New ESC audit raises senators’ ire
February 5, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Another troubling audit of the state Employment Security Commission, this time dealing with financial issues, has raised the urgency among lawmakers to change the leadership at the embattled agency.
Meanwhile, one of the three commissioners of the agency, saying she is “embarrassed” at what has happened, agreed the agency needs reform.
“I am totally embarrassed,” Commissioner Becky Richardson told The Greenville News about the audit. “That was a lack of adequate personnel in place. It was the wrong people in place and allowing them to continue and giving them raises. It was baffling to me that was allowed to happen.”
Elsewhere on the unemployment front, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate proposed lawmakers enact a one-year tax rebate for employers who hire the unemployed.
Dwight Drake said his proposal would only be offered to those who have been on unemployment rolls for at least eight weeks and would be revenue neutral because it would be rebating taxes that would not have been collected anyway.
The idea is similar to one by Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler that was passed by the Senate last year and sits in the House. The state’s Board of Economic Advisors estimated Peeler’s bill would cost the state more than $170 million in a year.
Read moreVictory at the polls
February 4, 2010 by senatormcconnell
The goal of our voting laws should be twofold: enabling and encouraging as much voter participation as possible, while protecting the integrity of each vote. Remarkably, the South Carolina Senate has overwhelming... Read more
Senate revisits tax issue
February 4, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Possible starting point is proposal from last year The hot-button issue of property tax was pushed again Wednesday as the South Carolina Senate began looking for new ways to address some of the complaints... Read more
Commission releases findings on state’s prison system
February 3, 2010 by senatormcconnell
How long and how heavily should convicted offenders be punished? That’s the question a panel of lawmakers set out to answer nearly two years ago when the Sentencing Reform Commission first began... Read more
Panel urges changes in sentencing
February 3, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Prison recommended for state’s violent offenders, alternative routes for others South Carolina prison beds should be reserved for the most violent offenders, the state’s Sentencing Reform Commission... Read more
House passes Senate’s warrentless Searches Bill
February 3, 2010 by senatormcconnell
South Carolina legislators have tweaked a bill allowing officers to conduct warrantless searches by requiring them to first verify the person is on probation or parole. The House Judiciary Committee approved... Read more
S.C. panel calls for changes in sentencing
February 3, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Twenty-four crimes could become classified as violent if a legislative commission gets its way. In exchange, punishments for a number of drug-related crimes would be reduced. “Unless it rises to... Read more
Voter ID compromise reached
January 29, 2010 by senatormcconnell
The Senate reached a compromise Thursday on a controversial Voter ID bill that phases in over two years new requirements for a picture ID in order for a person to vote in South Carolina. The bill also... Read more
Loading ...
