The Senate did not meet in statewide session last week in order to allow committees more time to work. Here are the highlights from the second week in the Senate –
Ethics – The Senate Judiciary Committee met last week and approved an amended version of S. 1 , a bill to update ethics laws for elected and appointed officials. The bill would require independent, anonymous campaign groups to disclose their donors, require legislators to disclose the sources of their private income, and provide for an independent ethics commission to investigate ethics complaints against legislators. The full Senate will likely begin discussing the bill on Tuesday, but I expect the real debate will not begin until Wednesday.
Domestic Violence – The Senate Judiciary Committee spent several hours debating S. 3 , a bill designed to strengthen South Carolina’s domestic violence laws. After several amendments, the committee sent the bill to the full Senate. The bill would increase penalties for domestic violence and prohibit people who have been convicted of domestic violence or are subject to a domestic order of protection from possessing firearms for up to 10 years. I expect additional amendment when the full Senate considers the bill.
Since the full Senate will begin debating the ethics bill this week, I doubt we will get to the domestic violence bill until next week. I will keep you updated.
State of the State Address – Governor Nikki Haley delivered her 5th State of the State Address last Wednesday night. You can watch a replay of the speech here or read the speech here.
Funding for Roads and Bridges – As part of her State of the State Address on Wednesday night, Governor Haley detailed a plan to provide more funding for roads and bridges. The Governor proposed increasing the state’s 16.75 cents/gallon gas tax by 10 cents/gallon over three years in conjunction with reducing the state’s income tax from 7% to 5% over ten years and restructuring the Department of Transportation.
An increase of 10 cents/gallon would raise about $300 million per year. Unfortunately, the Department of Transportation estimates it needs about $1.5 billion per year.
Senate Schedule – The Senate met only in committees last week but will return to its regular schedule this week. The Senate meets in statewide session on Tuesdays at noon, Wednesdays at 2:00, and Thursdays at 11:00. Committees and subcommittees meet Tuesday afternoons, Wednesday mornings, and Thursday mornings. You can watch live coverage of the Senate, House of Representatives, and committees here.
Constituent Interests
Taxpayer Hero – Last Week the South Carolina Club for Growth named me one of its Taxpayer Heroes for 2014. You can read the press release here , see the scorecard here , and see the explanation of scored votes here.
Town Hall Meetings – I have held over 100 town hall meetings throughout our district over, and I really appreciate the hundreds of folks who have participated. These town hall meetings give me a chance to keep you updated about what’s going on in Columbia and, more importantly, allow me to hear what’s on your mind. I’m already working on the next round of meetings, which I hope to schedule for February and March. I’ll get the schedule out soon.
Our Senate District – Senate district 25 consists of all of Edgefield County and parts of Aiken, Lexington, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. If you’d like to see the district map, go here.
Voting Record – If you’d like to see how I’ve voted on issues, go here. You can always check to see how I vote by going to my website, www.senatormassey.com, and clicking on the “Voting Record” tab.
Speaking with Groups – Several groups, clubs, and classes around our Senate district have invited me to attend their meetings and provide legislative updates. If you would like for me to come speak with your group, please let me know.
Email updates – If you know of people in or around District 25 who do not receive my updates but would like to get them, please email their names and email addresses to me. You can also forward this email to them and encourage them to sign up for the updates at www.senatormassey.com.