Quote of the Week: “Today’s decision was one of the toughest I have made in my 28 years in the Senate. No one has fought harder for state employee benefits than I have, and as we move the budget process forward I will try to find ways to hopefully increase the pay for our hard-working, dedicated state employees.”
Senator Hugh Leatherman, Senate Finance Committee Chairman, commenting on the committee’s
decision to eliminate a 2% pay increase for state employees after the BEA reduced its estimate
of expected state revenue by $90 million for fiscal year 2008- 2009.
Finance Committee – Emergency Meeting (Tuesday, April 
The Senate Finance Committee held an emergency meeting this week to take another look at the budget and further reduce spending after the Board of Economic Advisors projected a $90 million revenue shortfall for the budget year beginning July 1, 2008.
Just over a week ago, on Thursday, April 3, Senate Finance Chairman Senator Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence) and Vice-Chairman Senator Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee) touted a “pork-free” budget that was responsible and balanced. Among other priorities the proposed budget fully funded education and provided a two-percent pay increase for state employees.
During the meeting this Tuesday, the Finance Committee voted to take the two-percent raise for state employees off the table in order to reach the additional $40 million in spending reductions needed to balance the budget.
The full Senate is expected to begin its budget debate on Tuesday, April 15.
Common Law Marriage Recommitted to Judiciary (Thursday, April 10)
The debate on common law marriage continued this week after a two-week break. The issue has been debated at length since it first came to the full Senate in late February. After a final attempt to end the debate failed, the Senate recommitted the bill to the Judiciary Committee.
Drug Testing Bill Gains Key Senate Approval (Wednesday, April 9)
In an effort to “restore the trust and confidence of the public” in elected officials, Senator Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee) this week offered amendments to the Candidate Drug Testing Bill (S.1070) that provide guidelines for candidates who voluntarily submit to a test for illegal drugs and the publishing of the test results.
The State Election Commission will publish the results of the test on its website along with the candidates full name and the office sought. The results of the test would be available thirty days prior to the election and would remain on the website for ninety days after the election.
The bill sets the same testing standards as those currently applied to commercial drivers.
EMSAP One Step Closer to Replacing PACT (Wednesday, April 9)
The Senate Education Committee gave favorable approval this week to a bill (H.4662) that would replace the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT) with the Elementary and Middle School Achievement Program (EMSAP). The committee’s decision makes it possible for the EMSAP in place by the 2008-2009 school year. Educators are supportive of moving to a new year-end assessment test because the current test does not provide teachers and students with a timely and useful evaluation of the student’s current level of achievement. This is also the final year of a ten-year contract with the company that produces the PACT.
The committee did delay the expansion of the formative test assessments until 2009-2010. Currently, formative test assessments are given to students in grades 3-8, the proposed changes would expand the assessments to grades 1-9. Committee members were concerned the extra funding needed to expand formative test assessments to grades 1-9 may not be available given the recent downward estimate of state revenue by the Board of Economic Advisors.
After the committee voted to give the bill a favorable recommendation a minority report was placed on the bill, which could delay further action in the Senate unless the bill is placed on Special Order.
State Ports Authority Nominees Approved by Transportation Committee (Wednesday, April 9)
The Senate Transportation Committee, Chaired by Senator Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley), gave a favorable recommendation to all three of the Governor’s nominees to the South Carolina State Ports Authority Board.
Nominees Richard Hagins, a former Navy commander, and Douglas Robertson, a long-time corporate businessman, are both up for initial appointments with terms set to expire on February 13, 2010. William Stern, the third nominee, is the current vice-chairman of the State Ports Authority Board and is up for re-appointment to the board. Stern’s term will expire on February 13, 2015.
The nominations now go before the full Senate for consideration.
Wireless Broadband Misconceptions Dispelled (Thursday, April 10)
Senator Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston) along with Senators Luke Rankin (R-Horry) and Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg) provided much needed clarity to the misinformation surrounding the status of a statewide wireless broadband network this week during Senator McConnell’s weekly ETV show, ‘This Week in the Senate.’
ETV is under a federal mandate to restructure its closed circuit educational broadcast spectrum. The closed circuit spectrum provides education-specific programming to school and other organization, and is not part of ETV’s public broadcast signal. The restructuring of the closed circuit spectrum will create excess capacity for other uses like wireless broadband.
Legislation (H.4735) is currently under consideration in the Senate to establish the South Carolina Educational Broadband Service Commission, which will accept and review all proposals from private entities desiring to lease the excess spectrum. Estimated market value of the spectrum ranges from $70 million to over $137 million.
The April 10 episode of ‘This Week in the Senate’ can be seen on ETV’s website.
Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Confirmed by Judiciary Committee (Tuesday, April
After more than a half-hour of questions the Senate Judiciary Committee gave a favorable recommendation to the re-appointment of current Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Derrick L. Williams. Williams was first appointed to the Commission in March of 2007, to complete the term of J. Michelle Childs. The committee’s recommendation now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
Samuel F. Painter was also up for consideration as a Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, but has decided to withdraw his name.
Workers’ Compensation Commissioners serve a six-year term.
Coming Up Next Week
The Senate is expected to begin debate on the General Appropriations Bill 2008-2009 (H.4800) and the appropriation of funds from the Capital Reserve Fund for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 (H.4801) when it convenes on Tuesday, April 15, at 12:00 PM.
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