
	The Sandifer Update
July 2007
CONTACT Telephone 24-Hour Message Center (864) 885-2240 Mailing Address 112 Cardinal Drive Seneca, SC 29672 Email bill@sandifer.us Website www.billsandifer.com	Welcome Thank you for subscribing to my email updates. I am pleased to introduce The Sandifer Update, an email newsletter that will provide you with the latest news from the South Carolina General Assembly. It is designed to keep you informed on whats going on in the state capital and how it affects you, your family, and our community. I welcome your input on issues and hope you will contact me with your comments, questions and concerns. Feel free to forward this update to your friends and neighbors. I hope you have a great summer! Honored to serve you, 2007 Legislative Update This years legislative session is over and I wanted to highlight some of our accomplishments. Prior to doing so, I think it is important to explain some of the actions that occurred at the end of the session. Normally I would not write about them in much detail. However, Ive received so many questions that I feel compelled to do so. The Final Days of Session The session was scheduled to officially end at 5 p.m., Thursday, June 7. However, because we had not finalized the state budget, Department of Transportation reform, Workers Compensation reform, and tax relief, we called ourselves back into session on June 19, 20, and 21. During those three days, we passed the bills I just mentioned. We then called ourselves back into session at noon, June 28 to end at 5 p.m. on June 29. During this two-day session, we only considered vetoes by the Governor. (It is important to keep in mind that the state budget goes into affect July 1^st.) During the period from early June until we adjourned on June 29, it seemed that various newspapers throughout the state had dueling guest editorials by the Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of Commerce, the President Pro-Tem of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Each of those editorials spelled out a particular viewpoint. The press and the Governor have made an issue over the speed with which we addressed the vetoes. The Legislature and the Governor knew that we would only be in session from noon on the 28^th until 5 p.m. on the 29^th. The Governor issued 243 vetoes on the budget and approximately 10 more on other bills for a total of greater than 250 vetoes that we had to address. If we had allowed only 10 minutes on each one, the time required would have been nearly forty-two hours. It was simply physically impossible to give each one of this large number of vetoes lengthy debate. Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Budget After all of the machinations, we sustained 15 of the vetoes on the budget and a few on other bills. I believe the budget that we finally approved is good for South Carolina. The following are a few brief items in the budget: Funding for 100 new State Troopers, $20 million in matching funds for tourism development throughout the state, Total elimination of the state sales tax on groceries effective 11/1/2007, Reduction in income tax, Full funding for school bus fleet rotation, Full funding of Education Finance Acts Base Student Cost, and $1.5 million each for Clemson, USC, and MUSC for improved data transfer capability with other research centers in the country. Workers Compensation Reform Workers Compensation reform has been one of my personal top agenda items for the last few years. I am very pleased that we passed this critical piece of legislation and it has become law. Although I am extremely pleased that it passed, it is not as strong as I would have liked. However, it is a huge improvement over our previous law. The following are a few provisions of the new law: Sets a timeline for the orderly dissolution of the Second Injury Fund, Strengthens requirements for expert medical testimony, Requires that employees must establish, with medical evidence, a connection between repetitive activities and an on the job injury (repetitive trauma), Provides for appeals to go directly from the Employment Security Commission to the Court of Appeals, and Strengthens the crime classification and penalties for intentionally making a false statement or misrepresentation (fraud). S.C. Department of Transportation Reform Most South Carolinians are aware of the multitude of problems associated with the Department of Transportation (DOT). After a number of hearings by the House and Senate and a lot of hard work, we passed a significant DOT reform bill. The following are a few of the highlights: Commissioners will continue to be elected by the Legislature, but cannot serve more than one four-year term, Candidates for commission seats will be screened for qualification, The Commission must develop an objective prioritization of projects, Governor appoints the Secretary of Transportation, who will manage day-to-day operations of the department and serves at the pleasure of the Governor, and Periodic internal and external audits will be performed of the department. For the final word on all 2007 bills, visit www.scstatehouse.net. Copyright 2007 Paid for by Sandifer For The House 112 Cardinal Drive Seneca, SC 29672-2257 Message Center (864) 885-2240 bill@sandifer.us www.billsandifer.com

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