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SC State House Weekly Legislative Preview Feb 22, 2010

The SUNNIE harmon & john DeWORKEN Group

February 22, 2010 Weekly State House Preview

Every weekend, The SUNNIE harmon & john DeWORKEN Group will post a commentary on this location explaining what we think will be occurring at the South Carolina State House this coming week.  You will read from on insider’s point of view.  We do this to better inform you.

We briefly want to update you on last week’s happenings before giving you a preview for this week. The SC House passed an Employment Security Commission reform bill which among other things creates a new cabinet agency to be overseen by the governor – the Department of Workforce.  In a press release last week Speaker Harrell said, “By reforming and restructuring the ESC into a Department of Workforce, our state’s employment agency will now work jointly with our job creation agencies putting our citizens back to work.  Today, we made the necessary changes that will bring much needed oversight and accountability to this broken agency.  Our state’s unemployed will now have a more responsive and more effective job placement agency working for them.”  The Senate also debated ESC Reform last week before adjourning debate Thursday afternoon.  Debate is expected to resume on the Senate floor this week. 

Last week we talked about the Senate setting H.3305, a bill that would amend the state’s constitution to guarantee a worker’s right to a secret ballot when voting in a union election, for special order.  This important piece of legislation was introduced last year by Representative Eric Bedingfield (R-Greenville) to help combat the Employee Free Choice Act.  The business community hopes to see the Senate debate this legislation this week.

A House Judiciary subcommittee reported out the House’s version of tort reform with a favorable report and the full House Judiciary committee is set to debate this bill Tuesday.

As expected, the House Ways & Means committee voted out a bill that would create a fund to help attract low cost air carriers to South Carolina.   House bill 4343, may be debated on the House floor as early as this week.  The second bill we discussed last week was Speaker Bobby Harrell’s comprehensive economic development bill entitled the SC Economic Development Competitiveness Act of 2010.  It was actually carried over from Tuesday’s full ways and means meeting until Wednesday to give committee members more time to review one of the amendments.  Wednesday it was reported out of committee with a favorable report from Chairman Dan Cooper and an unfavorable report from Orangeburg’s Rep Gilda Cobb-Hunter and Richland’s Rep Joe Neal.  The bill now awaits debate on the House floor.

Senate Committees
 

The Senate committee meeting calendar is jam packed again this week.  Thursday, the Joint Transportation Review Committee will meet to continue screening applicants for the SC Department of Transportation Commission.

House Committees

The House Ways & Means Committee will be working tirelessly this week on the budget.   Chairman Cooper has called a meeting of the full committee to review provisos Monday and the committee is expected to work most of the week in order to reach an agreement on a balanced budget to present to the full House in two weeks. 

41 Legislative Days Left until Sine Die Adjournment (June 3, 2009)

Email us at Comments@SunnieandDeWorken.com

News Radio WORD/Black Box SC State House Preview Podcast

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SC State House Weekly Legislative Preview Feb 14,2010

The SUNNIE harmon & john DeWORKEN Group

February 14, 2009 Weekly State House Preview

Every weekend, The SUNNIE harmon & john DeWORKEN Group will post a commentary on this location explaining what we think will be occurring at the South Carolina State House this coming week.  You will read from on insider’s point of view.  We do this to better inform you.

This week might be the busiest in terms of workload so far this year for both Senate and House members, with the floor calendars and the meeting schedules jam-packed with some very important proposals that directly impact South Carolinians. 

Senate

With the Senate recommitting the Point of Sale bill, which was supported by the realtors, back to committee (shelving the proposal for an inconclusive amount of time), the full Senate will focus on a number of other contentious bills this week.

The Employment Security Commission (ESC) debacle seems to be the hottest issue of the week, with more seemingly justifiable attacks on the agency.  In addition to a study released last month stating that the agency handed out more than $171 million to fired-for-cause unemployed individuals, Otis Rawl, president and CEO of the SC Chamber called for the resignation of the ESC director and its three commissioners for failing to implement House recommendations to get its agency in order.  Adding to the questions, Comptroller Richard Eckstrom called for a FBI investigation into what he called a serious accounting discrepancy related to its $688 million received from federal stimulus dollars. In the meantime, the agency continues to fall behind in its unfunded liabilities (around $1 billion), which means it owes that much more money that it is receiving.  As a result, the Senate will continue its consideration of a complete overhaul of the commission this week on the Senate floor (S.391).

Also on the Senate floor this week is a bill (10^th Amendment) that would proclaim South Carolina’s state’s rights to the federal government.  Returning this Senate bill, S.424, from the House, the Senate will either concur with the House amendments or will send the bill back to the House, ultimately ending with the creation of a conference committee (three representatives from the House and three representatives from the Senate) to hammer out the differences.

Finally on the Senate floor, the body will attempt to get to a bill that tries to combat the federal legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act, otherwise known as Card Check.  This bill, H.3305, sponsored by Rep. Eric Bedingfield, guarantees the rights of workers to a secret ballot election when voting whether to unionize or not (the federal bill takes that right away).

Senate committee meetings will be full this week. On Tuesday, in the Senate Judiciary Committee, a provision that prohibits minors from using cell phones while driving an automobile will be considered.  Also, SC State Ports Authority President Jim Newsome will present an update on the ports to the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

House

The House this week could take up the ESC reform bill, H.3442.  According to the SC Chamber, the House ESC subcommittee, led by Rep. Kenny Bingham, will offer an amendment to make the ESC a cabinet level agency, called the Department of Workforce.  The amendment will also provide that the commissioners be relieved of any administrative duties, and restrict payouts to unemployed workers who were fired for gross misconduct.

The House could also take up bills to restructure government, namely eliminating the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of State from the General Election ballot and have those two officials be appointed by the Governor.

House committees will, too, be busy this week.

A House committee will take up H.4276, which provides the rights of homeowners and tenants to display an American flag in their yard or a designated area.  Unfortunately in recent years, homeowner associations have enacted rules to prohibit the exhibition of flags, including Old Glory.

Committee Chairman Phil Owens of the House Education and Public Works Committee will consider a bill that would fine individuals up to $100 for texting while driving.

The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Dan Cooper, has a busy schedule this week.  It will take up three bills of note: H.4200, a bill that qualifies additional facilities that are being built for tax credits; H.4343, a bill that incentivizes low-cost carriers for flying in and out of South Carolina airports; and, H.4478, a bill that overhauls economic development incentives and initiatives with the intent of creating jobs and lowering the unemployment rate in South Carolina.

48 Legislative Days Left until Sine Die Adjournment (June 3, 2009)

Email us at Comments@SunnieandDeWorken.com