COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 19th week of the legislative session:
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SC BUDGET: The South Carolina Senate gave key approval Wednesday to its $6.6 billion spending plan for state taxes. The Senate voted 27-12 on second reading, after carrying over all remaining arguments to the third reading, which returns the amended bill to the House. Amendments defeated so far include attempts to remove money for additional judges. The budget adds three circuit court judges and six family court judges, along with their staff, for a total of 30 positions, at $30 million. South Carolina has the largest per-judge caseload in the nation. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal has for years asked legislators to fund more judges. Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler argued the state doesn't need them, and the money should go to business' unemployment insurance. But other legislators argued the judicial backlog is delaying routine hearings for months and the resolution of cases for years, whether for criminal prosecution or family adoptions.
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SC BUDGET: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called on senators Tuesday to cut more taxes in their 2012-13 state spending plan as debate opened on the chamber floor — a demand the Senate's financial leader called political grandstanding. The Republican governor said the Senate must incorporate $93 million worth of income tax cuts in the Finance Committee's $6.6 billion proposal to prove to residents and small businesses they're the priority. The plan already includes one of the two bills Haley is demanding, which reduces taxes for small business owners. A second tax-cutting bill the House passed last month provides a modest savings on personal income taxes, at less than $100 per filer. As written, it doesn't take effect until 2013, but Haley said the $78 million should be set aside now. Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman noted the budget plan already includes $752 million in tax relief, most of which comes off the top of tax collections due to previously passed laws, as well as $395 million set aside in reserves.
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PENSION REFORM: The South Carolina Senate approved 39-1 Wednesday a pension reform plan that puts most of the changes on new employees. Sen. Greg Ryberg said the bill shores up the state retirement system in a way that honors promises to current employees, thereby avoiding a lawsuit. Advocates for public workers have praised the Senate's plan. The amended bill returned Thursday to the House. The Senate version allows current employees to continue factoring unused vacation and sick days into their benefit calculations at retirement. It also continues to base benefits on employees' final three years of pay, rather than using a five-year average. The changes would apply only for employees hired after June 30. The House plan applied those anti-spiking efforts to current workers, too. All employees would contribute more — an additional 1.5 percentage points over three years, to 8 percent, instead of 1 percentage point over two years under the House plan.
SC BUDGET: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called on senators Tuesday to cut more taxes in their 2012-13 state spending plan as debate opened on the chamber floor — a demand the Senate's financial leader called political grandstanding.
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ELECTION LAWSUIT: The Senate unanimously approved a bill meant to prevent chaos in future elections like that which resulted in nearly 200 candidates being tossed off June primary ballots. The measure sent Thursday to the House would remove the parties from the filing process and sync the deadlines for incumbents and challengers to turn in financial paperwork. It has no bearing on candidates taken off June 12 ballots. Those candidates were removed following the state Supreme Court's ruling earlier this month on improperly filed paperwork. The bill requires both challengers and incumbents to file financial forms online and bring proof into their local election commission office by the March 30 filing deadline. Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin said the bill turns the process over to professionals who will be trained on any future law change, at a fixed location with regular hours, as opposed to party operatives who can change per election cycle.
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SC GOVERNOR-ETHICS: The South Carolina House Ethics Committee sought more information Friday as they consider whether to reopen an ethics complaint against Gov. Nikki Haley. The committee voted unanimously to ask for employment documentation from the first-term governor and her previous employer to verify whether she worked for a hospital or its charitable foundation. Committee members stress they have not reopened the case, but are seeking clarification as they decide their next step. Rep. James Smith's measure asks the Republican-controlled panel to reconsider its May 2 decision to drop all charges after unanimously finding probable cause to pursue them. Haley's lawyer, Butch Bowers, says the committee did its job, and further pursuit is nothing more than a political witch hunt.
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SC GOVERNOR-LT GOV: Voters will be asked in November whether the governor and lieutenant governor should run together, but the change wouldn't take place until 2018. The House agreed Wednesday with the Senate's move to delay the joint ticket change by four years. The chamber voted 97-16 without debate. Gov. Nikki Haley blasted senators last month for pushing the change past what could be her second term, calling it a personal affront. But her spokesman confirmed she asked House Republicans to concur with the Senate's changes. House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham said that ensured the question would get on November's ballot. With just three weeks left in the regular session, the reality is that it likely would die otherwise, he said. If the measure didn't pass this year, it could not get on a general election ballot until 2014, and the first joint-ticket election couldn't be until 2018 anyway.
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BORN ALIVE: Legislators gave final approval Thursday to a bill meant to ensure that a fetus surviving an abortion attempt is not treated as medical waste. Abortion opponents applauded the measure's swift passage after years of failed efforts, praising the Senate where it usually stalls. The 107-0 vote Wednesday followed the Senate's 27-3 approval last month. The proposal defines a person as anyone who is breathing and has a beating heart after birth, whether by labor, cesarean section, or abortion. A fetus which survives an abortion attempt would be entitled to treatment. Both abortion rights activists and foes concede such an event is rare. The bill copies the federal Born Alive Infant Protection Act of 2002 that applies to federal property and facilities.