Dear Friends,
I hope that you find this update helpful and informative:
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Legislative Update – April 24, 2012 |
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Crossover Deadline is May 1, 2012: A bill must either pass the House or Senate by May 1 and then sent to the other body for consideration to even have a chance of becoming law this year. Any bill advanced after that date can not be discussed in the other chamber without a two-thirds vote, a huge hurdle for bills that are controversial. With this being the second year of the two-year session, bills not approved before the session ends in June must be reintroduced next year and start all over, no matter where they sit in the committee or floor debate process. Both the House and Senate will be very busy this week to get as much passed as possible.
Restructuring – Elimination of Budget and Control Board: The South Carolina House has worked for five years, and with two governors, to create a Department of Administration and reform the executive branch. Last month, the South Carolina Senate approved a dense, over 100 pages long bill that failed to completely eliminate the Budget & Control Board splitting it into 10 different government agencies. They want 8 new agencies and also to expand two others that already exist. It looks like this…
Now, it is no secret that the House and the Senate frequently spar over legislation. In this case, the question is whether the medicine is worse than the sickness. We are extremely pleased the Senate tried to eliminate the Budget and Control Board. We are not pleased that the elimination was not complete and the Senate split it into 10 different government agencies.
That is not reform. This is growing government.
Here are the facts. The House has approved Department of Administration legislation three times in the past four years. This is the first time the Senate has approved it. The Senate amended our legislation with a 99-page amendment that was still being written the weekend after the Senate approved it. The Senate's legislation creates a new Budget and Control Board, and leaves the existing one intact.
It has taken the House a month to unpack the massive amendment, and what we found was a new RINO: Restructuring In Name Only.
The Budget and Control Board still exists under the Senate's plan. Not only that, but there is a new “bond review” board that consists of the Governor, the Comptroller General, the Treasurer, a Senator and a House member. Or, put another way, pretty much the same people who currently drive the Budget and Control Board.
The national credit rating agencies recently reaffirmed our state's AAA credit rating – something the Obama Administration can not boast – but those same agencies warned that if the Senate version goes through, that rating could be in jeopardy.
In addition to the fiscal integrity issues, the Senate's 10-agency plan contains other accountability oversights and gaps. The Senate created the Procurement Oversight Board, assigned it board members and departments to oversee, but failed to give the agency any authority to run itself or execute actions. That leaves decision making authority back with the old Budget and Control Board, which was never officially eliminated in the Senate's bill.
House Republicans are working to re-craft the legislation to put at least 85 percent of the old Budget and Control Board into the Department of Administration and truly dissolving the rest of the old board. We want to give the Governor true authority over the executive administration of our state. We will promote efficiency by reducing the number of agencies, maximizing the scope of the Department of Administration, and eliminating the Budget and Control Board.
One nugget tucked away in the Senate's plan, is moving the agency that provides independent fiscal impact statements on legislation under the control of the General Assembly. Is this not the fox guarding the henhouse? The House's version will ensure independence for the Bureau of Economic Advisors, strengthen the Inspector General and State Auditor's offices, and safeguard our AAA credit rating.
As Governor Haley pointed out to House Members in a meeting last month, the Senate's 10 government agency version of DOA reform has major flaws. By creating so many new and overlapping agencies, government will become less accountable and less efficient – something that is hard to imagine. I believe that the House can truly eliminate the Budget and Control Board, and do so in a way that provides real accountability and does not create 10 government agencies.
At the same time, there are several functions of government that should not be influenced by the political whims of one person. For example: Putting everything into the hands of the governor would allow that person to single-handedly make sweeping changes to state health care coverage (such as expanding coverage for abortions) or making unilateral changes to the state's retirement system.
Like any other major government reform, this will take time to achieve. The House has been working at this for four years. We are pleased the Senate tried to eliminate the Budget and Control Board – a reform we never thought would actually pass the Senate – but we simply cannot put a rubber stamp on legislation that grows government as swiftly as this current bill.
Online Electronic Voter Registration: The House approved and sent to the Senate a bill (H-4945) authorizing a person who is qualified to register to vote and who has a valid SC driver's license or state identification card to register to vote electronically on the website of the State Election Commission. A number of states are modernizing by including online voter registration.
Human Trafficking: The House approved (H-3757), a bill that expands and enhances penalties for human trafficking and implements other measures to combat the practice of trafficking in persons where victims are subjected to involuntary servitude, sex trafficking, forced labor or services, or debt bondage by means of physical restraint, extortion, control of immigration documents, drug dependency, or other forms of coercion.
Sales Tax Reform: A bill was filed in early March to eliminate two thirds of the state’s 78 sales tax exemptions. The proposed exemptions to eliminate total about $250 Million per year. (The ones recommended to be preserved directly benefit families in our state including sales tax exemptions on gasoline, groceries, residential electricity, and prescription drugs.) This bill is one of several tax reform bills filed this session. Last week, a House Ways and Means Committee amended the bill to restore all but about $15 million worth of exemptions.
Custody to Grandparents: The House amended, approved, and sent to the Senate (H-4717), legislation allowing for the EXPEDITED PLACEMENT OF A CHILD WITH GRANDPARENTS AND CERTAIN OTHER RELATIVES WHEN A CHILD REMAINS IN THE LEGAL CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. If the family court makes a finding that continuing the child in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child and a child remains in the legal custody of the Department of Social Services following the probable cause hearing in a child abuse or neglect case, this legislation provides that the family court may order expedited placement with a relative of the first or second degree, which includes a grandparent. The legislation further provides that the court shall consider the totality of the circumstances and certain characteristics of the relative and how these would impact the child. If the court places a child with a relative of the first or second degree, the relative must be named as a party for the duration of the case or upon further order by the court.
Unemployment Numbers: Based on the latest numbers from March, the state’s unemployment rate has gone down to 8.9% and Aiken County's unemployment rate is 8.0%. One year ago, Aiken County's rate was 8.6%.
Leadership Aiken County Great Ideas Endowment Fund: This group of leaders from our County is working to raise at least $25,000 to establish an endowment fund to provide (1) grants of up to $500 for secondary education teachers to encourage the study of science, math, engineering and technology and (2) engineering scholarships to Aiken Technical College. To learn more, go here.
Please be sure to stay up to date with all that is going on in Columbia. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, I am always available.
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You can view Live Broadcasts of the South Carolina House of Representatives daily legislative sessions by clicking Here.
Go to the new House Roll Call Votes Page to see how all the representatives have voted on all the important bills.
Thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia. If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don't hesitate to contact me at Home – 803-278-0892 or at work 803-279-8855.
Sincerely,
Bill Hixon
