Roads Bill Passes, Opioid Task Force, & Sine Die
Sine Die (Latin meaning “without a fixed day”) Adjournment occurred this past Thursday, May 11, 2017, at 5:00 pm and marked the end of this year’s general legislative session. For a bill to have become law this year, it would have needed to pass both legislative chambers by Sine Die. This always adds increased pressure in the final week of legislative session.
While my House colleagues and I passed many significant pieces of legislation this week, the most anticipated action was passage of the bill to fix our roads and bridges. The House and Senate hammered out an agreement that had enough support to pass both legislative bodies. In its final form, the roads bill:
Reforms the Department of Transportation
Provides Sustainable Long-Term Funding
Delivers Responsible Offsetting Tax Relief
On Tuesday, the House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee held its first meeting since being created by House Speaker Jay Lucas (R-Darlington). This issue affects every community and does not discriminate against race, age, gender, socioeconomic class or profession. “Because opioid abuse is different from other drug addictions, it is most important to consider and study every available option to prevent further damage and loss of life,” said Lucas. The 16-member bipartisan committee was created by Lucas after reports indicated the opioid epidemic was rapidly growing in our state.
The House will come back in a few weeks for a specialized session to vote on the remaining conference reports, including a final budget once the House and Senate have reached a final agreement.
As always, 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.