Tag: South Carolina

General Assembly Failing Citizens Again

The South Carolina No One Mentions

“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

I love South Carolina.

I love the fact that in a matter of a few hours I can be in the mountains or along the coast and never have to leave the state.

Great football is divided by only a few hours, and there is arguably no greater scenery anywhere with pink azaleas, Angel Oak trees blowing in a cool breeze, and yes, of course, the Palmetto trees and a crescent moon setting.

South Carolina is Charleston, the Grand Strand, Columbia and Greenville.

It’s where my family has called home since 1983, where I lost my mother to cancer and where I graduated from college, met my wife and got my first start in journalism.

It’s home to the Loris Bog-Off Festival, the Irmo Okra Strut, and the Prosperity’s Hoppin’ Fest.

It’s the home of Due West, Green Sea, Fair Play, Ketchuptown, Ninety Six and Wide Awake.

In case you haven’t figured it out, South Carolina is the home to many amazing things.

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Speaker Lucas on Sine Die

June 4, 2015
House Adjourns Regular Legislative Session for 2015

(Columbia, SC) – House Speaker Jay Lucas (District 65-Darlington) released the following statement after the House adjourned Sine Die. By law, the South Carolina General Assembly is required to complete its legislative business by 5pm on the first Thursday in June. The adopted Sine Die resolution recognizes the completion of business, but allows the House of Representatives to return in the coming weeks to debate and consider gubernatorial vetoes, conference reports and budgetary matters.

At the beginning of the year, Speaker Lucas outlined four priorities for this year’s legislative session: (1) Infrastructure reform, (2) Ethics reform, (3) Criminal domestic violence reform, and (4) Education reform.

“The House of Representatives kept our promises to the people of South Carolina and we did everything we said we would do. We overwhelmingly passed a three-part roads bill that reforms the Department of Transportation and puts forth a responsible plan to fix our roads. We rallied around domestic violence survivors by working with the Senate to pass a bill that protects our citizens from senseless abuse. We reformed our ethics laws to restore public confidence in elected officials. And we continue to work on an education improvement package so that every child in every part of our state will be given access to a twenty-first century education. The progress made on these issues is a reflection of the steadfast efforts our members put forth over the last nine months.

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Contact: Caroline Delleney
(803) 734-3125
CarolineDelleney@schouse.gov

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SC Republican Leader Seeks Infrastructure Debate

COLUMBIA, S.C. – In an attempt to address the State’s pressing highway infrastructure issue, Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler moved to deviate from the Order of business in the S.C. Senate to consider the roads bill. There were several attempts to prevent that motion by members of the democratic caucus, despite earlier statements that roads were their priority. However Senator Peeler’s motion prevailed stopping the current filibuster for the day. By doing so, the Senate gave third reading to the Pain Capable Bill, which would prohibit abortions after 20 weeks and began debate on the much anticipated bill regarding highway infrastructure.

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Press: Speaker Reacts to Infrastructure Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Delleney (803)734-3125 CarolineDelleney@schouse.gov May 7, 2015 Speaker Lucas Reacts to Senate GOP Infrastructure Plan (Columbia, SC) – House Speaker Jay Lucas (District 65-Darlington) issued the following statement in response to the Senate Republican Caucus’ newly created infrastructure plan. “The Legislature has an obligation to the […]

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Curtis M. Loftis Jr., South Carolina’s treasurer

Treasurer Curtis Loftis – The Message

SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis extends the following letter to his South Carolina constituents.

Loftis has been a watchdog and critic of SC pension fund investment since he first assumed the office of Treasurer in January 2011.

While the fight has been difficult, Loftis is making some headway in lowering pension fees paid by the SC Retirement System Investment Commission and raising the investment percentage realized.

The letter from Loftis:

Hi,

I’m passionate about protecting South Carolina’s money. Actually, it’s your money and the State should manage it with care.

You wouldn’t overpay for a service or accept poor investment returns and neither should the State. Unfortunately, the penalty for the State’s mismanagement of money is that you must pay higher taxes and employee contributions.

I was featured in the financial section of Sunday’s New York Times concerning the best ways to manage and protect your money. Please take a few minutes and give the article a read – it is important to me that you see my efforts on your behalf.

As the custodian of the State’s funds, making sure your money is protected and properly managed is my first priority. It’s what you elected me to do…and I am on it!

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Upcoming Convention of States Project Events

I just wanted to let you know that in the coming weeks I will be giving a couple of presentations on Article V and the Convention of States Project in two different locations across South Carolina. Many of you have questions or might be interested in learning how to explain the Constitution and what the founders left us in Article V to other people. Perhaps you have friends in either the Rock Hill or Myrtle Beach area that you can forward this email to so that they might be able to attend.

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Grand Strand Daily and SC Hotline Merge

Grand Strand Daily and SC Hotline have merged into one internet publication.

Paul Gable will be providing the editorial content for the joint publication while Jeffrey Sewell will be handling the technical aspects of the operation.

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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

S.C. Ridiculous Second Amendment Education Act

One of the most ridiculous prefiled bills for this year’s General Assembly legislative session proposes to establish a Second Amendment Education Day in South Carolina schools.

Sponsored by House representatives Alan Clemmons, Richard Yow and Garry Smith, the bill (H3023), if passed, would establish December 15th of each year as Second Amendment Awareness Day.

It also would require three consecutive weeks of instruction on the Second Amendment each grading year from a curriculum developed or adopted by the National Rifle Association.

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Press Release: Nearly 1 in 4 South Carolina Residents Volunteer; Two-Thirds Help Neighbors

As the holiday season highlights acts of kindness and opportunities to give back, a new federal study shows that 1 in 4 South Carolina residents volunteered through an organization and two-thirds helped their neighbors last year.

The annual Volunteering and Civic Life in America research, released on December 16 by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), shows that service to others continues to be a priority for hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians.

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More Freedom of Information in South Carolina?

A S.C. House Ethics and Freedom of Information Act Study Committee will recommend legislation that could make government information more open to request.

The committee is proposing to put a time limit on the production of public documents of between 30-35 days after an FOIA request is agreed to.

However, like everything regarding public information in South Carolina, there is a hitch. After two free hours of work on producing the documents, a public agency would be able to charge the citizen requesting the documents up to $100 per hour for the time needed to fulfill the FOIA request.

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