Last week was the 2nd week of the 2020 legislative session. There are 16 legislative weeks remaining before the General Assembly adjourns on May 14, 2020. Here are the highlights from last week in the Senate:

K-12 EDUCATION REFORM LEGISLATION – As expected, the Senate spent last week discussing S. 419, a comprehensive bill with many K-12 education reform ideas. The debate last week focused on removing the additional 5 paid work days for teachers that the committee added and a “Teachers Bill of Rights.” The passion and interest on this issue are high, so I expect that debate to continue for a couple more weeks.

DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF AGING – The Senate confirmed Ms. Connie D. Munn, Governor McMaster’s nominee to be the Director of the Department of Aging.

STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS – On Wednesday night, Governor Henry McMaster delivered his third State of the State address.  You can read the speech HERE or watch the speech HERE. The speech is about 45 minutes.

 

COMING UP THIS WEEK

EDUCATION REFORM – The Senate will spend most of this week debating S.419, discussed above.

NOMINEE SCREENINGS – A Senate Judiciary subcommittee met last week for its first hearing to screen Reginald Burgess, Gov. McMaster’s nominee to be Director of the Department of Public Safety.  Mr. Burgess currently serves as the chief of police for the North Charleston Police Department.  The subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday.

 

CONSTITUENT INTERESTS

SCDOT ROAD PROJECTS – SCDOT now has an interactive map to allow citizens to see the road and bridge projects going on around the state. You can see that map HERE.

HOW IS THE GAS TAX BEING USED? – SCDOT’s website allows you to view a detailed revenue statement and project list that is funded by the Infrastructure Maintenance Trust Fund (IMTF). SCDOT updates this site monthly as the revenue comes in. You can see that report HERE.

DO YOU NEED A REAL ID? – SCDMV is now issuing Real ID licenses and identification cards.  If you intend to get a Real ID, DMV encourages you to avoid long lines and get the new ID before the September 30, 2020 deadline.  See below for frequent questions with answers:

WHY WOULD YOU NEED A REAL ID? – To board any commercial airline flight, enter a secure federal building, or visit a military installation on and after October 1, 2020, you must have a REAL ID or another federally approved identification such as a valid US Passport or military ID.

DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR CURRENT ID SOON? – There is no need to rush to DMV now.  In fact, unless your driver’s license or ID card is expiring, there is really no reason to wait in line to change your card right now. If you do decide to get a Real ID, make sure you take the correct documentation to change your current license or ID card to a Real ID.

To see the documentation you will need for a Real ID or get more information, please see SCDMV’s Real ID page 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.

Sincerely,

Shane Massey
P.O. Box 551
Edgefield, SC 29824
Email: shanemassey@scsenate.gov
Cell Phone: (803) 480-0419

 

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.