Senator Leatherman’s 2004 Campaign Ads
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In 2004 Senator Hugh Leatherman was re-elected to his 7th term in the South Carolina Senate. Here are a few ads from his campaign.
Gaffney Ledger | Immigration reform tops legislative agenda
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State Sen. Harvey Peeler, at left, fields a question from Kim Fortner from the Board of Public Works in Gaffney following a legislative breakfast on Monday.
Giving a glimpse at 2008, several legislators serving Cherokee County and the Upstate said Monday the coming year in Columbia is likely to be dominated by a few issues.
Chief among them is immigration reform on the state level, which is being prompted by a seeming inability of the federal government to approve reforms on what is normally a federal issue.
“All of our polling shows immigration is the number-one issue,” said state Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, who noted that polls show immigration concerns eclipse concerns over education and health care. “The challenge we have is what to do about it.”
Peeler, along with state Rep. Olin Phillips, D-Gaffney, and state Rep. Dennis Moss, DGaffney, gave their insights into the 2008 legislative agenda Monday to area business and government leaders at a Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting.
None of the legislators could say what types of immigration reforms would be approved in the coming year, though several bills already are pending.
One bill would require a legal residency verification program for contractors of public employers, as well as allow state law enforcement officers to become auxiliary immigration enforcement agents. The same bill would require the verification of nationality of prisoners in South Carolina, as well as registration for immigration assistance services.
Whatever is done, Moss said the state’s reforms have to be balanced.
Moss pointed to a young woman from Cherokee County who wants to become a nurse but can’t take the required educational testing because she’s not a legal resident.
Someone like that should be given an opportunity to contribute, he believed.
“In this case, she’s been in public education since kindergarten,” he said. “This is her home.”
Government spending is likely to be another dominant issue in 2008, Peeler said. Some legislators in Columbia are proposing placing a spending cap on state government.
A hike in cigarette taxes is also likely in 2008, Peeler said, once legislators agree on how the additional money should be spent. “You’ll see us debate that again,” he said.
At least 60 bills will be awaiting the legislature when it returns to business in January, Phillips said. Besides immigration, those bills with the best chances to move forward center on changes to workman’s compensation laws, additional restrictions on payday lenders, and tougher drunk driving laws.
“There’s room for small finance in South Carolina,” Phillips said. “But the interest rates and the number of times people can borrow (from payday lenders) concerns me.”
Moss is co-sponsoring one bill that would cap interest on payday loans at 36 percent, which is the same as federal restrictions on payday lending near military bases.
Moss also is hopeful that another bill he is co-sponsoring will make headway. That bill would place tighter restrictions on the opening of new construction debris landfills in the Upstate.
Because of previous reforms in taxation, it’s unlikely there will be any changes at the state level in 2008, Peeler said.
And despite calls for increased funding for roadway repair, Peeler and Phillips did not forecast any hikes in gasoline taxes because of already high gas prices.
“I’m afraid (high gas prices are) going to slow down our economy,” Peeler said. “I’m afraid it’s going to slow down tourism, too.”
The Gaffney Ledger
By TIM GULLA
12/12/07
Senator McConnell in 1978
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In 1978, Senator Glenn McConnell was Chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party. Here are five television ads he produced. These ads were published a few months back on Senator Kevin Bryant’s blog.
Island Packet: Lawmakers get earful on immigration
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Two state senators told Hilton Head Island residents Thursday that the South Carolina legislature is poised to pass a far-reaching illegal immigration bill by February.
Sens. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, and Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, fielded questions from more than 100 residents who turned out for the mid-morning meeting and who mostly supported the idea of statewide action to halt illegal immigration.
Ritchie and Ceips spent about 20 minutes promoting the legislative effort before turning things over to the crowd, which voiced strong opinions and delivered spirited speeches onillegal immigration.
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