas mileage reimbursements, and annual pay, for each week. Currently, the plan is for the legislature to take off as many as four weeks this legislative session.
 
Weeks being considered
           
The Senate will vote on whether to take off the week of April 7 to April 9 later in the session, according to its clerk’s office. They are also considering allowing members to only meet in committee and budget meetings Feb. 4 to Feb. 6, March 17 to March 19, and May 5 to May 7.
           
According to the clerk’s office in the House, members there are discussing not only taking off next week, but also March 6 to March 20, and the weeks of April 6 to April 17.
           
The legislature “is like any other state agency or department that’s been hit with budget cuts,” said Rep. Dan Cooper (R-Piedmont), who chairs Ways and Means. “We have to live within our budget. We’ve already furloughed staff members.”
           
Gov. Mark Sanford called for the legislative session to be cleaved neatly in half, from 66 to 33 days, in his executive budget. If Sanford’s plan were to be followed, it could save more than $660,000.
           
House Minority Leader Harry Ott (D-St. Matthews) didn’t warm to Sanford’s plan, but as a member of Ways and Means, he agreed with the growing sentiment that the rest of legislature doesn’t have much to do “until we finish doing our job.”
           
Crystal ball: Taking off time to save money makes sense. Legislators taking off time to take care of businesses impacted by a slipping economy is also an attractive option to some legislators. But the question will be, how much is too little? There may come a time when the time spent away actually costs the state more money. If not, then small-government proponents will point (perhaps rightly) out that South Carolina doesn’t need one of the longest legislative sessions in the country.

RECENT NEWS
 
Legislative Agenda

Meetings continue

With the General Assembly adjourned next week to save money and so that some members can attend President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, there are only two non-House Ways and Means meetings scheduled.

The first will be the EIA and Improvement Mechanisms Subcommittee of the Education Oversight Committee meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 in 201 Blatt.

The second will be Thursday when the Natural Gas Exploration Feasibility Study Committee will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Trident Technical College Nursing Auditorium in North Charleston.

As for Ways and Means, a host of subcommittee meetings are scheduled throughout the week, at which agencies and departments will continue to provide information crucial to crafting the 2009-10 budget. Among them: 

  • On Tuesday, the Ways and Means Regulatory subcommittee will meet at 10 a.m. in 501 Blatt and reconvene at 2 p.m. The Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice subcommittee at 1 p.m. in 305 Blatt.
  • On Wednesday, the Regulatory subcommittee will meet again in 501 Blatt, and reconvene once again at 2 p.m.. The Economic Development and Natural Resources subcommittee will meet at 10 a.m. in 523 Blatt.
  • On Thursday, the HHS and Medicaid subcommittee will meet at 10 a.m. in1 08 Blatt.
Radar Screen

Tracking tax reform

Everywhere you look or listen, in the Statehouse, somebody is talking about tax reform: governors, legislators, wonks, Realtors. The trick is figuring out whether the talker is doing so for the good of the state as a whole, or for the benefit of a deep-pocketed group.

For example, the state’s Realtors association held forth this week on the first floor of the Statehouse, calling for doing away with Act 388, which did away with property taxes on primary homes as a primary source for education funding and reset taxable values on date of sales versus five-year reassessments. Several legislators, some of whom were Realtors themselves, lined up to concur. While this might sound piecemeal, if enough pieces show up, somebody might solve the tax puzzle.
Palmetto Politics

Olive branch or bee hive?

Gov. Mark Sanford took to the rostrum this week to deliver his annual State of the State Address (text). The address was Sanford’s stock and trade: lower taxes, break the “monopoly” of public schools, restructure state government and a spew I-told-you-so’s.
 
But it also included language that has been interpreted around the state as an “olive branch” offered to legislators. The passage came when the governor was discussing the state’s current economic woes: “Our differences are in the past, and from my perspective, bygones are bygones – and all that matters is what we do from this day forward.”
 
Sanford has talked reconciliation in the past, only to further divorce himself from the General Assembly later. It’s yet to be seen if the governor is finally ready to work with the legislature or, if as some fear, it was merely a case of Sanford forgiving bees for stinging him after he whacked their hive. Repeatedly.
 
Sore loser
 
Former Charleston-area Rep. Wallace Scarborough informed the House this week that he was withdrawing his election appeal request because it would serve as a distraction to the chamber. The House Judiciary Committee was to hear the appeal Wednesday. That day, House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R-Charleston) announced that fellow Republican Scarborough had dropped his challenge, prompting several grumbled jokes amongst the representatives on the floor that Scarborough had finally realized what everyone else figured out in November: Democrat Anne Peterson Hutto won the seat by 211 votes.
 
Gov. Robert Ford?
 
State Sen. Robert Ford (D-Charleston) announced this week his intention to (maybe, kinda, sorta) run for governor in 2010 with a pro-video poker/anti-sagging pants platform.
 
Half of that platform could result in a big campaign contributions from video poker allies. When asked what would be the biggest difference between Gov. Mark Sanford’s current administration and a Ford administration, one highly-placed House staffer snorted, “telling [Ways and Means chairman] Dan Cooper why 15 percent of the state’s annual budget would have to go for scratch-off lottery tickets.”
 
Mean Joke of the Week
 
Heard around the Statehouse: “The only person sent home by illegal immigration reform was Jim Ritchie.”
 
Ritchie, the former Senate majority whip, lost a close primary last year, in part, because of his stance on E-Verify requirements that eventually passed.
Commentary

Lift the hood on "reform" efforts

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher

 JAN. 16, 2009 – “Reform.”

It’s a word that’s seriously in danger of being neutered politically. Why? Because just about everyone seems to be attaching it to their partisan agendas for, umm, “change.”
 
Take the case of “constitutional reform.”
 
At first glance, it sounds kind of good. You might think of a variety of reasons to change the Constitution - - to have a stronger governor, consolidate school districts, set a rigid abortion policy, transform local government or to reverse past court decisions that you think need fixing.
 
In Alabama, talk of constitutional reform means having a new Constitutional Convention to rewrite the state’s constitution completely. And in Alabama, the only state without provisions to allow local governments to set local tax rates, it makes a lot of sense. Since 1901, the Alabama Constitution has been amended more than 800 times, mostly for local legislation.
 
But South Carolina isn’t Alabama. Since our 1895 Constitution, we’ve passed about 90 amendments, including a sweeping overhaul in the mid-1970s to trash outdated sections and a reframing of the Judiciary about 10 years later. In a lot of ways, we have a relatively fresh Constitution, despite its 50 pages of text. 
 
Another reason it might be bad to “reform” the whole Constitution here is that it would throw the entire document open to change, which could seriously erode civil rights and liberties. Imagine, for example, if South Carolina got rid of the constitutional protection that makes all marshes in the state public property? That might mean there would be a lot more development on the coast. 
 
“The Constitution not only protects the poor man from government, but the rich man from the mob,” said former Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Sanders. 
 
A better way than wholesale constitutional reform is to use the perfectly good existing avenue for change -- the constitutional amendment process. It works, albeit imperfectly, but using it provides stability to the political and legal system of the state.
 
Other “reforms” you might hear soon:
 
Tax reform. Some Republicans, such as Gov. Mark Sanford, want “tax reform” that gets rid of the corporate income tax. Others want tax reform that gets rid of special-interest sales tax exemptions. 
 
Structural reform. Some want changes in the officers that have to be elected statewide. Others seek a new Department of Administration to replace our odd executive-legislative hybrid, the state Budget and Control Board. Still others see structural reform as strangling government and eliminating whole functions. 
 
Education reform. Some want vouchers to use public money for private education. For others, reform is overhauling the school formula financing system.
 
Rule of thumb: Be wary of all reform until you understand the details.
 
* * *
 
Thumbs down to Sanford for using the State of the State address to poke legislators in the eyes. While many media reports touted the address as an olive branch being extended to the legislature by the governor, that’s not the case if you really think about what he meant behind the smooth talk. Our television got turned off at this remark:
 
"The differences between my views and the views of many in this room on matters involving budgets and spending have been widely documented and are well known. They need not be reviewed here tonight, and there is no satisfaction in vindication on budget matters when the people of our state are suffering under the difficult economic times we long believed would come."

Translation: “I am vindicated! I was right on the economy all of these years by calling for cuts, cuts, cuts and you were wrong.  You should have listened to me then, so listen to me now as I say the same things.”
 
The speech was typical for Sanford - - a brazen attempt to woo lawmakers to a narrow-minded agenda that has changed little in six years. 
 
Legislators should see through this charade of leadership, as state Sen. Vincent Sheheen of Camden referenced in Democratic response to Sanford:
 
“We cannot allow it to be used as an excuse to fulfill an anti-government agenda. They say that government can never work, and then they try to prove themselves right.”

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

Past commentaries
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My Turn

SC should be model in responding to crisis

By RICHARD W. RILEY
Excerpted from prepared remarks; republished with permission

NOTE:  Former Gov. and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley delivered these inspirational remarks Monday at a dinner honoring Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, as the fourth recipient of the David Wilkins Award for Excellence in Legislative Leadership, a program of Furman University’s Riley Institute.

JAN. 12, 2009 -- What a great evening this is for all of us to meet together as citizens, businessmen and women, parents and government officials. We are all interested in making our state an even better place to live, to work, to be educated, and to make our state a model of how people can work together to solve the huge challenges which threaten our state and country. 

I can think of no better way to start South Carolina’s policymaking session than by thanking the public servants who are charged with undertaking the people’s business.   We do that by recognizing those legislators who demonstrate exemplary leadership that is diplomatic, inclusive, and people centered.   They are the ones who make our State a better place for all South Carolinians.
 
We live in a great State . . . it is a remarkable and beautiful place . . . from the Lowcountry through the Pee Dee and Midlands and on to our Piedmont and mountains.   And it is filled wonderful people.   I tell everybody that I don’t want to live anywhere else, nor do so many people who are moving here from all over the country.
 
Yet to say that we South Carolinians are living in challenging times is a massive understatement.  We sit in the midst of an economic downturn of immense proportion, one that has an impact on the very core of what we are and what we do in South Carolina.  This recession has put thousands of our citizens out of work, bankrupted essential companies, and resulted in the elimination and cutback of some of the most valuable services the people and businesses of our state need.
 
But these are times that define us as to who we are in South Carolina.  These are times that require us to rise above pettiness and partisanship, to move as one state, Republican and Democrat, men and women, black and white, young and old, to place our state, our South Carolina, as the national model of how America should respond to this crisis.
 
In these times, we don’t have time to waste on blame and mistrust nor temporary and popular quick fixes; rather we can and must treat this current circumstance as a unique opportunity for long term advantages for our state.  And, we can only do that by working together to construct the common sense policies that posture
 
South Carolina for the future.  This requires courage, leadership, intelligence and selflessness.  This requires all of us, citizens, and those we elect as public servants, to be the best we can be.  South Carolinians love a challenge and we have one now, let us truly move as one people to make our state the American leader in common sense, selfless policy making and leadership.
Feedback

1/9: Report is awesome

To Statehouse Report:

I'm a native of South Carolina but am on the road traveling most of the year.  SC Statehouse Report is awesome! It's fun to keep tabs on all the things the people in the Statehouse are doing, not doing, or trying to do. Keep up the good work. I am spreading the word!

-- Matt Weaver, Sumter, SC

1/15:  Raise gas tax

To Statehouse Report:

It is imperative that South Carolina take this opportunity to raise the tax on gasoline, which is currently 10 cents lower than our neighboring states of Georgia and North Carolina.

The positive implications for raising the gasoline tax are many, including lower usage(importing less), more revenue for decaying infrastructure, and a positive impact on our environment.

-- SC Citizen Journal
Scorecard

Up, down and in-between

Education. Three state colleges -- USC, Clemson, and the College of Charleston -- were ranked as some of the 100 "Best Values in Public Colleges" for 2009 by Kiplinger's magazine. More: Greenville News
Rice. Anderson native and former Boston Red Sox left-fielder Jim Rice was elected into the MLB Hall of Fame this week in his last year of eligibility.
 
Transparency. New House rules regarding recorded voice votes installed as one of the first orders of business should go a long way to silencing critics. The Senate’s version, eh, it’s okay.

Sanford. He actually espoused raising a tax, increasing the state’s per-pack cigarette tax from 7 to 37 cents -- but only if it meant installing a state income “flat tax.” Sounds great … on talk radio.
 
Houses. It’s a buyers’ market. Too bad nobody has any money.
 
 
Tax crisis. It’s great that many, such as The Post and Courier, across the state are coming to the realization that tax cuts are partly to blame for the current financial strain in Columbia but we’ve been reporting as such for months. Geez, did we just pull a Sanford?
 
Autism. After tough battles to extend state health care offerings to families with children suffering from autism, less than 7 percent of state funds meant to help those families had been spent over a three-year span by the state agency in charge of doing so; on top of that, the agency has since cut a further $3 million from the program. More: Greenville News.
 
Cigarettes. The American Lung Association said America’s failure at stopping smoking was worst in seven states. We, of course, made the list. More: The New York Times.
Stegelin

The State of the State
credits

Statehouse Report

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

Phone: 843.670.3996

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