Staff reports | S.C. Sen. Hugh Leatherman, the powerful Florence Republican who chaired the Senate Finance Committee, died at home early today after a long battle with cancer. About three weeks ago following surgery for abdominal pain, an aggressive cancer was found. He then started receiving hospice care at home.
“Colleagues described him as among the last of the Senate’s old guard statesmen, who strove to keep debates civil and collegial as he remained focused on proposals he thought would bring jobs to South Carolina and help the working class,” The Post and Courier reported. “He could be an unflinching advocate or hard-nosed foe, though his stances were rarely rooted in partisan politics.”
Leatherman, 90, started his political career as a Democrat when first elected to the legislature in 1981. He later switched parties and for years chaired the Senate Finance Committee, one of two legislative committees that controls the state’s purse strings.
Through the years, Leatherman helped to direct state spending, economic development projects and infrastructure deals. Examples include luring Boeing to the state to make jets and greatly improving infrastructure at the S.C. State Ports Authority, where a new port terminal is named for him in North Charleston.
Leatherman worked with both parties, often in a pivotal peacemaking role, to hammer out deals in the Senate and with the House of Representatives.
“I’m actually glad he did switch parties, because if he had not, somebody else would have been in that position as chairman of Finance, other than Hugh Leatherman,” state Democratic Sen. Darrell Jackson of Columbia said. “And I’m not sure that would have worked out as well for South Carolina.”
The Senate’s current president, Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, is next in line to chair the Senate Finance Committee.
In other recent news:
House redistricting plan ruffles feathers. While the Senate’s redistricting plan advanced out of committee with ease, the House’s plan has drawn bipartisan criticism that it discouraged competition, divided communities of interest, and did not allow sufficient time for informed public comment. More: The Post and Courier | AP News.
Bond denied again for prominent attorney Murdaugh. Alex Murdaugh will likely remain in jail for many months while awaiting trial on charges of insurance fraud connected to the death of a housekeeper. Murdaugh’s wife and son were found shot to death at their family estate earlier this year, and Murdaugh is facing multiple cases claiming he stole from his law firm, stole insurance money from the heirs of a dead housekeeper, and sought to defraud insurance by trying to have an acquaintance shoot and kill him.
S.C. lawmaker looks at Texas-style abortion law. S.C. Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, has called a controversial Texas abortion law, which allows private citizens to sue abortion providers, “a very novel approach,” hinting at a possible S.C. adaptation. More: The State.
S.C. School Boards Association pulls from national group. The South Carolina School Boards Association officially cut ties with its national counterpart on Nov. 8 after a controversial letter calling for federal authorities to deal with aggression and intimidation at school board meetings. More: The Post and Courier.
S.C. economy didn’t slow as state sees $1 billion surplus. The amount of money in South Carolina’s state bank accounts continues to grow thanks to a quick recovery from the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and people spending money much faster than experts predicted. Previously reported in Statehouse Report.
State’s murder, assault rates rise. South Carolina’s murder rate increased by more than 52 percent in the last five years, according to new state crime numbers. The report highlights that statewide murders increased from 452 in 2019 to 552 in 2020. “The report also noted 2020 brought the highest aggravated assault rate since 2011. It said 42.8 of every 10,000 S.C. residents in 2020 were victims of aggravated assault, as opposed to 45.8 in 2011.” More: The State | WYFF.
SC for Ed survey finds ‘potentially broken’ school system. A survey released by teacher advocacy group SC for Ed says public school staffing woes have been known for years and yet few actions have been made. The survey found that 38 percent of teachers planned to leave their current positions. In a related report in Charleston County, responses to a survey from 853 educators in the Charleston County School District detail a bleak education experience on both sides of the teacher’s desk.
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