Last week was a little slower on the legislative front. Here are the highlights from the 6th week in the Senate:
INCREASED PENALTIES FOR SOLICITING PROSTITUTION – The Senate passed S. 168, a bill that would toughen penalties for soliciting prostitution. South Carolina, unfortunately, has seen a rise in sex trafficking in recent years; this bill is an attempt to combat that trend. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.
INCREASING MAGISTRATE JURISDICTION – The Senate passed S. 118, a bill that would increase civil jurisdiction in magistrate’s courts from $7,500 to $10,000.
GOVERNOR & LT. GOVERNOR AS A TICKET – The Senate began debate on S. 107, a bill to implement the constitutional amendment to allow the Governor to choose his running mate. Since the Lt. Governor has presided over the Senate, run the Office on Aging, and performed various other tasks as an independently elected official, several changes must be made to state law. The Senate will continue discussing the bill this week.
Last Week’s Meetings
On Tuesday morning, I attended Lexington Chamber of Commerce’s monthly breakfast and learned about a lot of great things happening at Lexington School District One.
On Tuesday morning, I spoke to a group of Baptist pastors who were visiting the statehouse. I appreciate their involvement in the political process, and I told them we’ll take all the prayers we can get!
On Thursday afternoon, I joined Anne Eller on WCRS 1450 AM to talk about issues facing South Carolina.
On Friday, I attended Boeing’s unveiling of the new 787-10 Dreamliner. It was a big week for Boeing. On Wednesday, Boeing employees voted NOT to unionize, and President Trump came to North Charleston for the major announcement on Friday. While Boeing South Carolina is based in North Charleston, it really has a major impact statewide: there are nearly 300 supplier/vendor locations across the state that support Boeing, the company spends $355 million annually with SC suppliers, and the total economic impact of the aerospace industry in SC is more than $17 billion each year.
Constituent Interests
SCDOT PROJECTS – SCDOT Secretary, Christy Hall, recently appeared before the Senate Transportation Committee to present an annual State of the SCDOT. You can view Secretary Hall’s power point presentation here.
SCDOT’s website provides a good bit of information about projects across the state. You can see a list of statewide priorities here and a map with all projects here.
WANT TO SEE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN ACTION? – The Senate meets in statewide session on Tuesdays at 2:00, Wednesdays at 12:00, and Thursdays at 11:00. Committees and subcommittees meet Tuesday mornings, Wednesday mornings, and Thursday mornings. You can watch live coverage of the Senate, House of Representatives, and committees here.
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, 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.
P.S. Please visit www.senatormassey.com for more posts, news, and video updates. Also, please “friend” me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.