Statehouse Report #10
Budget Week, Foster Care, Automatic Stay Reform The focus of the House this week was almost exclusively on the budget. Democrats were seeking to raise taxes on the people of South Carolina in two ways. The first was an increase in taxes for firearms, which would have unfairly penalized lawful gun owners. Republicans soundly […]
Statehouse Report #9
We’ll Take Your Date If You Take Our Rate, Budget, Opioids On Wednesday a bipartisan House coalition led by Speaker Jay Lucus held a press conference in the statehouse calling for the Senate to take up legislation amended by the House to reduce SCE&G rates and provide immediate relief for hundreds of thousands of customers. […]
State House Report #8
V.C. Summer Resolution, Automatic Stay Reform, & State of the Judiciary On Tuesday the House took up a Senate resolution relating to the proposal by Dominion Energy to purchase SCANA Corporation. In the resolution, the Senate extended the amount of time the Public Service Commission has to review the Dominion-SCANA acquisition bid. However, the Senate […]
State House Report #7
V.C. Summer, Opioid Abuse Prevention, & Budget Priorities On Wednesday the House received a Senate resolution that extends the period of time the South Carolina Public Service Commission has to review a proposal by Dominion Energy to purchase SCANA Corporation. While an extension of time to review an acquisition bid may be merited, […]
State House Report #6
Public Service Commission Reform & Funding for Opioid Misuse Treatment & Students with Exceptional Needs On Thursday, the House passed legislation to reform the Public Service Commission (PSC) by a vote of 108-1. The legislation (1) strengthens ethical standards to limit outside utility influence, (2) requires stricter questioning of parties by commissioners before making a decision, […]
State House Report #5
Electric Cooperatives, Judges, and Telephone Scammers The bipartisan House Utility Ratepayer Protection Committee met again this week to further discuss the future of electric cooperative ratepayers who rely on Santee Cooper for their electricity. The Committee’s main concern, and my main concern, continues to be the protection of all ratepayers. The fact-finding meeting lasted several […]
State House Report #4
Repealing the Base Load Review Act This week on the House floor, and after much debate, the House passed a repeal of the controversial Base Load Review Act (BLRA). While the repeal of the BLRA took up most of our time this week, the House budget-writing committee also began meeting to write the annual budget. […]
State House Report #3
Regulatory Reform This week, Governor McMaster delivered his first State of the State address to the General Assembly and the House spent significant time on the floor debating two bills to reform the regulatory bodies that oversee utilities and set utility rates in South Carolina. On Tuesday, the House passed its first bill included in […]
State House Report #2
Protecting Ratepayers The inclement weather that left much of the state with snow and ice, unfortunately, halted floor action for two days this week. However, the winter storm did not prevent House committees from getting to work on important legislation or hearing more about a proposed deal from Dominion Energy to purchase SCANA, a private […]
State House Report #1
A Business Plan for 2018 This week marked the beginning of the 2nd regular session of the 122nd South Carolina General Assembly. We returned to Columbia with a long list of issues to tackle and 18 weeks to complete the work of the people. I am thankful for the trust you have given to me to represent […]