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Extended Legislative Session Update 2007

We have recently completed a very busy legislative session in Columbia. The end of the session was actually extended three times.

-        The first time was to allow time for us to pass the state budget, DOT reform legislation and Workers Compensation reform legislation.

-        The second time was for two days to allow the legislature an opportunity to address the Governor's vetoes.

-        And, the third time was for one day to elect a new Treasurer for the state of South Carolina. South Carolina law dating back to the 1800's requires the legislature to conduct this election when there is a vacancy like the one created by the resignation of Thomas Ravenel.

It is important to say that on each of the three occasions when the Legislature returned to session, we did so WITHOUT pay.

I am very proud of all we were able to accomplish this year. Prior to next year's session I look forward to the opportunity to spend more time in our community talking to our neighbors and working to create solutions to the challenges that lie ahead.

You may have read or heard a little of what was done in the legislature. However, I want to share the following information to help update you on the final status of some key legislation and the progress that we made during this year's session. I hope you realize that this report is extremely limited by space constraints. It certainly does not include all of the legislation that was addressed this year.

TAX RELIEF

Because we realized the importance of protecting your wallet, we enacted several much-needed tax relief measures. This year's budget completely eliminates the sales tax on groceries effective Nov. 1st and reduces the income tax. These two measures will save taxpayers an estimated $200 million. The tax cuts are not as comprehensive as many of us would have liked. Strong fiscal conservatives such as me will continue to fight hard to further reduce the tax burden and let you keep more of your hard-earned money.

IMPROVING EDUCATION

We continued our policy of making education our number one priority.

-        We provided approximately $30 million to replace about 345 school buses and committed ourselves to a 15-year school bus replacement program.

-        We increased funding in the budget for the LIFE, HOPE, and Palmetto Fellows scholarships, thereby increasing the amounts of the scholarships awarded to our students.

-        We recognized the existing shortage of qualified nurses and the fact that the shortage will get worse. To address this problem we passed "The Critical Needs Nursing Initiative Scholarship, Loan, and Grant Program."

-        A bill to expand the existing virtual schools program was approved, thereby allowing more young people to take some high school courses on line.

-        An effort to utilize your tax dollars to pay for children to attend private schools failed to gain approval again this year.

THE BUDGET

As I stated earlier, we reduced taxes by approximately $200 million. Not only does this year's spending plan return money to the taxpayers, it provides additional funding for education, health care, and pay raises for state employees. We provided more than $100 million in K-12 scholarship money, more than $9 million for 100 more state troopers, funding for more SLED and Dept. of Natural Resources officers and $4 million for an AIDS drug resistance research program. Because tourism is our state's largest industry, we allocated nearly $25 million for tourism promotion and development throughout the state (not just the coast).

In the last few days, most of us have read or heard about a down turn in the funds collected by the state. The Comptroller General has indicated that the shortfall is approximately $81 million. When we write the state budget, it is based upon the estimated revenue. That estimate is provided by the Board of Economic Advisors (BEA). I liken our budget to that of a church because it is based upon an estimate of the amount of money available. In this instance, it is critically important to realize that the shortfall does not affect the operations budget of the state. It simply reduces funding for items that we "want" to fund. We also have a very large reserve as a "rainy day" account to prevent having to reduce spending for operations. I know that $81 million is a lot of money, but when you compare it to the total budget, it is less than 1%. Anytime you can estimate income and be 99% accurate, I think you have done very well.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

This is one of our most pressing problems... and one of the toughest to solve. Unfortunately, national leaders have failed to enact comprehensive reform. I am personally concerned about whether Congress is likely to adopt any meaningful legislation anytime soon. Fortunately, South Carolina leaders are stepping up to the plate to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. Proposals in the South Carolina House and Senate would make it a felony to harbor illegal immigrants, and prohibit government contractors from hiring illegal immigrants. Also, businesses would be forced to pay state payroll taxes for illegal immigrants. I am very pleased that I am a co-sponsor of several of these pieces of legislation. I am confident that we will pass one or more of them next year.

WORKERS COMPENSATION REFORM

This has been one of my personal priority items for the last couple of years. I am pleased to report that a workers compensation reform plan passed the House and Senate and was signed into law by the Governor. It should mean lower insurance premiums for businesses. The measure aims to rejuvenate the state economy by helping small businesses' ability to compete in the marketplace and ultimately drive down costs for consumers. We hope to reduce employers' premiums by tightening benefits, restricting incidents covered by workers comp insurance, streamlining the appeals process, and reducing fraud. The legislation also eliminates the Second Injury Fund, which has been one of the causes of higher costs for workers compensation coverage.

HEALTH CARE

The House and Senate passed legislation and overrode the Governor's veto to expand insurance coverage for the treatment of childhood developmental disorders such as Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. The behavioral therapy costs for children diagnosed with these disorders before age eight will be covered by their insurance providers up to fifty thousand dollars annually until age 16. Legislators also set aside $85 million in new money for children enrolled in the state's Medicaid program.

CRACKING DOWN ON DRUNK DRIVING AND UNDERAGE DRINKING

Legislation cracking down on drunk driving has been approved. The measure calls for the use of "remote alcohol monitoring devices" and "ignition interlock devices" which prevent convicted drunk drivers from driving once a person's blood alcohol level reaches a certain level.

The bill also establishes tough new regulations to limit underage drinking including registration before purchasing beer kegs and much stiffer penalties for adults who give alcohol to minors.

DOT REFORM

An audit last year identified a multitude of problems at the Department of Transportation (DOT). The Department may have squandered millions of taxpayer dollars and it suffered from severe mismanagement. The House and Senate worked diligently to address these problems and ultimately passed comprehensive DOT reform which was signed into law. Through this reform, we hope to promote greater accountability by turning the administration of the DOT over to an executive director appointed by the Governor, and revising the criteria for decisions regarding hiring practices and road-maintenance projects. There is also a provision for periodic audits whereby the General Assembly may evaluate the reforms. You may be assured that we will be closely monitoring this agency.

ATM SAFETY

Citizens should not be in fear when using an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) for banking transactions. A new law provides that people who threaten or intimidate people using ATMs can face up to 20 years in prison, in addition to fines. We also established tougher penalties for panhandlers who harass people near ATMs. Our goal is to ensure greater safety for Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) users.

ENSURING ENERGY AVAILABILITY

The extreme heat over the last few weeks has strained the electric utilities to supply the power we need and that problem worsens every year. For that reason, we passed important legislation to encourage the electric utilities to build more nuclear base-load plants in South Carolina. The law allows the utilities to recover the cost of funds (such as interest) during the construction of the plants. This will help make the cost impact a little less when the plant is put in service.

We also clarified what customers the electric cooperatives are allowed to serve. Hopefully, this will prevent many of the very expensive lawsuits which the cooperatives have experienced in the past, thereby saving money for the electric customers.

For the final word on all 2007 bills, visit www.scstatehouse.net.

Copyright 2007 * Paid for by Sandifer For The House
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