This Week in the Senate- February 25, 2010
February 26, 2010 by senatormcconnell
SC Senate Passes Overhaul of Jobless Agency
February 26, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Bill would lower legal age required to get tattoo in S.C.
February 25, 2010 by senatormcconnell
South Carolina lawmakers have agreed to lower the legal age required to get a tattoo without parental consent from 21 to 18. Now, it’s up to Gov. Mark Sanford to decide whether to sign the bill into law.
South Carolina is currently the only state in the nation that requires someone to be 21 to get a tattoo.
Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, sponsored the bill because he thinks the current law is unconstitutional since it doesn’t treat all adults equally. Someone is considered an adult at 18 and can sign contracts, vote and join the military, everything except drink alcohol, so he thinks they should be able to get a tattoo. Read more
Senate passes ESC overhaul
February 25, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Jobless benefits agency would be led by director named by governor
The Senate approved its version of reform for the troubled state Employment Security Commission on Wednesday, agreeing to move the agency to a Cabinet-style form of government led by a governor-appointed director.
Along with House-passed legislation approved last week, the Senate’s move means significant changes for the agency that manages South Carolina’s jobless benefits. Read more
Senate passes bill revamping ESC
February 25, 2010 by senatormcconnell
The S.C. Senate passed its own plan to reform the state’s troubled Employment Security Commission, after hammering out a compromise over the governor’s control of the new agency.
The Senate had struggled to reconcile differing views on whether the new Department of Workforce would be part of the governor’s Cabinet, with some leery of adding to the authority of the executive branch.
The Legislature, according to Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, needs to keep some oversight of the new agency, which will combine ESC functions with some now housed in the Commerce Department. Read more
House passes McConnell Seach Measure
February 25, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Warrantless proposal would affect probationers, parolees
Law enforcement moved one step closer Wednesday to having the right to search people on probation and parole without warrants.
For more than three hours, House members weighed arguments that pit gang violence and murders in Colleton County against abuse by highway patrol troopers caught on tape.
Democrats attacked the legislation as giving too much unchecked power to police before the House voted 81-26 to give the bill key approval. It needs one more vote in the House before returning to the Senate, which first passed the bill last February and could agree to the changes the House made quickly and send it to the governor’s desk. Read more
Crime Bill Passes House
February 24, 2010 by senatormcconnell
House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement about the passage of major crime legislation today:
“We owe it to our citizens, our community and our Law Enforcement Officers to protect them by making sure violent repeat criminals stay where they belong – behind bars. That is why Senator McConnell and I have been working closely with our local Law Enforcement Officers and community leaders on new crime legislation that will better protect our citizens and make our community a safer place to live.
“If a convicted criminal does get probation, that offender should still be subject to searches during this period. These offenders are serving out their remaining sentence in the public in lieu of jail; therefore these searches are completely warranted. Also, if a repeat offender is charged with a new crime, our judges should be able to consider that fact and have the authority to deny dangerous suspects bail.
“All too often, we have seen violent crimes committed by repeat offenders who have run unchecked on our city streets. The recent tragedies our community has suffered highlights the need for new, tougher crime laws that defend the rights of law-abiding citizens, instead of protecting those of career criminals intent on doing harm.”
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Honoring the Hunley
February 22, 2010 by senatormcconnell
It was a clear, cool night for a beachside memorial on Sullivan’s Island, this as one of the nation’s biggest mysteries was remembered. Friday night the Confederate Heritage Trust held their tenth annual memorial of the Hunley’s attack of the U.S.S. Housatonic and those who died the night of February 17th 1864. Re-enactors honored the dead and the attack that preceded one of the biggest historical mysteries.
“That’s the only thing we haven’t been able to determine, is why the Hunley did not come that night,” Glenn McConnell said.
Read more
This Week in the Senate, February 18
February 19, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Senate labors to overhaul agency
February 19, 2010 by senatormcconnell
Converting the troubled Employment Security Commission into a new state Department of Workforce is in the works in the House and Senate, but a plan for how to pay for unemployment benefits in the future is not yet on the table.
The Senate on Tuesday continued debate on a plan to overhaul the jobless benefits agency and is expected to resume talks today. The House is poised to take up its version of the bill as early as this week.
Both bills would rename the agency and strip the current three commissioners of their administrative authority and shift their primary responsibility to hearing appeals about unemployment claims. Read more
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