Dear Friends
I hope that you find this update helpful and informative:
Appointment of Tim Scott:
This week Governor Nikki Haley announced U.S. Representative Tim Scott as her appointment to fill the vacancy created by U.S. Senator Jim DeMint's retirement. Video of Governor Haley's announcement is available here.
Gov. Haley said, "What we looked for in a new senator is a fighter–someone with courage and leadership for our state and nation at a time when we need it most, and someone who understands South Carolina's issues and knows her people. That is what we found in Tim Scott. It is a great honor for me to appoint Tim as our next U.S. Senator"
"I am deeply honored to accept Governor Haley's appointment as United States Senator," said U.S. Rep. Scott. "As much as there is honor in such an occasion, I am even more humbled at the confidence she has shown in me, and the task is now before me. Representing teh entire state of South Carolina and all of its citizens is a sacred duty. I look to the Lord's grace to give me strength and wisdom to fulfill that duty in a way that reflects well on our state and our country.
Prior to being elected to Congress in 2010, Scott served on Charleston County Council for 13 years, including four terms as Chair, and in the S.C. House of Representatives for two years where he was elected Chariman of the Freshman Caucus and House Whip. He was the owner of Tim Scott Allstate and partner of Pathway Real Estate Group.
Looking ahead to the 2013 Legislative Session:
The House of Representatives met ahead of the beginning of the session in January, with representatives getting immediately to work on ethics reform and the data hacking issue at the Department of Revenue. One of the first things the House did was immediately begin reform of the ethics committee by changing its rules to expand the committee and add more Democratic members to the committee.
This was only the first step in ethics reform, and not the end of the job. A Republican study committee is working on a comprehensive package of reforms that we expect to receive in January. But since the House elects the members of the Ethics Committee during the Organization Session, it was imperative that this reform be done.
The House aprpoved new rules that expanded the committeee to ten members, including five from the majority party and five from the minority party. This mirrors what is done in most states and Congress. The rule chage passed without objection. The members of the Ethics Committee have always worked in a non-partisan way to ensure the integrity of the House. Our study committee has quickly realized that the 1991 Ethics Laws are inadequate to meet today's reality. This is a quick fix to repair the existing system while we continue to work on systemic change.
The five Republicans elected to the committee by the House were: Rep. Murrell Smith of Sumter, Rep. Kenny Bingham of Cayce, Rep. Jenny Horne of Summerville, Rep. Mike Pitts of Laurens, and Rep. Tommy Pope of York. Rep. Bingham was elected as chairman of the new committee.
Cyber Hacking Update:
In wake of South Carolina's biggest and most serious cyber theft of private data, House Speaker Bobby Harrell launched an official investigation to find answers. He appointed a bi-partisan committee charged with finding answers and proposing solutions. The committee will be chaired by Majority Leader Bruce Bannister, and Minority Leader Harry Ott will be vice chairman.
The hacking incident has been a major issue with our constituents across the state, and our goal is to re-instill public trust in our state government. Governor Haley has worked with swift action directing her Cabinet agencies to work with federal authorities in addressing the immediate fallout of this security breach, but an independent outside investigation is needed to answer many of the questions moving forward.
This was an amazingly disturbing incident and every South Carolinian is entitled to answers and assurances that a solution is being sought. The people of our state have no choice but to offer up this personal information when filing taxes with the Department of Revenue, so it is the government's responsibility to protect that information adequately.
The Republicans on the committee include Majority Leader Bannister, Rep. Shannon Erikson of Beaufort, Rep. Dwight Loftis of Greenville, Rep. Jim Merrill of Daniel Island, Rep. Andy Patrick of Hilton Head and Assistant Majority Leader Gary Simrill of Rock Hill.
The Speaker charged the committee with issuing a full public report to the General Assembly detailing the breakdown in agency security measures that allowed the data theft to occur. According to the Speaker's Office: "The Committee shall have the ability to request any necessary information, interview experts and take witnesses testimony to uncover exactly how infiltration occurred and to determine if proper security measures were followed."
I eagerly await the recommendations of both the data hacking committee and the ethics committee will return to the General Assembly. These are clearly tow of the top issues we will tackle in January.
Transportation in South Carolina:
The S.C. Department of Transportation maintains the fourth largest highway system in the nation comprised of 41,460 center line miles and 8,357 bridges. The DOT's primary funding source is the 16 cents per gallon motor fuel user fee which was last adjusted in 1987. The DOT recently released a report outlining that South Carolina has $30 Billion in infrastructure needs over the next 20 years. To view the recent article from The State, click here.
