I am a small business owner in Columbia and am a Tea Party Supporter. I am in favor of small government and low taxes(both of which are good for business). I support Governor Haley’s efforts to bring more government function under the direction of the governor’s office. This will make an elected official accountable for more of the functions that our tax dollars pay for. This way we have a say in how OUR money is spent. If the legislative activities were focused on the things that are important to the taxpayers, Governor Haley wouldn’t have requested the special session. When you reconvene, please don’t waste time on trivial matters. Our economy is in the tank and we can’t afford any wasted time and effort. The only reply I need is swift passage of these restructuring measures. Thank you for your time.

Will Andrews

Dear the Honorable Senator McConnell:

I am writing to you as a proud South Carolina former state government worker who served the SC public for over 29 years. There are several proposals this year designed to change the SC State Retirement System and the oversight of our health insurance system (S531, H3568 and H3066).

I understand there is a meeting tomorrow planned to review the structure of the oversight/operation of these programs (proposed Reconstruction bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee) and I encourage you to make sure the Insurance administration is not moved to the Governor’s Division of Administration, making the program more apt to political influence, no matter if there is a Democrat or a Republican in charge. Keep the Insurance administration where it is and a part of the Budget and Control Board.

These two systems have served government employees at all levels of government quite well for many years. These systems are not broken, we do not have a crisis, and any needed changes should be deliberately made with the aid of competent professional assistance.

State employees and retirees highly value the current defined benefit retirement plan. Especially important to all of us are the cost of living adjustments which make the difference between living a retirement with dignity and living a bare minimum lifestyle. Shifting to a defined contribution plan would be a great disservice to government employees who have never pretended to be investment specialists.

We know that some changes to benefits and contributions must be made from time to time to maintain a strong system. We are prepared for that if the changes are well thought out and sound actuarially. That does not mean totally scraping the existing system when maybe it needs tweaking and shoring up.

I ask that you please safeguard our interests in our retirement and health plans and resist the temptation to change them so much that we will all regret the outcome. Several other states that have done this are now trying to go back (look at the West Virginia experience). We must learn from the errors of others.

Thank you for your kind attention to these matters and I can be reached at the contact info below if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Gary Crossley

15 Pony Lane

Charleston, SC 29407

lovetoworkorg@yahoo.com

843/452-4121