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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 … [Read more...]

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...]

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 … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

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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 … [Read more...]