Two weeks ago, the big story at the Statehouse dealt with a debate over how to fix state roads.
That story remained high on the list again last week.
State Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) stalled progress on the bill with a filibuster and, along with fellow Sen. Lee Bright (R-Spartanburg), continued that tactic last week.
Davis and Bright object to the bill, which raises the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon without, they say, cutting taxes in other places enough to make up for the gas tax increase.
Davis and Bright argue the state should use a one-time $1.3 billion surplus to fix roads.
However, some other senators argue some of that “surplus” money is already set aside for other projects, adding roads need a more stable source of funding.
While it may not be nearly enough money to put a serious dent in the roads issue, the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday (2/25) passed its version of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2016-17.
It’s a $7.5 billion plan.
The committee, which includes local representatives Alan Clemmons (R-Myrtle Beach), Phil Lowe (R-Florence), Murrell Smith (R-Sumter) and Jackie Hayes (D-Dillon), added $287 million in new road funding and set aside $130 million for tax relief.
The budget also allocated more than $400 million in public education, provided money for flood victims and forgives $12 million in loans to South Carolina State University, provided SCSU hires a new president by December 31, posts yearly enrollment increases and balances its budget.
House Ways and Means Chair Brian White (R-Anderson) said “the committee was able to produce a responsible budget that funds the needs of state government while providing tax relief for our citizens and increasing the amount of new money for roads.”
South Carolina is one of only two states (Wyoming is the other) that have no statutes of limitations for any criminal prosecutions (North Carolina, Kentucky and West Virginia currently have no statutes for felonies but they do for certain misdemeanors).
Last Thursday (2/25), the state senate introduced a bill to change South Carolina law.
The bill would, with some exceptions, require that a prosecution for a criminal offense must begin within 12 years after the date the offense is alleged to have happened.
The bill is now in a senate committee.
Another bill, this one introduced in the House, would allow a concealed weapon permit holder to have, for a one dollar fee, that designation on the front of his/her driver’s license.
The bill is now in a house committee.
A Senate bill introduced last week would increase the legal size limit for flounder.
The current law prohibits you from taking a flounder that is 14 inches long or shorter.
The new law would increase that to 15 inches.
That bill, too, is now in committee.
And if you’re a Clemson fan, the House adopted a resolution to make March 1, 2016, “Clemson Day” in South Carolina.
