NUMBER OF THE WEEK: $6,000 per hour

NEWS: DOT reform efforts leading SC down smoother path

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA: More on reforms, schools

RADAR SCREEN: Port still in spotlight

PALMETTO POLITICS: Life is too short

COMMENTARY: State should be more than a dumping ground

McLEMORE'S WORLD: About those Girl Scout cookies

FEEDBACK: Workers' comp rates cause consternation

TALLY SHEET: Recently-introduced legislation

KEEPING TRACK: Ahead on competitiveness ranking

BLOGROLL: The $1,000 sale

SCORECARD: Ups and downs of the past week

MEGAPHONE: Shock and awe

AVAILABLE NOW: Furman University's Don Gordon has great things to say about Andy Brack's new book of commentaries, "Bugging the Palmettos." Click here to learn more and buy the book. (Free to qualified subscribers.)

SC House

• Next week's House meetings

SC Senate

• Latest Senate meeting schedule
  (Senate information isn't available until after 3 p.m. Friday.)

News tips or calendar info?
Send e-mail to: editor@statehousereport.com

Phone: 843.670.3996

E-mail:
info@statehousereport.com

© 2007, Statehouse Report LLC.

South Carolina Statehouse Report is a subscriber-based weekly publication. Click here to learn about our subscriber agreement.

South Carolina Statehouse Report is a media project of Statehouse Report LLC, which is affiliated with The Brack Group, Charleston, SC

$6,000/hour

A HECK OF AN HOURLY RATE. A circuit court judge has ordered the state to pay $8,665,297.50 in attorney fees to law firms, one of which is headed by former state Democratic Party head Dick Harpootlian. The fees stem from a case in which the state Supreme Court ordered $37.8 million paid to 14,000 state retirees forced to contribute toward their own TERI pensions. State legislators and officials have vowed to appeal, with state Budget and Control Board spokesperson Mike Sponhour claiming the fees would amount to roughly $6,000 per lawyer-hour hour spent on the case. More: The State.

DOT reform efforts leading SC down smoother path
Lawmakers want reform this year
By Bill Davis, Editor

MARCH 2, 2007 -- There is more to the DOT reform efforts snaking through the General Assembly than just politics, despite what the media have been reporting. There's the maintenance and expansion of South Carolina's vast and daunting roadway system.

Mike Covington, a self-described "policy geek" and the director of administration for the past six years at the DOT, maps out some pretty tough terrain when it comes to everything the billion-dollar agency is responsible for.

According to Covington, that includes:

• 41,500 miles of state-owned roads
• 8,300 state-owned bridges, 700 of which have been declared either structurally or functionally "deficient" and 212 have weight restrictions
• 830 miles of interstate
• More than a half-million traffic signs
• 34 rest stops, with facilities
• 23 million linear feet of curbs and gutters
• 1.25 million driveway entrances, maintained up to the right-of-way line
• 20 million linear feet of sidewalk and
• 1,300 miles of guardrail.

"Now, imagine you were the president of a homeowners' association and that was your subdivision," laughed Covington.

What doesn't humor Covington is that South Carolina, one of five states that set up its department of transportation before Home Rule laws came into vogue, ranks so high nationally in state-owned mileage while also ranking so low in funding.

"The state of South Carolina has almost 42,000 miles of roads, making it the fourth-largest state-owned system in the country, even though we rank only 41st in size and 25th in population," he said, pointing out that the largest state of the Mississippi River, Georgia, owns only 17,000 miles.

Covington said that when it comes to comparing what South Carolina spends per mile to other states, a comparison that should get the numbers to an apples-to-apples level, the disparity is even more obvious.

"Georgia spends roughly $60 per mile every year," he said, "while South Carolina spends only approximately $12 per mile. The closest state I could find in the entire rest of the country was West Virginia, which spends $19 a mile annually compared to our $12."

"That means we would have to increase our DOT budget by 50 percent to just get to the level of the second-lowest" per-mile funded state roads system, said Covington, who doesn't even want to talk about the needs assessment that was complete three years ago, before the road construction industry experienced a 40 percent jump in costs and inflation, found that the DOT needed to spend an additional $2 billion a year for the next 20 years on its roads.

"We really don't want to talk about it because the numbers are too big to comprehend," said Covington.

Audit spurs bills

Not talking about giving the DOT any more money might suit most legislators, many of whom are still roiling from a Legislative Audit Council (LAC) investigation completed last year which recommended more than 40 corrections and found evidence of significant management problems.

"The LAC report only looked into a relatively small area and only a few contracts, but found they had squandered upward of $90 million," fumed Sen. Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley), chair of the Senate's DOT reform subcommittee. "And to put it mildly, that's not necessarily good for the people of South Carolina."

Grooms said the core of the problem is that there were no direct lines of accountability when it came to running the huge agency, and that its former director Elizabeth Mabry, only had to keep four legislative power brokers happy on a seven-person board to keep her job.

"And they might not care what was happening across the state as long as the executive director was taking care of their immediate needs: seeing to it their potholes were filled or their roads built," said Grooms. "And if they were fine, then they could put on blinders as to what else was happening across the rest of the state."

Grooms has shepherded a hard-fought DOT reform bill through subcommittee to the Transportation Committee chaired by Sen. Greg Ryberg (R-Aiken). The bill would create a new executive director's position beholden to the governor that would be responsible for executing the state's transportation plan that a 12-person board, comprised of five gubernatorial appointees and a single representative from each of the state's seven engineering districts, would approve. The bill would also remove appointees coming from congressional districts.

"What we have is a paralyzed agency," claimed Grooms, pointing to an interim executive director whose very office may not have legal grounds to exist, and a "looming cash flow problem that's only going to get worse" thanks to DOT's decision to start more and more projects to make up for past lost ground.

"They recklessly spent too much money on too many new projects to the point that they neglected existing roads and bridges," said Grooms, who fears a series of amendments to his bill from opposition Democrats, legislative "powerbrokers" and Republican senators who "hate" Gov. Mark Sanford would essentially render his bill toothless.

"If there are amendments stopping the governor, this one or future ones, from naming five appointees to the board, or if some opposition pops up to switching away from congressional districts, or not allowing the executive director to serve at the pleasure of the governor, then we're running the risk of adopting the existing management structure."

The loyal opposition

Sen. Gerald Malloy (D-Darlington) may be one of those "opposition party" legislators Grooms is worried about. Malloy served on Groom's subcommittee, trying at one point to salvage some of the work it had accomplished when it looked like the governor's control over the executive director would derail it.

But while not happy with the DOT, Malloy doesn't see it as broken as his subcommittee chair does.

"There are inefficiencies in government, period," Malloy said Wednesday in the hall of the Gressette Building as he was scrambling to get back to the floor of the Senate on time.

Malloy is worried, too. But his concern centers on letting the governor name the executive director, as current problems at the Department of Insurance have shown him that maybe the appointee structure may not be the best one for all agency heads.

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell also ties together the toil and trouble at both agencies. But McConnell also recently struck a conciliatory tone, saying that he could live with a governor-appointed executive director for the DOT as long as the criteria for those serving on the board be rigid, demanding expertise in all phases of road building from financing to engineering to knowledge of regulatory requirements to actual execution of roadway and bridge projects.

McConnell said he favors a structure where the executive director could also be removed by the General Assembly for misfeasance or malfeasance, so as to protect legislators from being "logrolled" by a governor/director tandem exchanging road projects for votes.

A larger concern

Still, for McConnell, as it was for Grooms and Covington, the overriding concern is "to make sure the state's infrastructure does not collapse."

"While this may be a turf fight between the DOT agency and the General Assembly, the bigger issue remains how we will maintain and improve our roads," he said.

Like Grooms, Rep. Annette Young (R-Summerville) shepherded a reform bill through a subcommittee in the House, albeit an ad hoc one. Wednesday, Young led her subcommittee to finally pass along its similar reform bill.

And like Grooms, Young had concerns for its survivability on her side of the Statehouse, though she thinks the unanimity in which her charges acted, despite some major and minor divisions, will carry the day.

Additionally, Young will count on a million dollar ace-in-the-hole: her bill would tie $40 million in state roads funding, and more with matching federal programs, to its passage. That way any opposition that pops up would also be turning down money for an agency desperately in need of a cash infusion.

Dawn of a new day

Dan Cooper, the Anderson Republican who chairs the House's powerful Ways and Means Committee, also worries about the survivability of reform efforts. But, he said, it is clear throughout the General Assembly that the days of the DOT "being an entity unto itself" are gone.

Three years before he was elected in 1990, Cooper remembered, the state passed a 3-cent gas tax increase to pay for much needed roads. "How many of those projects have been built? Try none."

Somebody, said Cooper, needs to know where the money is going -- and it sounds like somebody better show him how these reform bills will do that before he gives them his vote.

From Cooper and many other legislators' perspectives, it's no longer time for the DOT to take the state down any yellow-brick roads - - especially considering the amount of "gold bricking" that has already gone on.

Crystal ball: One way or another, reform is going to happen for the state Department of Transportation. Lawmakers real want it to happen this year. At a minimum, the state DOT board will grow in size. It's still unclear whether the composition of the board will have selection criteria that are professional enough to keep Sanford and future governors from using DOT as a political payback factory.

Bill Davis is the editor of S.C. Statehouse Report. You can learn more about Davis by clicking here. Or you can reach him at: billdavis@statehousereport.com

Recent news
(links removed for sample edition)

• The $81 million secret budget question (Feb. 23)
• D-HEC with it: Grooms on isolated wetlands (Feb. 16)
• Insurance squabbles to the forefront (Feb. 9)
• Green building standards get right push (Feb. 2)
• Senate, House divided on restructuring, DOT (Jan. 26)
• Hard times ahead for "hard time" (Jan. 19)
• State's education agenda appears thin (Jan. 12)
• General Assembly kicks off session Tuesday (Jan. 5)

More on reform bills, schools

In the Senate, expect a trifecta: a workers' comp reform bill and a DOT reform bill could both hit the full floor on Tuesday. An immigration bill also could make it to the floor. Look for a host of amendments to be attached to the DOT bill that could cripple it.

In the House, discussions about the state's proposed K-4 preschool program had not been completed by the time the members were discharged on Thursday. Already on the agenda for next week, look for it to dominate at least some of Tuesday. We can already tell you what the agenda for the following week will be: budget, budget, and more budget.

Also next week in the House:

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Agriculture. The environmental affairs subcommittee will meet to discuss a bill (H. 3545) that could reopen the Barnwell radioactive waste-dumping site.More.

3M. The full committee will hear an amendment passed on to it favorably that would allow a local government to set aside funds for a local or regional "housing trust fund." More.

Education. The full committee will discuss enacting a teacher recruitment and retention program and others. More.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Joint Legislative Eminent Domain Study. Senators, representatives, staff, and appointees will discuss eminent domain. More.

Education. A regulations subcommittee will discuss high school academic objectives, as well as charter school appeals and others. More.

Judiciary. A general laws subcommittee will discuss a host of bills, from firearms to requirements for protesting beer/alcohol licenses and permits. More. A criminal laws subcommittee will discuss a new, tougher DUI law that would increase penalties for driving under the influence. More.

Ag. An environmental subcommittee will discuss a bill, similar to a Senate bill, that would give DNR the power to remove "river shacks" from public waterways. More.

Education. A K-12 subcommittee will discuss an "open enrollment" plan that set requirements and guidelines whereby students would be allowed to attend schools in other districts. More.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Judiciary. The Constitutional laws subcommittee will discuss expanding the definition of a "person" to include and "unborn child" in civil causes. More.

Ports still on radar screen

It might not be smooth sailing for the S.C. State Ports Authority in the coming weeks, despite being on the verge of getting the Jasper County port facility gift-wrapped for them by the legislature.

With legislators looking into paying for rail service to reach to the SPA's North Charleston facility, on top of a very expensive truck road, some are wondering if the authority will have enough money to develop the Jasper facility. That could mean that SPA would have to seek private support for either one of the two facilities, as rumor has it that the downtown Charleston facility has run out of room to service one of its primary customers.

In other radar blips:

• DUIs. A bill that would tie increased punishment for increased blood alcohol content in DUIs has been sent back to subcommittee in the House.
  
  
• School choice/vouchers. One Senate observer worries that school choice and vouchers are right around the corner now that state Superintendent Jim Rex has supported a limited version of the former for public schools. "He's taken that first step down that slippery slope," opined the well-placed observer. "South Carolina is going to have school choice."
  
  
• Insurance. Newly installed state Insurance Department Director Scott Richardson came out this week against expanding the wind/hail pool of insurance companies which service hard to insure coastal homes in hurricane-prone areas.
  
  
• Wi-fi. Dovetailing bills that would create a statewide wireless Internet network are winding their ways through committees in both the Senate and the House.
  

Life is too Short

State Sen. Linda Short (R-Chester) announced in her hometown paper this week she wouldn't be seeking reelection next year, which could bring the number of women serving in that august body to, well, none. More: Union Daily Times.

The good news is lady jurists head the top three state courts. More: Columbia Free-Times.

State should be more than dumping ground
By Andy Brack, Publisher

MARCH 2, 2007 -- The longer South Carolina stays a national dumping ground, the longer it will take for folks to think the state is something other than a backwater.

At issue now is the numbskullian notion to keep open a low-level nuclear waste dump in Barnwell County. The 235-acre facility is slated to close to waste from all but three states (South Carolina, New Jersey and Connecticut) in July 2008, but a key House lawmaker is backing a bill that would keep it open through 2023.

Add to that a slick lobbying effort, a legislative bus tour and a slicker Web site that tells half the story, and you've got all the makings for old-time snookery of South Carolina politicians.

Containers in the landfill as dirt is being spread over their tops to cover them. From a SC DHEC report, "Commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal in South Carolina."

For the company and its political backers, such as House Agriculture and Natural Resources Chairman Billy Witherspoon (R-Conway), it's all about money. If there's less waste going into the dump, the company, Barnwell County and the state will lose money.

If the landfill closes to all but three states, the company admits on its Web site that it will operate at an estimated $3.65 million deficit. Additionally, Barnwell County - - one of the poorest in the state - - reportedly will lose about $2 million in revenues if the site doesn't remain viable. The landfill reportedly has also generated more than $430 million for public education since the mid-1990s when a deal was struck to keep it open through next year.

But shouldn't the debate over Barnwell be over something more than money? Shouldn't it be about the state's values and future?

By keeping the dump open, we would be broadcasting a clear message to the rest of the country that it literally can dump on us. Common-sense public relations and marketing suggest if that's the image you're projecting, you might not attract the cream of the crop in future investment.

There's also something else that's key to keep in mind: the "market forces" often lauded by conservatives. Wouldn't keeping the dump open to all states essentially serve as a backhanded bailout for a private company? The owner, a Utah-based group called Energy Solutions, is a for-profit company. It wants to keep using a South Carolina resource - - the dump - - to make money that goes … to Utah. If it doesn't have enough volume (more waste from other states), it can't stay profitable. But how is that the state's problem?

For all the hullabaloo over the Barnwell issue, there's actually little chance that it will see the light of day. Why? Because the Senate stands in the way of the House bill.

"If they try to revive that facility, a small group of us senators are set to filibuster over any attempt to reopen that dump," President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston) told Statehouse Report.

So let's stick to the original plan and keep the landfill only open to the three states in the low-level nuclear waste compact. Then let the market - - the corporate world - - do what it does - business. If it can't hack it, it can close.

At the same time, the state's slowly-reinvigorating Commerce Department could swoop in with a plan to help the county replace lost revenue and jobs. In our book, it's worth a short-term subsidy to send the message that the state isn't going to continue to get dumped on.

In more ways than one, South Carolina has done its fair share of disposing of other people's waste - - for more than 50 years at the Savannah River Site and 36 years in Barnwell. It's time for someone else to take the responsibility and for South Carolina to take action to end old stereotypes.

Sticking to the plan on Barnwell is one way to prove to people who want to invest in South Carolina that we don't want to be considered just a dumping ground.

You can reach Andy Brack, publisher of S.C. Statehouse Report, at brack@statehousereport.com.

Recent commentary

• 2/25: State needs to work on boosting competitiveness
• 2/18: Keep public school dollars in public domain
• 2/11: South needs to be smarter about giving
• 2/4: Light rail could crack open SC knowledge economy
• 1/28: Playing politics with $1.8 million
• 1/21: State needs way to deal with Confederate flag
• 1/14: Remember patriots with Carolina Day as state holiday
• 1/7: DNA proposal targets freedoms, individuality
• 12/31: What real reform might look like in SC
• Have a comment? feedback@statehousereport.com

A look at Girl Scout cookies in today's market

Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:

• To send a message to cartoonist Bill McLemore, write info@statehousereport.com

2/27: Workers' comp increases cause consternation

Small business owners in South Carolina have a right to be outraged by the astonishing increase in workers' compensation insurance premiums over the past three years. Despite a drop in the number of workers' compensation claims over the last three years, premiums in South Carolina have gone up an average of 16% per year. In 2006, workers' compensation premiums increased by 18.4% in South Carolina while premiums in North Carolina increased by only 2% and Georgia's actually decreased by 1.4%.

So why are workers' compensation insurance premiums going up so fast? In 2003, the Department of Insurance changed their regulations allowing insurance carriers writing workers' comp coverage in South Carolina to literally set their own premiums with no oversight from Commission actuaries. The theory then was that a "free market model" would increase competition and reduce rates. That simply hasn't happened.

It should come as no surprise that since this change in regulatory review, the "loss cost multiplier" portion of the premium has increased almost 200%. For example, in the year 2000, for every one dollar in premium charged by insurance companies, the lost cost multiplier added an additional 28 cents. By 2006, for every one dollar in premium charged, the lost cost multiplier had increased the premium by 83 cents.

As long as insurance carriers are allowed to effectively set their own rates without any oversight or accountability by state regulators, premiums for small business will continue to increase. Senate Bill S 332 offers several proposed changes in how claims are decided at the Workers' Compensation Commission. The truth is that most of these proposed changes will have little impact on future premium increases. In fact, the insurance industry's own rating bureau called NCCI said so last year in a published report.

We should insist that our State Senators support a law requiring the Department of Insurance to again review all insurance company requests for rate increases including the "loss cost multiplier" part of their premium. Also, we should ask them to support Senate Bill S 334 which would require insurance carriers to disclose to the Department of Insurance the accounting factors that they use to calculate their "loss cost multiplier". S 334 is now pending in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. If these insurance carriers can't justify their rate increases with facts, then their proposed increases should be denied. We all have an interest in seeing that South Carolina remains a "business friendly" environment.

-- Tom Ervin, Greenville, S.C.

NOTE: Ervin is a former Commissioner for the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission and a former state circuit court judge. He currently is a civil mediator and practices disability law in Greenville.

Recent feedback

• 2/18: Don't rush to use state dollars for private schools, Bill Harrison, Darlington, S.C.
• 2/4: A South Carolina no-brainer, Al Rich, Columbia, SC
• 1/23: Healing can't begin until forgiveness is found, Thomas Dearing, Turbeville, S.C.
• 1/23: Enjoyed flag article, Odessa S. Sirman, Hampton, S.C.
• 1/22: Some hope on lowering flag, Chip Brown, Conway, S.C.
• 1/22: Simple flag solution, Julian G. Frasier III, Sumter, S.C.
• More FEEDBACK

Few major bills introduced during the week

While there were few major pieces of legislation introduced in the past week, you may be happy to know that there is a proposal in that would promote the state's equine industry through a fee on horse feed.

Major legislation

Confederate flag. H. 3588 would prohibit the placement of any Confederate flag on the grounds of the Capitol complex and to remove the current Confederate flag flown on the south side of the Confederate Soldier monument.

Restructuring. H. 3590 would provide for the enactment of the South Carolina Restructuring Act of 2007 and would add the Department of Administration to the agencies of the executive branch of state government, and more.

Budget/taxes (BACK TO TOP)

Ad valorem tax. H. 3580 would provide a joint resolution to add a classification for purposes of ad valorem taxation with an assessment of 2% of its fair market value for a large undeveloped tract of land that does not qualify for classification as agricultural use property.

Property tax exemptions. H. 3591 would provide an exemption of an amount of fair market value of a newly acquired owner-occupied residence sufficient to equal the assessed value of the taxpayer's original such residence if the taxpayer is at least 55 years old, the new residence qualifies as the taxpayer's residence within 24 months of the transfer of the original residence, and if the fair market value of the newly acquired residence is equal to or less than the fair market value of the original residence.

Motorcycle tax. H. 3592 would provide an exemption from the property tax the value of a motorcycle owned or leased by and licensed and registered in the name of a disabled veteran of war.

Fiscal responsibility. H. 3615 would provide for the enactment of the Local Government Fiscal Accountability and Fairness Act and would impose a limit on annual spending increases for operating purposes for political subdivisions and school districts equal to annual increases in the consumer price index and the jurisdiction's population, and more.

Longevity pay. S. 514 would provide a requirement that the State Budget and Control board devise and implement beginning in Fiscal Year 2008 a schedule of annual longevity base pay increases for classified state employees limited to 30 longevity raises for a single employee and provide a longevity increase equal to $1 for each year of service payable for each pay period.

Career incentive. S. 515 would provide a state employee pay-career incentive plan.

Business (BACK TO TOP)

Accountants. S. 491 would provide for a change in the term 'accounting practitioner' to 'licensed accountant' and to require a licensed accountant to pass an examination offered by the accreditation council for accountancy, and more.

Captive insurance. S. 499 would provide for the enactment of the South Carolina Coastal Captive Insurance Act of 2007 and provide for the way in which a South Carolina Coastal Captive Insurance Company may be formed, licensed and regulated, and more. S. 509 would provide that an employer who may self-fund workers' compensation coverage is authorized to write workers' compensation coverage directly through a captive insurance company, and more.

Liability immunity. S. 500 would provide civil liability immunity for a loss resulting from certain documents relating to the administration of the law enforcement training council and to clarify that an action may not be brought based on certain documents relating to the administration of the law enforcement training council under certain circumstances.

Manufactured products. S. 521 would provide for the enactment of the South Carolina Quality Production of Manufactured Products Inspection Program Act and provide for and maintain quality products in the stream of commerce in the state through registration of origin, inspection, establishment of standards, and more.

Education (BACK TO TOP)

Educational service. H. 3594 would provide for the addition of a principal, superintendent or supervisor of classroom teachers in the definition of 'educational service' as persons who may purchase educational services in the South Carolina Retirement System.

State exit exam. H. 3603 would provide that any high school student in the 11th or 12th grade who was not a high school student in this state in any portion of the 10th grade is not required to take the state exit examination required to be administered at the end of a student's second year of high school if he has accrued at least 1,000 or more on the SAT or has made an equivalent score on the ACT.

School bus drivers. H. 3617 would provide that at the end of each school day, the school bus driver shall deposit pupils at their appropriate bus stop sites only and to provide that if the driver is unsure of the pupil's appropriate bus stop site, the driver shall return the pupil to the school the pupil attends, and more.

At-risk students. H. 3628 would provide for a joint resolution to approve regulations of the Board of Education relating to at-risk students.

Environment and outdoors(BACK TO TOP)

Water withdrawal. H. 3578 would provide redesignation of the chapter as the South Carolina Water Withdrawal, Permitting, Use and Reporting Act so as to make certain declarations regarding the state's regulation of riparian rights, to provide certain definitions, and more.

Agriculture reform. H. 3579 would provide for the enactment of the South Carolina Agricultural Assessment Reform Act of 2007, and to limit a property tax increase in the year of implementation of revised agricultural use standards, and more.

State forest. H. 3608 would provide a requirement that the State Commission on Forestry manage forested land owned by a state agency, and require that the land be registered with the commission in certain circumstances, and more.

Youth hunting. H. 3614 would provide that a person who is less than 18 years of age may be a youth hunter.

Chandler's Law. H. 3622 would provide for the enactment of Chandler's Law so as to provide for regulation of the operation of all-terrain vehicles by the Department of Natural Resources, including the requirement that a person at least six and not over 16 years of age must complete a safety course before he may operate an all-terrain vehicle and must also meet age requirements specific to the vehicle, and more.

Saltwater gamefish. S. 489 would provide for the addition of saltwater gamefish to the classification of birds, animals and fish, and to delete certain saltwater gamefish and provide catch limits for other saltwater gamefish, and more.

Air pollution. S. 516 would provide a joint resolution to approve regulations of the Department of Health and Environmental Control related to air pollution control regulations and standards.

Swimming pools. S. 517 is a joint resolution to approve regulations of the Department of Health and Environmental Control relating to public swimming pools.

Infant video. S. 518 would provide that a hospital shall make available to the parents of a newborn baby a video presentation on the dangers of shaking infants, and more.

Air pollution. S. 519 is a joint resolution to approve regulations of the Department of Health and Environmental Control relating to air pollution control and the South Carolina Air Quality Implementation Plan (SIP).

Health (BACK TO TOP)

Withholding healthcare. H. 3607 would provide that a health care decision made for a child by the child's parent or guardian to withhold health care for religious or other reasons does not constitute abuse or neglect unless the Department proves by a preponderance of evidence that the treatment is unreasonable or imprudent for the child's health condition, and more.

Healthy South Carolinians. H. 3612 would provide for the enactment of the Healthy South Carolinians 2010 Act and provide that the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall work with minority physician networks to develop programs to educate health care professionals about the importance of culture in health status, and more.

Heart patient act. H. 3626 would provide for the enactment of the Ann S. Perdue Heart Patient Safety Act to provide that a hospital providing therapeutic heart catheterizations must have a cardiologist on site at all times, and more.

Embalmers. H. 3629 would provide for an increase in the minimum fine to $1,000 and to increase the maximum fine to $5,000 relating to penalties for violating regulations of embalmers and funeral directors.

Nursing licensure. H. 3631 would provide for revision of the type of document that must be submitted for proof of identity and age relating to nursing licensure requirements, and more.

Nursing background. H. 3632 and S. 512 would provide that the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation may require a criminal history background check of an applicant for licensure to practice nursing and to provide that the department may require such a background check in connection with an investigation or disciplinary proceeding of a licensee.

Health department fees. S. 513 would provide that fees collected by a county health department for services rendered must be retained by that county health department for use by the program that collected the fee.

Septic tanks. S. 520 is a joint resolution to approve regulations of the Department of Health and Environmental Control relating to septic tank site evaluation fees.

Legal and law enforcement (BACK TO TOP)

Criminal record. H. 3589 would provide that the Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services must expunge the criminal record of a person who has received a pardon.

Legal communication. H. 3605 and S. 502 would provide clarification that if an attorney-client relationship exists between a lawyer and a fiduciary, communications between the lawyer and the fiduciary are privileged unless waived by the fiduciary.

Pay telephones. S. 488 would provide that the state shall forego any commission or other source of revenue derived from placing pay telephones in institutions of the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice for the use of inmates, and more.

Law enforcement. H. 3595 would provide for the enactment of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Safety Act of 2007 and provide that a person who is convicted of a violent crime must surrender his driver's license or special ID card to the court which must transmit it to the Department of Motor Vehicles together with notice of the crime, and more.

Municipal police. H. 3601 would provide a requirement for the consent of the sheriff of a county before municipal police jurisdiction may be extended to unincorporated areas.

Firearms. H. 3604 would provide that is unlawful for a parent or guardian to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly permit his child to possess a firearm which may be used in violation of the law regarding carrying firearms on school property.

Employees on juries. H. 3616 would provide for an employee's attendance at a court proceeding at a prosecutor's request and to provide a criminal penalty against an employer who dismisses or demotes an employee who complies with the provisions of this section, and more.

Attorney's fees. S. 490 would provide for a limit to the attorney's fees allowed in state-initiated actions to a reasonable hourly rate.

Criminal record. H. 3589 would provide that the Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services must expunge the criminal record of a person who has received a pardon.

Property auction. S. 501 would provide that property recovered by a police chief or a sheriff may be sold at public auction if not reclaimed by its owner after the provision of proper notice, and more.

Warrant. S. 503 would provide a warrant is not required to be endorsed by a magistrate in the county where a person charged with a crime resides or where he is located relating to the endorsement and execution of warrants issued in other counties or by municipal authorities, and more.

Transportation (BACK TO TOP)

Vehicle operation. H. 3602 would provide definitions for the terms 'vehicle' and 'false or secret compartment' and provide that it is unlawful to operate a vehicle with a false or secret compartment.

Motorcycles. S. 505 would provide for revision of definitions of the terms 'manufacturer,' 'dealership facilities,' 'franchise,' and 'dealer' and provide for the definitions of the terms 'motorcycle dealership' and 'department' and more.

Administrative/other (BACK TO TOP)

Armed forces. H. 3596 would provide a concurrent resolution to recognize the selflessness and bravery of the United States Armed Forces and to encourage all South Carolinians to support our troops and our nation's leadership in the war on terror.

Land surveyor. H. 3597 would provide that a person who has not satisfactorily complied with an education requirement or an examination required for licensure as a professional land surveyor in this state may petition the Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.

Voting precincts. H. 3606 would prohibit the establishment of a polling place in a location that is gated, guarded or where access is controlled by other than a polling place manager and to require that submission to the U.S. Justice Department must contain a statement concerning the accessibility to the general public.

Equine promotion. H. 3609 would provide for the enactment of the South Carolina Equine Promotion Act including provisions to provide for the support of this program by means of an assessment on the sale of commercial horse feed, and more.

Memorial month. H. 3611 would provide that May of every year is designated as Confederate Memorial Month.

Special purpose districts. H. 3623 would provide for a technical change in the section relating to the protection of special purpose districts, and more.

Alcoholic beverages. H. 3624 would provide for the increase in the percent of alcohol by weight in beers, ales, porters, and similar malt beverages that are considered nonalcoholic beverages.

Homestead exemption. H. 3627 would provide for clarification on the method of determining and calculating homestead exemption fund payments and provide for the annual reimbursement adjustment based on statewide population growth to instead be based on school district population growth with a 'hold harmless' provision, and more.

Service credit. H. 3630 would provide that, in the case of state employees, an employer may not pay for any part of the cost for the state employee's purchase of service credit except when such payments are pursuant to a retirement incentive plan or the implementation of a reduction in force in which such payments are offered to all similarly situated agency employees.

License plates. S. 493 would provide that the Department of Motor Vehicles may issue Operation Desert Storm-Desert Shield Veterans License Plates, and more.

Building codes. S. 504 would provide that the procedure for modifying an existing building code is the same as adopting a code and to provide for an emergency building code modification.

Combat team. S. 507 would provide a concurrent resolution memorializing the Congress of the United States and the South Carolina Congressional Delegation to facilitate the change in the Department of Defense rule or policy necessary to provide for paid transportation for the 218th brigade combat team and for other South Carolina National Guardsmen home to South Carolina and back to their training sites before their departures to combat zones.

Mechanics Lien. S. 511 would provide that a person must have a residential building license to file a mechanics lien, and provide the process for a residential specialty contractor filing a mechanics lien against a residential builder, and more.

Ahead on competitiveness ranking

The $1,000 sale

On of the Statehouse Report's favorite blogs has been Laurinline, a Democratic-friendly poster who has left her blog to take a job working with presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (R-Ill.) Oddly enough, she sold her blogsite for a reported $1,000 to a GOP consortium of The Felkel Group and Zacher Media Strategies. Look for campaign trail postings from Laurin Manning (real name alert) on the site.

Also in blogosphere:

• Blowhard? The Crunchy Republican is aghast by the amount of electricity Al Gore's home consumes -- roughly 20 times the average American household. Dem-friendly media types have tried to divert the public's attention by pointing out he buys carbon waivers.
  
  
• Senate seat. FITSNews comments on an article that ran this week in a Capital Hill paper about potential candidates for US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) seat in the US Senate. One of the names that came up was state Treasurer Thomas Ravenel. Remember him? He's the guy who was forced to say he wouldn't run for the seat, although most don't expect him to stick to it.
  

Here's a "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" related to various political news items from the past week:

The Associated Press. This week, the venerable news organization announced that, barring any major news, it would no longer release any stories about heiress Paris Hilton. Now, hopefully, the AP will be able to focus on real news, like Brittany shaving her head.

Leventis. Sen. Phil Leventis, the dean of the Sumter County delegation, received a distinguished service award this week by the Municipal Association of South Carolina, for his work defending Home Rule issues.

S.C. mayors. Key state mayors, including Columbia's Bob Coble, Charleston's Joe Riley, Sumter's Joe McElveen and Spartanburg's Bill Barnet, deserve a pat on the back for real leadership. First was news this week that mayors would lead efforts to curb global warming. And then there was news they would push affordable housing changes.

Richardson. Newly installed Department of Insurance head Scott Richardson stood by his man (Gov. Mark Sanford) this week, saying he was opposed to expanding the state-run wind/hail insurance pool for coastal homeowners. Great idea, a laissez-faire approach worked so well with DOT, why not with DoI? (Pssst, Scott; you and Sanford both have coastal homes … think about it.)

Witherspoon. Conway GOP Rep. Billy Witherspoon seems to have no problem with allowing more toxic waste from outside South Carolina to be dumped at the Barnwell site. Maybe the idea of having him chair the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee should be revisited if he is so intent on raping all three.

Shock and awe

"It was probably the most shocking thing of my life … I couldn't describe to you the emotions I have had . . . everything from anger to outrage to reflection to some pride and glory."

-- The Rev. Al Sharpton, on news this week that a genealogical survey turned up that his great-grandfather had been owned by the late Strom Thurmond's distant cousin. More. Washington Post

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