South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus

Correction: The press release should have stated the date of the free reception as I’ve underlined below. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks!

SC Senator Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) announced today his intentions to seek re-election for second term. Sen. Bryant also offers an open invitation to a reception, free of charge. The re-election kick-off will be at the Corner Bagel Shop in Anderson at 6pm on Monday, March 17th. Those wishing to attend may RSVP at www.kevinbryant.com

Bryant plans to continue his march toward reform. “We’ve seen some progress in Columbia over the last four years, but we’ve also seen a lot of resistance to change. The good-ole-boy system is a monster, and we’ve been rattling its cage.”

Bryant also made comments on some achievements. “I have been proud to contribute to victory on a number of issues such as defining marriage in our Constitution, getting tough with child predators, combating wasteful spending and returning more money to you-the folks who earned it in the first place.”

March 11, 2008
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The 10th week of the legislative session:

STATE BUDGET: The House gave final approval Thursday to a $7.2 billion budget that includes a slight raise for state workers and more money for public schools. The Senate will debate the budget in April.

CHILD CARE VOUCHERS: Gov. Mark Sanford’s staff is working to prevent the loss of child care vouchers provided by the Department of Social Services for moms in shelters and foster parents. Rep. Tracy Edge, who handles the budget for DSS, said he didn’t find out until Wednesday that the voucher program would be cut by nearly 900 slots. The Republican said he only knew the agency wanted $6 million less than it had originally sought in new state spending. The state budget passed later that day before any changes could be made.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Legislators working out the differences in the immigration reform proposals got little done during their second meeting Tuesday. The six-member conference committee voted on a few minor issues but said they couldn’t spend too much time on the proposals because House members were needed for budget debate. The committee won’t meet this week because the House takes a one-week break before Easter. Read the rest of this entry »

SPARTANBURG, SC – State Senator Jim Ritchie’s campaign today announced that Senator Ritchie has filed the necessary paperwork to seek reelection to the State Senate and called on all candidates for Senate District Thirteen to sign a clean campaign pledge.

“Now that the campaign to represent District Thirteen in the State Senate is officially underway, I feel it is important that we start things off in a positive way,” said Senator Ritchie. “But, unfortunately, this weekend voters throughout the District received an intentionally misleading push poll about me and my record.

“It’s not surprising that the opponents of my campaign would stoop to such a low given my record of taking on special interests, cutting taxes, and reforming government.  What is surprising is how early the attacks have started.

“I believe the voters in Spartanburg, Greenville and Union counties deserve better. I believe they deserve a fair and honest discussion of the important issues facing our state. In keeping with that spirit, I am asking all of the candidates in the race for State Senate to join me in signing a ‘Clean Campaign Pledge.’”

Senator Ritchie’s campaign has sent copies of the attached “Clean Campaign Pledge” to each of the candidates for State Senate District Thirteen.
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PROMISES TO REMAIN COMMITTED TO CONSTITUENT SERVICES AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

(EDGEFIELD, SC) ­Senator Shane Massey today filed for re-election to the State Senate, promising to continue his hard work for constituent services and government reform. Despite being the youngest and newest member of the Senate, Shane is already shaking things up and getting results for South Carolina and District 25 through his hard work on spending and DUI reform.

Shane has become known as one of South Carolina¹s hardest working legislators because of his constant commitment to constituent services. His cell phone has become the constituent service hotline for Senate District 25 constituent who run into state problems. He has kept constituents up-to-date on all the latest happenings at the Statehouse through his innovative website and frequent video and email updates. In just the past few months, Shane has held over 18 “neighborhood chats” across the district to find out the concerns of our area¹s families.

Shane tells constituents “I can¹t do my job and help shake up Columbia if you aren¹t telling me what¹s on your mind. I¹m holding neighborhood chats across the district so that you can tell me about the issues you care about.”

Shane has also stood strong on the conservative values we all share. He knows that our state will move forward when we implement strong commonsense ideas. The first piece of legislation he filed will create spending transparency in the State Senate. Currently legislators can insert pork barrel spending projects into the state budget with anonymity. These hidden spending projects explode our budget and put an undue tax burden on South Carolina¹s working families. Massey¹s legislation will require legislators to put their names on the earmarks they request. Those requests will be made public so that taxpayers know exactly who is responsible for them.

“Spending is out of control in South Carolina, and a large amount of it is happening in secret. Taxpayers have the right to know how we are spending their money. When I campaigned for State Senate I promised to work as hard as possible to shake things up in Columbia. I¹m proud to do that with my first bill, and I hope my fellow Senators will join me in demanding fiscal responsibility and protecting South Carolina¹s taxpayers.”