S.C. Politics today | Concealed weapons bill passed
Filed Under Knotts, Hawkins, Courson, Campsen, McConnell | 2 Comments
CAPITOL CONNECTION
Caucus’ concerns put nominee ‘on hold’ The confirmation of state Department of Public Safety director James Schweitzer will be reconsidered by a Senate panel because of concerns raised by the Legislative Black Caucus.
Caucus members met with Senate president pro tem Glenn McConnell on Tuesday to discuss inappropriate behavior by some members of the Highway Patrol. The Highway Patrol is under the Department of Public Safety.
In one incident the caucus cites, an African-American woman was handcuffed to the bumper of a patrol car by a Highway Patrol officer. In another incident, a trooper stopped a black motorist who then ran. The trooper yelled a racial slur at the motorist.
“(McConnell) was very receptive to our concerns,” said Rep. Leon Howard, D-Richland, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. “So until we get some answers, the confirmation is still on hold.”
Schweitzer has told an S.C. media outlet that the officers’ behavior was wrong and that the officers were punished.
Both officers were suspended for 12 hours, Howard said. Howard, along with other caucus members, will meet with Gov. Mark Sanford on Thursday to discuss the issue further.
TETHERED-DOG BILL
The Senate will further study a bill designed to prohibit the tethering and chaining of dogs for certain periods of time in a day.
Amid concerns the proposed new law was too broad, and could be used to interfere with what some legislators said are legitimate instances of tying up dogs for several hours a day, the Senate Judiciary Committee decided Tuesday to amend the measure, though it already contained exemptions for activities such as hunting and leashed walking.
Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, worried the proposal could affect working dogs. Specifically, Campsen said he was concerned about dogs used in training and hunting activities associated with field trials.
“Every instance of tethering a dog is not cruelty,” Campsen said.
Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, raised questions about how time constraints in the measure might affect tethered dogs at major hunting events.
Committee members will review questions about the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, and take it up again next week.
CONCEALED WEAPONS
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Tuesday keeping state lists of residents with concealed-weapons permits private.
The House-passed bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, restricts the circumstances under which the State Law Enforcement Division can release such lists to requests from law enforcement agencies involved in an investigation, subpoena and court order.
SLED does not release such lists, according to Lexington Sen. Jake Knotts, a retired police officer and committee member, but he said the agency is under pressure to do so.
“This gives them something to stand on,” Knotts said.
Knotts and other senators said requests for release of the information are designed to serve open government, but feed Internet enterprises and media snooping. “They have absolutely no reason to have this list except they want to have more knowledge and be in everybody’s business,” said Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, who supported the bill.
The measure was amended to require an annual report be published by SLED profiling the transactions of gun permits in the state, such as the number issued, denied or renewed each year.
The bill also was amended to require that all existing lists of permitted gun carriers be destroyed under penalty of law once the bill is enacted. Other changes are expected in the bill when it reaches the Senate floor, legislators said.
CAR SALES TAXES
Buying a car would help repair South Carolina roads and bridges under a bill that cleared a House panel Tuesday.
The legislation calls for at least $10 million in taxes generated from car sales to go toward overdue maintenance of roads and bridges.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell said the proposal would generate about $104 million in taxes during the next several years. And that money could be used to back around $1 billion in bonds for road work, state Rep. Tracy Edge said.
The House discussed a similar bill last year, splitting the cash between new projects and maintenance. “Here, we’re putting it toward the state highway fund, which is used for maintenance and paving and generally not for construction” said Edge, R-Horry.
TRAINS
White Rock residents battling a proposed rail siding in the area got help Tuesday from Richland County lawmakers.
Measures that would stop railroads from forcing landowners to sell a site for projects were introduced by Sen. John Courson and Rep. Nathan Ballentine.
WIRELESS CLOUD
A House panel has begun discussions on converting ETV’s broadband service licenses from analog to digital — a move that could result in a windfall of new revenue for the state.
The transition will free up 80 percent or more of ETV’s capacity that could then be used for some other purpose. One use being considered is a “wireless cloud” that would cover the state. In essence, it’s high-capacity Internet access that would be available to nearly all of the state’s residents.
A House panel will resume discussions today. The deadline for a conversion plan is January 2009.
The State
2/27/08
Courson: SC investing in schools
Filed Under Caucus, Top News, Courson | Leave a Comment
The University of South Carolina just bestowed upon Sen. John Land and me honorary doctor of law degrees. We were pleased our alma mater recognized our strong support of education, and pleased even more by what these honors given to a leading Republican and a leading Democrat demonstrate: The S.C. Senate is committed to a bipartisan effort of providing the best possible education for our citizenry.
This year we passed what I call “The Education Budget” — the largest single appropriation for K-12 and higher education in South Carolina’s history. This remarkable feat was accomplished without a general tax increase and with almost 10 percent of the total budget returned to taxpayers in tax relief. Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman was a tremendous advocate in the Senate’s successful effort to put education and taxpayers first.
Senator Courson on WIS
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Senator Courson was on WIS last weekend to discuss the budget with David Stanton. Courson was joined by Democratic Representative Todd Rutherford Here’s the clip.
