Senate Summary | Week of February 26 - 28, 2008
Quote of the Week: “This is one of the hardest working committees I have seen in some time. I think what we are seeing is a subcommittee that is working to produce the best recommendation possible and I applaud their efforts. I have every confidence in Senator Alexander and the other members of the subcommittee, and I think we should allow them the time they need to properly answer all of the questions before them.”
-Senate Finance Chairman Senator Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence) commenting on the Special Subcommittee working on Cigarette Tax
Immigration Reform Goes to Conference Committee The Illegal Immigration Reform Act (S.392), sponsored by Senator Jim Ritchie (R-13), Majority Whip, will be debated in a Joint Legislative Conference Committee next week. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4 at 10 A.M.
The conference committee consists of Senators Jim Ritchie, Chip Campsen, and Vincent Sheheen, as well as, House of Representative members Jim Harrison, Greg Delleney, and Thad Viers.
Banking and Insurance Committee Meeting Advances “SC HealthNet” Plan
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, chaired by Senator David Thomas (R-Greenville), met on Wednesday, February 27, and heard additional testimony on the “SC HealthNet” (S.1129) plan. After hearing testimony from several people including Department of Insurance Commissioner Scott Richardson, the bill was referred to subcommittee.
The plan is a five-year pilot project by the Department of Insurance designed to cover the working uninsured in South Carolina. Funding from the program will be derived from federal grants, private-public partnerships, and eligible Medicaid funds. Proponents of the plan do not anticipate using taxpayer funds for underwriting.
Budget Subcommittee Hearings Begin
The Senate budget process got underway this week with a full round of Finance subcommittee hearings. The Health and Human Services, Natural Resources, and Constitutional-Administrative subcommittees were among those holding budget hearings this week.
Senate subcommittee budget hearings are expected to continue over the next three weeks with full Senate Finance Committee budget hearings expected to begin around the first week of April.
Cigarette Tax Subcommittee Continues to Work toward proposal On Thursday, February 28, the Senate Finance Special Subcommittee on Cigarette Tax (H.3567) met and heard testimony from Sharon Biggers, Division Director of DHEC’s Division of Tobacco Prevention and Control. Biggers presented statistics about current tobacco use in the state highlighting the fact that since 1999 tobacco use in South Carolina is trending downward. Upon completion of Biggers testimony the subcommittee adjourned.
Earlier in the week, Senate Finance Chairman Senator Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence) made a motion to extend the subcommittees deadline to give them ample time to work on the issues that continue to develop throughout the process.
Cracking Down on Failure to Appear
On Thursday, February 28, a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee approved a bill (H.3587) making it a separate crime for failure to appear before the court. The South Carolina Commission on Prosecution Coordination, the Sheriff’s Association, the Bail Agents Association, the Municipal Court Administrators Association, and the Association of Clerks of Court all support the bill.
The bill now heads to the full Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.
Judiciary Committee Working to Clear Calendar The full Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston), met on Tuesday, February 26, and the following bills were given a favorable report.
S.81/H.3059 - A motion was made to replace S.81 with H.3059 due to the similarity of the bills. The bill H.3059 makes it illegal to provide false identification to a law enforcement officer, a member of a fire department or a rescue squad.
S. 979 - Provides restitution for an erroneous conviction and sets a limit on amount of monetary compensation.
S.1053- Provides judges the option to deny bail to a person who has been released on bail pending trial and subsequently is charged with a violent offense.
S.1056 - Requires juveniles, probationers and parolees to agree, as part of their conditions of release, to being subject to search and seizure with or without a search warrant and with or without cause.
H.3528 - Restricts circumstances under which SLED may release lists of concealed weapons permit holders.
All the bills listed above were added to the Senate calendar for consideration. Additional bills were debated during the three-hour meeting, but were carried over until the next full Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, which is set for
Tuesday, March 4.
On Thursday, February 28, the Senate gave second reading to S.81 (H.3059), S.979, S.1053 and H.3528. Senate bill 1056 was carried over and is expected to receive additional debate next week.
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