Below is the latest report from SC Department of Commerce on the key economic indicators for the state.
Rep. Hamilton Scores 100% Pro-Business Voting Record
August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Two legislative scorecards issued by pro-business groups gave Rep. Dan Hamilton perfect 100% scores for his pro-business record during the 2011 Legislative session. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) each gave Rep. Hamilton 100% pro-business ratings.
The scores are based on votes cast during the most recent legislative session on issues such as lawsuit abuse reform, charter schools, government restructuring and unemployment insurance reform. Both groups track key roll call votes to determine an overall score for each member of the General Assembly during each legislative session.
Both scorecards can be found online:
South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Legislative Scorecard
National Federation of Independent Businesses State Legislative Scorecard
Video Legislative Update
August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Rep. Hamilton gives a quick update from his office at the State House and asks for your help and ideas for the tax study committee.
Governor Haley Issues Vetoes to State Budget
June 29, 2011 By 4 Comments
Governor Haley issued 35 veteos today to the state FY 2011-2012 budget. You can see her veto message in the link below. As I look through them tonight, I see some I agree with and some I don’t. The South Carolina House will return to Columbia Wednesday to consider these vetoes. Please take a minute and look over the vetoes and give me your feedback.
General Appropriation Veto Letter
A few items that have caught my eye so far…
- Vetoes 6 & 7 (Greenville Tech – University Center) The University Center’s appropriation has often been a target for vetoes in the past. I will vote to override this veto as the University Center has proven over the years to be a solid return on investment by giving professional adults the opportunity to earn advanced degrees while remaining in the workforce. South Carolina already lags behind our peer state in college graduates per capita and University Center fulfills a unique niche to help close that gap.
- Veto 12 (University of South Carolina — Small Business Development Center) Have you ever attempted to start a new business? There is a lot of red tape and potential pitfalls and most new businesses fail before they can flourish. The SBDC exists to assist and mentor entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. Just last year with a budget of less than $500,000, the SBDC’s assisted in 2,735 Jobs Created & Saved; $54,700,000 in Capital Formation; $117,900,000 in Government Contract Awards; 105 New Businesses Started; and 6,096 Individuals Served. Enough said. I will vote to override this veto.
- Vetoes 27 & 28 (Election Commission Carry forward) This veto would prohibit the State Election Commission from using approximately $700,000 money left over from last fiscal year to help offset the cost of the First in the South Republican primary in 2012. The entire cost to run a secure primary election is approximately $1.5 million. Both the Republican and Democrat primaries in 2008 were funded by state tax dollars. I will vote to override this veto, too. I believe elections are a core function of government, not to mention the economic impact to our state of having multiple campaigns spend lots of money in our state on television, radio, hotels, transportation, etc. The return on investment is huge, plus it gives a small state like South Carolina a chance to have a real voice in nominating a potential United States President.
- Vetoes 30 & 31 (State Conservation Bank) This veto would remove the general fund appropriation of $2,000,000 to the state conservation bank fund. We already have a mechanism for funding the conservation bank through deed stamp fees when properties transfer. I agree with Governor Haley that additional funding the conservation bank is not a good idea at this time and will vote to sustain this veto.
Governor Haley will be briefing House members in the morning on her vetoes. I look forward to hearing from her and you as we debate these vetoes tomorrow on the House floor. Feel free to watch us live on your computer.
Statement on Governor Sanford
July 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The events of this past week have been incredibly difficult for the people of South Carolina. Since Governor Sanford’s return from being out of the country and his revelation of an extramarital affair, I had hoped he would be able to put this behind him and move on with the responsibilities of governing our state.
Unfortunately, in light of recent less than candid and contradictory statements, it has become clear that Gov. Sanford has lost the ability to effectively govern at this time. I regretfully ask the Governor to consider resigning his position and take the time to focus on his personal well being and his responsibility as a husband and father. The job of Governor is temporary in nature and can be passed on to other people. The role of husband and father is permanent and cannot be done by anyone else.
Let me be clear, this is not about the Governor’s personal indiscretions, none among us is perfect. We must now focus on our fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of South Carolina and do what is best for them.
Pastors' Day at the Capitol
April 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment
On Wednesday, April 22, 2009, Capitol Ministries will host Pastors’ Day at the Capitol®. We are inviting the pastors all across our state to join in this ministry event. Ralph Drollinger, http://www.capmin.org/About/RalphDrollinger.aspx, founder and president of Capitol Ministries will be our keynote speaker, addressing “The Missing Mandate of Modern Mission” as it relates to the political arena.
Events will begin at 8:30am with our Legislative Bible Study and a luncheon at 12:30-2:30pm At the Capital City Club. We would greatly appreciate your presence here in Columbia for our annual Pastors’ Day. Please feel free to invite other ministers to participate and RSVP to jeff.lingerfelt@capmin.org or 803-467-7634.
Gov. Sanford's Letter to President Obama asking for Flexibility for Stimulus Funds
March 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment
I agree with Gov. Sanford that the federal government should give states flexibility with the stimulus money. As it stands, the federal government is requiring us to use over 85% of the money for annualized K-12 and higher education spending. While these are important functions of state government, South Carolinians should be able to decide how to best spend the money for our state, not Washington politicians. For these reasons, I voted against using the stimulus money in our budget and will continue to support Gov. Sanford in the responsible use of the funds.
See Gov. Sanford’s letter to President Obama below:
_______________________________
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
MARK SANFORD, GOVERNOR
March 17, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
President
United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
I’d first thank you and Director Orszag for your response of March 16 to my letter of the previous week. Likewise, I have to express my disappointment that our substantive dialogue about the best way to adapt this stimulus to the unique situations of states across this country was interrupted by the Democratic National Committee’s launching of a petty attack ad against us even before we had received your response.
I’ve made clear my opposition to using debt to solve a problem created in the first place by too much debt – and I don’t believe this to be an unreasonable position. What I find less reasonable is the way this DNC attack ad returns a nation indeed yearning for change back to the same old politics-as-usual. Because I believe you and I share a common desire to escape this worn-out “attack first” mentality, I’d respectfully ask you to immediately condemn and put an end to this unnecessary politicization of a truly important policy discussion.
In the spirit of moving forward, I’d offer the following as a clarification to our using a portion of the stimulus funds to paying down our state’s sizable debt. With regard to the Education Stabilization Fund monies (ARRA § 14002(a)(1)) that must be used “for the support of * education,” we think it would be consistent with statutory requirements to use this $577 million to pay down the roughly $579 million of principal for State School Facilities Bonds and Research University Infrastructure Bonds over two years. This would immediately free up over $162 million in debt service in the first two years and save roughly $125 million in interest payments over the next 13 years, which could then be directed towards other educational purposes – just as paying off a mortgage early frees up the typical monthly payment for other uses.
Regarding the $125 million in the Fiscal Stabilization Fund (ARRA § 14002(b)(1)) headed to South Carolina, we’d lay out a few options for your consideration: first, paying down debt related to the state’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund that currently exceeds $200 million and would directly impact those currently out of work in this struggling economy; second, paying down debt related to state retirees, since that would seem to satisfy the statutory requirement that these funds be used for “other government services”; or third, paying down other bonded indebtedness at the state level.
We trust these alternative proposals fit both the statutory requirements and spirit of the stimulus legislation. Thank you again for your response, and we would again appreciate your opinion as soon as possible given that we believe this course of action will do more to ensure South Carolina’s long-term economic strength than would other contemplated uses of the funds.
I also await your response on pulling down the attack ads. A good part of your candidacy was fueled by the hope for change in the way political debate is conducted in our country. On this, actions will speak louder than words – words you have been so gifted in delivering – in determining where you really stand, not as a candidate promising to deliver on change, but as a leader now capable of bringing this change. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Mark Sanford
cc: The Honorable Peter R. Orszag, Director
Office of Management and Budget