The other day I gave y’all the Senate GOP’s report on last week’s activities. For another view, here is what one House Democrat, Beth Bernstein, sent out to her constitutuents:
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
Here is my Legislative Update for the month of February. The House made progress on a number of important issues this month. Here are some highlights. As always, I am interested in hearing your thoughts and concerns on the issues.
Thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Best regards,
BethHOUSE WEEK IN REVIEW
February 8, 2013Investing in Cyber-Security
A bill, H.3528, was introduced that would establish a new state agency, the Department of Information Security, to provide a comprehensive framework for ensuring the effectiveness of information security controls over information resources that support state operations and assets. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.Shortening Legislative Session
A bill, H.3340, that shortens the South Carolina General Assembly’s legislative session passed the House. Under this law, instead of beginning the second Tuesday in January, session would begin the second Tuesday in February. It would also require the General Assembly to adjourn Sine Die no later than the first Thursday in May. The bill was sent to the Senate.Clarifying Role of Solicitors
A bill, H.3247, clarifies the role of the circuit solicitors in the administration of the General Sessions court docket and provides that this ability to administer the docket shall not interfere with the court’s ability to protect a litigant’s rights. The bill passed the House and was sent to the Senate.Protecting a Child’s Due Process Rights
A bill, H.3520, was introduced that prohibits a child’s parent or guardian from waiving the child’s right to counsel when the Family Court proceeding may result in the detention or confinement of the child. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.HOUSE WEEK IN REVIEW
February 11, 2013 – FURLOUGHHOUSE WEEK IN REVIEW
February 22, 2013Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of the Mentally Ill
A bill, H.3560, was introduced to require South Carolina to report people adjudicated by the courts for mental illness to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System in order to prohibit them from obtaining a firearm legally. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.Privatizing the State Lottery
A bill, H.3555, was introduced to streamline state government and save taxpayer dollars by hiring a private contractor to organize and conduct the South Carolina Education Lottery. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.Government Restructuring
A bill, H.3541, was introduced to amend the South Carolina Constitution in order to make the office of Adjutant General an appointed position by the Governor, instead of being popularly elected by the voters. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.Hate Crimes Legislation
A bill, H.3589, was introduced that provides a penalty for anyone convicted of a crime with the intent to assault, intimidate, or threaten a person based on their race, gender, religion, age, national origin, or sexual orientation. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.HOUSE WEEK IN REVIEW
February 25, 2013The business of the House continued during this week with a few noteworthy events, and a great deal of committee and subcommittee work.
Closing out Black History Month with Activism:
On the State House grounds Tuesday, The South Carolina NAACP held its 2013 Legislative Day, including a press conference voicing support for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires any changes in voting laws in certain states to be pre-cleared by the United States Justice Department. The Voting Rights Act is currently being reviewed by the United States Supreme Court.Increasing Flexibility in the Budget:
This week, the House approved and sent the Senate H.3501, a joint resolution that suspends the statutory requirement for including 4.5% of the previous year’s state General Fund in the Local Government Fund for the next two budget years. Under this measure, counties would be authorized to transfer among appropriated state revenues, as needed, to ensure the delivery of services. Democrats opposed the measure due to the fact that it would shift a revenue burden onto local governments and municipalities.Making Infrastructure Investments:
A bill, H.3412, that requires all revenue produced by car taxes in South Carolina must be credited to the state non-federal aid highway fund for road projects, passed the House.Restructuring the Department of Insurance:
A bill, H.3642, was introduced to popularly elect the Director of the Department on Insurance in South Carolina. Currently, the Governor appoints the Director. The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.Ensuring Healthy School Lunches:
A bill, H.3726, was introduced to ban certain junk foods from public school lunch programs and vending machines. The bill was referred to the Education and Public Works Committee.
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Privatizing the state lottery sounds like a terrible idea. Like most privatization schemes it just sounds like the state is going to establish a temporary state-back monopoly. Public money going into private hands, with some of the money then going into politicians’ campaign accounts. If it was a true privatization scheme the state who legalize all gambling or at least private lotteries, but then that would be truly laissez-faire and well-connected individuals can’t make as much money that way.
PrivatizingHaving the state lottery sounds like a terrible idea.fixed that for you.
Replace the lottery with casino gambling.
Replace the lottery with a sensible, three-legged tax structure with minimal loopholes that treats businesses and individuals more uniformly – or which has lower rates for businesses.
This
Amen, Mark. That’s what I’ve been on about for years.
I bet (pun intended) we’ll see casino gambling before Harrell and Leatherman allow any significant changes to the tax code. If they haven’t done it by now, why would you expect that to change?
I was heartened to see that a bill was introduced to protect children’s due process rights in family court. It’s clearly a pretty wonkish topic. However, children are being held accountable and put in legal jeopardy (incarceration) in South Carolina because of the bad actions of a parent. I saw this first hand as a volunteer guardian ad litem. The compulsory school attendance law, in particular, assumes that the parent will do the right thing with regard to the child and punishes the child while not holding the parent accountable.
I hope it gets out of committee.
Yes, Mark, that and the clarification of solicitors’ roles are good examples of why lawyers are needed in the legislature!
Kathryn, yes. The bipartisan sponsors are all attorneys. Attorneys will of course benefit from the law’s enactment – but defenseless children railroaded by an adult process will benefit far more.
I’ll give Juan the benefit of the doubt that he would approve of this kind of lawyer legislating; being the people who best understand the legal trap at play here.