All hands work to keep Maersk

December 23, 2008 by senatormcconnell

Legislators join union, SPA in talks with company

In a rare move, union leaders and State Ports Authority officials came together Monday afternoon with state legislators and Maersk Line executives in an effort to salvage the company’s business in the Port of Charleston.

SPA officials plan to “get creative” and work toward a mutually acceptable solution over the next few weeks, according to the agency’s chief executive officer The SPA’s board of directors met by teleconference later in the afternoon, with one member even phoning in from a tropical vacation, to hash out the Maersk situation.

After meeting with all parties for more than two hours at the Maritime Association building on Morrison Drive, Sens. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, and Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, emerged smiling. Read more

McConnell: Maersk Leaving Not a Done Deal

December 23, 2008 by senatormcconnell

The weather maybe cold but talks to keep the port’s biggest customer are heating up. Today state lawmakers enter the discussion. Still, a series of hurdles remain to keep Maersk from leaving.

The company name spread across dozens of containers. Maersk accounts for nearly a quarter of the ports yearly business. Last week, a bombshell, the global shipping giant announced it’s plan to leave the Charleston port, citing a breakdown in negotiations with the International Longshoreman Association. State Senator Glenn McConnell says the Union is being unfairly blamed from the dispute.

“Based on what I had heard, the ILA was kind of left out in the cold until the last minute and they should of known they couldn’t agree to that in my opinion. They are not going to agree to put their members out of work,” said McConnell. Read more

Lawmakers, SPA and union reps meet with Maersk

December 23, 2008 by senatormcconnell

Maersk Line representatives met with state lawmakers, leaders of the three local maritime unions and State Ports Authority officials Monday afternoon to began hatching a plan for the company to remain in Charleston

They shared few detail of their discussions but emerged smiling from a 2 1/2-hour conference.

“Here in the season of light and miracles there is hope in the state of South Carolina,” said state Sen. Glenn McConnell. Read more

Lawmakers working on roll-call voting

December 22, 2008 by senatormcconnell

I read the recent editorial (“Let us see the truth,” Dec. 12) concerning roll call voting. A response is needed. I, along with many others, including Reps. Nikki Haley and Bobby Harrell, and Sens. Larry Martin and Harvey Peeler, have worked for many months on changes that would make the way that the legislature operates more transparent and accountable.

I believe that any changes to how the S.C. House and S.C. Senate operate must be done by the bodies’ rules. The S.C. Constitution is clear that rules trump statutes regarding how the bodies operate. We have seen in the past with statutory spending limits that the General Assembly can ignore the provisions of an act (statute) members do not agree with. The General Assembly cannot ignore a constitutionally based rule. The only way to ensure compliance is to put reform in the place where it must be complied with.

Therefore, I believe that a statute is only a mirage that allows legislators to say that they did something. Let me explain. Read more

McConnell Plan Will Limit State Spending

December 11, 2008 by senatormcconnell

McConnell: “There’s no education in the second kick of a mule.”

Columbia, SC – December 10, 2008 – South Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell today pre-filed legislation to bring more accountability to state government by
Constitutionally capping the growth of state revenue spending. McConnell’s plan will rein in spending and provide additional resources for the state during tough economic times.

The Constitutional amendment would demand fiscal responsibility by limiting spending growth to a rate of population growth plus the growth in personal income and putting money aside in a revenue stabilization account in good times to cover shortfalls in tough times. McConnell is pushing the plan because “government should not grow any bigger than it needs to be or any faster than people’s ability to pay for it.” This is the same plan that failed by one vote to pass the Senate last year. Read more

Rule of law, not agenda, spurred involvement with local delegation

December 5, 2008 by senatormcconnell

I must admit I was amazed to read the recent editorial wherein I was alleged to be the mastermind of using the fight among members of the Spartanburg legislative delegation as a method to advance a larger Senate agenda. This could not be farther from the truth of the matter. Let me explain the true situation.

One thing the editorial did get right was that I counseled Spartanburg senators regarding being overrun by the House members who wanted to act purely based on numeric votes, but I only did so after they contacted me and the Senate’s legal staff. When Sen. Lee Bright contacted me, I counseled him on the court order that applied to legislative delegations and how the Charleston legislative delegation had interpreted and implemented that court order. There was never any thought of using the unfortunate situation in Spartanburg as a spark to ignite a larger fight over weighted voting.

What we discussed was that this issue was about two things — the rule of law and fundamental fairness. I believe that the federal courts were very clear that governmental actions of legislative delegations required weighted voting. I believe then and now that the election of delegation officers surely meets that test. No action of the delegation can occur unless the chairman deems to call a meeting of the delegation. The chairman also has appointment powers that the rest of the delegation does not share. Read more