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HUNGER
UP. Some 14.7 percent of South Carolina residents were
struggling with hunger, according to a new report by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. The S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice
Center says that means South Carolina ranks second highest
in the country for people with very low food security.More:
USDA.
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To parole or not to
parole
SC Attorney General Henry McMaster pushes for
the latter
By
Bill Davis,
Editor
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Davis
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NOV. 16, 2007 -- Just what should South Carolina, and by extension,
America, do with its crackheads and junkies?
That's really the question being posed by SC Attorney General Henry
McMaster's renewed call this week to abolish parole for state crimes.
"Certainly, we may have overreacted in the past in our haste
to stop drug crimes," McMaster explained this week, commenting
on mandatory sentencing as a response to the surge in crack cocaine's
popularity in American drug culture beginning in the 1980s. "There's
no doubt, [drug use] is a horrible thing, but we need now to reexamine
the situation and say, the answer is not to send people to jail
on their first drug offense."
This week, the federal government began debating whether it should
liberalize the process of releasing those convicted in federal court
of certain cocaine-related offenses.
Meanwhile, McMaster's solution is to save jail for criminals who
deserve jail, not the people who may have "gotten into scrapes
or snatched a pocketbook."
To free up $19,000-a-year berths in state prisons, he wants to
create new rung of courts - a so-called "middle court"
program similar to drug courts around the state that give judges
direct and immediate discretion on those falling afoul of state
drug laws.
Under McMaster's plan, judges would be allowed more alternative
sentencing latitude to assign non-violent crime committers to halfway
houses, public service hours and drug treatment.
Those not meeting conditions of the diverted sentencing could be
remanded on the spot back into custody, even if just for an eye-opening
few days, like McMaster said he's seen done in a Richland County
drug court held every Monday evening.
But as with all things in government, McMaster's plan would come
at a cost - - a cost that's sure to be debated in halls and task
force meetings before potentially becoming the dominant early issue
when the 2008 legislative session begins in January.
But
ending parole would be costly
If parole were done away with today - - which can't happen because
it would be an ex poste facto maneuver - - then much of the
state's some 23,000 inmates would see their incarceration time lengthen.
And that would be a very costly maneuver.
"We need to face the fact that the current system is already
running at full capacity," said Sen. Gerald Malloy (D-Hartsville),
chair of the Senate's Criminal Justice Task Force..
He said McMaster's call to end state probation would be discussed
at task force meetings in the coming weeks.
Echoing comments made this week by SC Department of Corrections
Director Jon Ozmint, Malloy wondered whether the legislature would
be willing to spend the money he thought it would take to build
enough prison to accommodate longer, more truthful sentences.
McMaster replied to the criticism, saying the cost of a safer society
was priceless. Additionally, he pointed out that a similar move
in Virginia actually slowed the swelling of that state's prison
population over the past decade. (Ozmint differed with this assertion
in various media reports.)
Following
the federal lead
Twenty years ago, the federal government did away with parole by
going to a truth-in-sentencing formula that ensures those convicted
serve at least 85 percent of their time. Following the fed's lead,
South Carolina removed parole in major crimes, those generally receiving
sentences of 20 or more years, in the mid-1990s.
"I've got about 17 pages of crimes in South Carolina that
you can't get parole for, and about 43 pages where a person still
can," complained McMaster, who'd like to see the latter number
drop to zero.
"Did you know that someone convicted of an Internet sex crime
involving a minor in South Carolina might only serve 25 percent
of the time they are sentenced to?" asked McMaster, who said
he thought it was a sentencing judge's job to decide at trial when
a criminal got out of jail, not a parole board's.
State Rep. Jim Harrison (R-Columbia), chair of the Judiciary Committee
in the House and sponsor of McMaster's bill in that body, said while
a judge knew how many years he had to give a man to keep him off
the street, state parole put the sentencing judge into a "guessing"
situation as to how many years a con would actually end up doing.
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your feedback. If you'd like to respond to something in SC
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McMaster's example for getting rid of parole is a Horry County
man who allegedly stabbed to death a 63-year-old woman while her
house burned after being released early from a previous conviction.
When asked why he was using a man who hadn't even been convicted
of the heinous crime as his example, McMaster bristled, saying he
had hundreds of other examples.
Political observers say they see McMaster's push for no more parole
to be a prelude to the 2010 governor's race, which McMaster said
was "baloney" as he had favored doing away with parole
since he ran for office in 1990.
"While we're at it, why don't we do away with parole, sin,
and depravity," joked J. David Woodard, a political science
professor at Clemson University for the past 25 years and a conservative
political consultant who is currently co-authoring a book with US
Sen. Jim DeMint.
While Woodard said McMaster's posturing doesn't rise to the level
of former Attorney General Charlie Condon's "faxing out his
daily accomplishments," he does see it as a politically-motivated
move. But, because of the complexity of the issues involved, he
wonders if it will be enough to encourage Joe Lunchpail to exclaim,
"This is the reason to elect him next year!"
Crystal ball: Getting tough on crime is an election year
tradition, so expect a lot of support and a lot of bluster come
January with everyone's seat in the Statehouse up for grabs. McMaster's
proposal does put the state GOP in a potentially odd position. How
will it balance tough-on-crime stances with desires to keep taxes
down? Prisons are very, very expensive and there appears to be real
concern in Columbia as to how the Department of Corrections is being
run under Ozmint? The linchpin will be the traction McMaster can
generate for the "middle courts" idea. If that gets support
and can be proven to work satisfactorily, then the end of parole
in South Carolina may be imminent.
Bill Davis is editor of SC Statehouse Report.
You can reach him at billdavis@statehousereport.com.
Talking turkey
With Thanksgiving break looming, turkey will be about the only
thing Columbia is talking about.
- Legislators from both chambers will meet Monday, Nov. 19, at
10 a.m. in the Blatt Building for the Education Oversight Committee,
and again the next day, Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 10 p.m. in the Gressette
Building for the Broadband, Technology and Communications Study
Committee.
- The Senate will host a Spending Caps Study Committee public
hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. at Greenville Technical
College.
Commerce under more
scrutiny
With radar screens pinging across the state after Gov. Mark Sanford's
team appeared to be caught with its hand in the Competitive Grants
cookie jar, another cabinet agency is beginning to get more and
more scrutiny: the Department of Commerce.
There reportedly has been concern in the Statehouse over the governor's
legislative goal of placing all industry tax-relief incentive programs
under Commerce's auspices. Why? One, because legislators have always
been leery of sharing power with the governor, especially Sanford.
Two, because it would mean they would no longer have the ability
to lure business and jobs to South Carolina.
As one observer quipped, "Economic development abhors a vacuum."
That has led to localities having to hire more professional economic
developers, who are working hard in spite of the state office. So,
after reviewing the job Commerce has done, as well as the $65 million
it is sitting on, expect criticism from legislators to increase.
Transparent spin
Gov. Mark Sanford was in full spin mode this week after Sen. Jake
Knotts (R-West Columbia) revealed the results of an investigation
he's led into how the money for the 2006 conference of the National
Governor's Association was handled. Of the roughly $1.3 million
the governor raised to host the event in Charleston, $150,000 of
it came from the state's Competitive Grants Program, which usually
gets painted as a legislative "slush" fund by Sanford.
That was slightly embarrassing for the governor, who earlier this
year said had he known the source, he would have refused the money.
Sure.
But then Knotts, who has been grumbling he's been placed on a Nixonian
"enemies" list by the Sanford administration, unveiled
that there was $101,000 left over, and that instead of returning
the money to either the conference's private donors, or the state,
Sanford directed a member of his administration to send the overage
to a group politically-friendly to him that may or may not have
completely formed. That much has been reported in every paper in
the state.
Here's our juicy bit to ad to the stew. Knotts claims to have the
email directing the six-figure money transfer, dated Aug. 1, 2007.
What is curious is that the message, according to Knotts, came immediately
after a Budget and Control Board meeting that was particularly unsatisfying
for the governor. It was also, Statehouse Report would like to point
out, issued two days before Converse Chellis was elected as state
Treasurer. So was the Sanford team pulling a fast one before a political
enemy took over the checkbook? Joel Sawyer, Sanford's spokesperson,
has yet to return inquiries.
- GEARing down. With the first-meeting showdown between
the joint GEAR Review Committee behind them, legislators and GEAR
authors this week had a much smoother second meeting. Sen. Larry
Martin (R-Pickens) said he continued to be impressed at the scope
of the work accomplished by the GEAR authors, but held firm that
there was still a wide difference of "interpretation"
between savings represented by GEAR Report suggestions.
"The idea that if we do everything the report says we
need to do, we will save the state $500 million just isn't there."
(The joke going around now is, which Sanford-loving group will
be the lucky recipients of the savings?)
Sanford's shiny suit of armor gets a little dirty
By
Andy Brack, Publisher
NOV. 16, 2007 - - After more than 10 years of sanctimony about
wasteful and pork-barrel government spending, Gov. Mark Sanford's
suit of armor doesn't have the same old shine these days.
Seems that the governor, a critic of a special government fund
for community projects, directed some unspent money from a pet project
paid for by that fund to a political group in which he's got an
interest.
For Sanford, whose name became synonymous with frugality after
reportedly sleeping on a futon in his congressional office in the
1990s, the rebuff by a senator from his own party must be particularly
tough. For state lawmakers, targets for years of Sanford's rants
and public relations stunts about spending, the political revenge
must taste particularly sweet.
According to various news reports, the issue that has dulled Sanford's
seemingly impenetrable armor of political charm involves the funding
of a 2006 meeting of the National Governor's Association in Charleston.
For that event, state taxpayers put up $150,000 from a grant fund
often used for local water and sewer projects or to help communities
with festivals and events. Over the last year, Sanford has been
a frequent critic of the fund.
To help pay for the three-day NGA event, Sanford and his friends
also raised an additional $1.2 million from private sources. When
all was said and done, more than $101,000 was left over. Instead
of paying back the state for its investment, as would make common
sense, Sanford in August redirected the funds to Carolinians for
Change, Inc., a political action committee formed by allies to promote
the governor's agenda.
"Grants are supposed to benefit the taxpayer," said state
Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington. "They certainly aren't supposed
to benefit the entity of a personal political preference."
Knotts, a former police detective who considered running as an
independent against Sanford after the veto of Lexington hospital
project, uncovered the information about the grant surplus and spread
it to the media.
Sanford, in an apparent attempt to spin out of the controversy,
has asked that the money be redirected back to the state. But his
office is still claiming that the grant money was used and spent
to seed private efforts to raise money to support the NGA conference.
Additionally, his office has the gall to suggest that all projects
funded through the grants program should be scrutinized for proper
spending.
But wait. There's more on the horizon: The government watchdog
group Common Cause is asking State Attorney General Henry McMaster
to investigate the whole thing. Stay tuned.
* * *
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FEEDBACK
POLICY
We encourage
your feedback. If you'd like to respond to something in SC
Statehouse Report, please send us an e-mail. We reserve
the right to edit for length and clarity. One submission allowed
per month. Submission of a comment grants permission to us
to reprint. Please keep your comment to 250 words or less:
feedback@statehousereport.com
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SHIFTING TO MCMASTER, the race to succeed Sanford got an obvious
push this week when McMaster proposed to end parole for state prisoners.
Why? First, he said he believed it would deter crime more because
criminals would serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. Second,
the public would regain confidence in the criminal justice system
and know that criminals were really serving sentences, not getting
out on good behavior.
But Jon Ozmint, the head of the state corrections department who
ran against McMaster for attorney general in 2002, said the plan
wouldn't work because it would thrust more people into an already
underfunded corrections system.
McMaster says a similar plan didn't cause Virginia jail populations
to soar when it got rid of parole a few years ago. Ozmint disagreed.
Whichever side you fall on, you can bet your boots the no-parole
plan is something else - - a political platform on which McMaster
may try to use to run for governor in 2010.
* * *
Some good and bad news:
- Health care. South Carolinians had the highest overall
health improvement in the country, according to new rankings by
the United Health Foundation. The state ranks 42nd in health care,
up from 48th. More: UHF.
- Schools. South Carolina schools didn't get any better
on new annual report cards. In fact, 18 school districts scored
unsatisfactory, up from 11 last year. More: The
State.
- Hunger. Some 15 percent of South Carolinians struggle
with hunger. The state ranks second in the nation in very low
food security, according to a new US
Department of Agriculture report.
Andy Brack, publisher of Statehouse Report,
can be reached at: brack@statehousereport.com.
Recent commentary
Watch
out for Grandma
Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:
11/5: Tax cut article shows more thinking needed
To Statehouse Report:
You hit on a lot of my "tax cut" fear with your latest
article. All of these tax cuts just solidify my thinking that
the majority of our legislature don't want to (1) do the work involved
to do a truly good job of analyzing the repercussions of tax cuts
(present and future), (2) do the work involved in cutting state
government by getting rid of the obsolete commissions, the redundant
"duties" by several agencies, or (3) setting a budget
based on conservative revenue projections......but they simply do
whatever it will take to get reelected!
At a recent Government Finance Officers Conference (where state
& local government finance directors, school district and higher
education finance directors, etc. came to find out how to do their
jobs using GAAP standards, doing more with less, and understanding
the "new laws" & "new budget" demands),
we heard from top federal and state government analysts who gave
us their ideas on the repercussions of the tax cuts, the state budget,
etc., and the LONG-TERM ups and downs in the state's revenue stream.
Its a shame that our state legislatures don't pay more attention
to these experts. Just one of many problems: the reserve fund is
formula driven as a percentage of tax revenue received - did they
reinforce the reserve fund with last years "surplus"?
Oh, no, it was doled out for whatever was out there on the non-budgeted
"wish list" .
Most of these politicians make their decisions based on small,
yet organized, loud minority groups (shame on us - the silent middle-class
majority) and also whatever they can do to get the projects to their
areas of the state , rather than look at what's best for South Carolina
as a whole, now and in the future.
Things to ponder:
11/15: Diverting public
funds
To Statehouse Report:
Question: What's the difference between Governor Sanford,
[Speaker] Bobby Harrell, and [Sen.] Glenn McConnell?
Answer: Governor Sanford publicly opposes government financing
of "non-profits" while advocating a policy of fiscal conservatism
and limited government, but engages in backroom deals that divert
public funds to the non-profits, for profits and charities of his
friends. Glenn McConnell, on the other hand, publicly opposes government
financing of "non-profits" while advocating a policy of
fiscal conservatism and limited government, but engages in backroom
deals that divert public funds to the non-profits, for profits and
charities of his friends. And Bobby Harrell publicly espouses fiscal
conservatism while engaging in backroom deals to funnel as much
government money as he can to those who can most help him become
Governor.
Click Sanford
accused of pork barreling and Sanford
under fire over grant to see the Emperor with no Clothes.
-- Dan Norfleet, Summerville, SC
Recent feedback
11/4: Property
tax relief law was overkill for rich, Bob Henderson, North
Charleston, SC
10/31: Brack
makes scary assumptions, Michael Greer, Summerville, SC
10/30: Not
removed on all grocery taxes, Bob Henderson, North
Charleston, SC
10/28: More
money won't help schools, David Whetsell, Lexington,
SC
10/26: Venture
program will have positive impact, Chad Walldorf, Mount
Pleasant, SC
10/24: Leadership
needed to strengthen state, Roxanne Walker, Greenville,
SC
10/9: Solar
power makes sense, Barbara Measter, Seabrook Island, SC
9/30: Not
for tax breaks, Bob Logan, Little River, SC
9/18: State
needs affordable medical help, birth control, Roxanne Walker,
Greenville, SC
More
FEEDBACK
Right-wing pragmatism
USC J-School Head Charles
Bierbauer finds the political right's balancing act fodder
for comment:
"Consider what the so-called "religious right"
is wrestling with in seeking a presidential candidate to back
in the 2008 elections. Once a bastion of faith-driven Republican
conservatism, the right has turned downright pragmatic.
-
Bar pass rate. RoguePlanet
finds it interesting that the last-second decision not to
include a portion of the state's most recent bar exam meant
that 20 people who flunked now passed it included "the
daughter of the South Carolina House Judiciary Committee,
Rep. Jim Harrison, and the daughter of a state circuit court
judge, Paul Burch."
Avery Institute
preserves state's African-American heritage
Founded in 1865, the Avery Normal Institute was the first accredited
secondary school for African Americans in Charleston. Established
by the New York based American Missionary Association (AMA),
the school was initially named in honor of New York abolitionist
Lewis Tappan. Renamed Saxton after Union General Rufus B. Saxton,
an assistant commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the
school was temporarily located in several buildings confiscated
by the federal government. It was staffed with Northern white
missionaries and members of Charleston’s antebellum free
black community, such as the Cardozo brothers, Thomas and Francis.
Thomas W. Cardozo (1865-1866) was the school’s first principal,
Francis the second (1866-1868).
Francis Cardozo campaigned to construct a permanent building.
He persuaded the AMA’s traveling secretary, E. P. Smith,
to seek $10,000 from the estate of the late Reverend Charles
Avery of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With additional aid from
the Freedmen’s Bureau, the new school building, renamed
Avery, was finished in 1868. Cardozo expanded the school’s
mission beyond primary and secondary education to include teacher
training. Prohibited from teaching in all but one of Charleston’s
black public schools, many graduates taught in one-room school
houses all over South Carolina, especially in the lowcountry.
Graduates excelled as educators. Subsequent principals, such
as Morrison A. Holmes, continued the school’s tradition
of excellence.
Principal Benjamin Cox (1915-1936) and his wife, Jeanette Keeble
Cox, revitalized Avery. Cox was the first black principal since
Cardozo. In 1917 Avery became a bulwark for the establishment
of the city’s National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP). Its first president was Edwin Harleston
(Avery, 1900), a noted artist. Principals Frank DeCosta (Avery,
1927) and L. Howard Bennett (Avery, 1931) moved the school in
a more progressive direction.
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WEEKLY
EXCERPTS
SC
Statehouse Report has partnered with USC
Press to provide readers with an interesting weekly
historical excerpt about the state. Each excerpt, which
is used with permission and not for republication, is
taken from The
South Carolina Encyclopedia, a 1,077-page book
published in 2006 with entries by almost 600 contributors
and edited by noted historian Walter Edgar. We hope you
enjoy this new feature.
|
Principal John F. Potts presided over Avery’s transition
to a public school 1947. Coinciding with the US Supreme Court’s
decision, Brown v. Board of Education, the county school board
closed Avery in 1954, citing financial reasons. Avery students
and teachers had long been active in the state’s civil
rights movement and continued to be so even after the school
was closed. Avery activists included Septima Clark, J. Andrew
Simmons, John McCray, John H. Wrighten, Jr., Arthur J. Clement,
Jr., and J. Arthur Brown.
Averyites also became leaders in preserving the lowcountry’s
African American heritage. In 1978 the Avery Institute of Afro-American
History and Culture was established to save and renovate the
original Avery school building at 125 Bull Street as a repository
of African American history and culture. With Lucille S. Whipper
(Avery, 1944) as its first president, the organization joined
the College of Charleston to found the Avery
Research Center for African American History and Culture.
On October 6, 1990 the grand opening of the renovated building
took place.
Pre-filing for the next session will begin around Thanksgiving.
Here's a "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" related to various political
news items from the past week:
Knotts. Sen. Jake Knotts, senator for the people, proved anyone
can do investigative journalism these days.
McMaster. Thank you, Henry, for letting DHEC know it shouldn't
sit on potentially embarrassing contamination leak info. The public
needs to know more than DHEC needs not to have to blush. More: Post
and Courier.
Butts. That "most" hospitals in South Carolina
are completely smoke-free may come as good news; imagine what families
visiting cancer wards think when they see on-site smoking patios.
Payday lenders. Thank you to the handful of these guys for
posting more honest rates in your windows; still, that you're charging
391 percent annually is beyond the pale. More: The
State.
Sanford. After preaching about transparency in government
spending since coming to office, Gov. Mark Sanford apparently converted
public and private funds to a nebulous organization of Sanford supporters.
Immigration. Again, the main issue was skirted at the state
Chamber of Commerce's annual Summit: put some real teeth in punishing
companies that import illegal or unregistered employees, not just
taking away their tax credits.
Jean Toal. Jeannie, you are the chief justice of our state's
Supreme Court, not golfing great Babe Didrikson. When lawyers pass
the bar, you administer the oath, not try and play a fade to avoid
the trees on the right at a Myrtle Beach tourney. More: The
State.
Get out your flak jackets
"God of Hell"
-- That's how South Carolina ("They play with live ammo
down there") political consultant Warren Tompkins is described
in an article recently published in The New Republic magazine
about the dirty politics that gets played in the Palmetto State.
Great story; read
it here.
 The
best way to get South Carolina news is to augment your morning paper
and TV show with SC Clips, a daily executive news
summary compiled from more than 30 state newspaper and TV sources.
It's delivered every business day and is packed with news of statewide
impact, politics, business and more. Subscriptions are affordable
at $30 per month -- and less for business subscribers. More: SC
Clips.
Recent past issues are online in a private viewing location for
subscribers:
If you want an earlier issue, contact us at info@statehousereport.com
South Carolina Statehouse Report
Publisher: Andy Brack
Editor: Bill Davis
| Assistant
Editor: Betsy Brack
Phone: 843.670.3996
© 2002-2007, Statehouse
Report LLC. Retransmission or reproduction of more than one copy
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Carolina Statehouse Report is published every Friday
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Excerpts
from The South Carolina
Encyclopedia are published with permission and copyrighted
2006 by the Humanities Council SC. Excerpts were edited by Walter
Edgar and published by the University
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