2006
Public Servant of the Year Robert Wesley Wes Hayes, Jr.
By Kristine Hartvigsen
While Sen. Wes Hayes doesn't work on Wall Street, he nonetheless knows a good investment when he sees one. Take education, for instance.
The research is pretty clear that money invested in the early childhood years is money well spent, Sen. Hayes said. It is where you can have the biggest impact on a child's future success in the classroom. Brain development is phenomenal in those years, and to go back later and try to correct it is often more expensive and less successful.
In addition to the 2006 opinion in the school equity funding lawsuit, Hayes credited business groups for garnering needed attention to early childhood education by incorporating it into their recent agendas. Businesses, he said, were instrumental in garnering support for the passage of funding for a pilot 4-year-old kindergarten program.
Prior to the equity decision, the business community, as represented by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, was already at the table pushing for this, he said, and I think that is why the issue has received a great deal of emphasis this quickly.
In the latter part of 2006, Hayes is serving on an early childhood subcommittee tasked with developing permanent legislation to expand on recent strides. Issues the subcommittee is considering include education for children from birth to age 3, expanding and distributing responsibility for 4K programs among agencies and the private sector, and managing wraparound services such as after-school and summer care.
There are all sorts of issues that need to be decided, Hayes continued. We are making progress, and I think the business community's input has been and will continue to be crucial. It is encouraging that the business community can see that over the long-term, in order to have a competitive workforce, we have to invest the money in early childhood education now.
A Rock Hill native, Hayes graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975, where he had been elected president of his class and served as a battalion commander. He went on to serve in the military as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg from 1975-1980 and as a member of the South Carolina Army National Guard for 25 years, retiring at the rank of colonel. Hayes is a master parachutist, a ranger, and recipient of the Army's prestigious Legion of Merit.
In 1983, Hayes graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he had been president of the Student Bar Association, served on the South Carolina Law Review, and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He is a partner in the law firm of Harrelson, Hayes, and Guyton.
Hayes, who represents York County's District 15 in the General Assembly, says being a state legislator is a balancing act that easily could be a full-time job in itself. He should know. He's a busy man, serving on numerous Senate committees, including Education, Ethics (which he chairs), Banking and Insurance, Finance, Corrections and Penology, and Medical Affairs. He served in the House of Representatives from 1985 until 1991, when he and was elected to the Senate.
You have to balance legislative service with having to make a living and wanting to spend time with your family, he said. Trying to maintain a balance has been something that I have had to wrestle with all the time. During an election year you throw in on top of everything else having to campaign, and then you really have a juggling act.. A contested race is about as tough a thing as I have ever done. For a person who has never had their name on a ballot, it is hard to understand what a contested race involves.
In addition to his public services, Hayes finds time to serve on the governing boards of several organizations, including South Carolina Bank and Trust of the Piedmont, Guardian Fidelity Mortgage Corporation, Westminster Towers, and the York County Chapter of the American Red Cross. He is an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill and contributes time and talent through community service with the American Legion, Kiwanis, Elks, Gideon's, the Christian Legal Society, York District Boy Scouts of America, and the United Way.
During his tenure in the General Assembly, Hayes recalls a couple of issues that especially challenged him and his colleagues.
I remember the battles we had on video poker. That was probably the most divisive issue I have seen in my 22 years, Hayes said. It was about a 10-year battle, off and on. I was opposed to it from the start. Video poker started in my area of the state and thus we experienced problems with it before other areas. Many legislators were reluctant to go up against the amount of money the video poker (lobby) could put into their cause. Another prominent issue was the establishment of the Infrastructure Bank for road improvement. That has opened the door for us to do some much-needed road work throughout South Carolina.
Issues that will receive much of Hayes attention in the 2007 session include workers compensation reform and health care initiatives, as well as a continued personal focus on education.
There are two major studies going on. One is on early childhood education. We are trying to come up with a more permanent plan, he explained. The other is on the Education Finance Act, which dictates how money is distributed to local school districts. Some of the measure is based on local school districts ability to pay. That needs to be looked at in light of the fact that our tax structure has changed. A lot of districts aren't going to be able to raise the same money locally as in the past. A big chunk of their taxes previously came from owner-occupied property taxes which have been replaced with a statewide penny sales tax.
A variety of property tax relief proposals were debated in 2006, and Hayes felt that the 1-cent increase in the state sales tax to fund relief on owner-occupied homes was better than many of the other options offered.
I was pushing for moderation on the tax swap for several reasons. No. 1 was the impact on business. It was basically a tax increase for business with nothing to offset it. I wanted to be cautious with such a tax increase because I did not want to put us at a competitive disadvantage with sister states in attracting and maintaining business. I think a 1 cent tax increase is a reasonable compromise that the business community can live with, he said. I also pushed moderation because of the swaps impact on home rule. It is not only a shift from property tax to sales tax but a shift from a local tax to a state tax. I think we need to be cautious in the way we shift responsibility from local to state government.
As a member of the Education Oversight Committee, Hayes bristles at assertions that South Carolina children cant compete academically with their peers across the nation. He said few people understand that South Carolina has some of the highest testing standards in the country. Data used in reporting test scores often are presented as comparable when they really are not. Half of states don't use the SAT but instead use the ACT. Not all states test their entire pool of students. They test only the highest percentiles, while South Carolina tests students at all levels.
I think we have been guilty, for whatever reason, of not telling the whole story, Hayes said. We are NOT last. We have one of the most rapidly improving education systems in the country,
Another education issue that is certain to re-emerge in 2007 is commonly referred to as Put Parents In Charge (PPIC) legislation promoting state vouchers or tax credits for parents to send their children to the school of their choice, including private school.
I supported the charter school legislation this year because it recognizes that one size does not fit all and encourages innovation in the public school system. However, PPIC takes it to the next level by basically taking money from the public school system and moving it to the private system, he explained. I have not been supportive of that concept so far. I am not convinced a tax voucher or tax credit program is the right approach. I am certainly willing to try to work on the issue of giving parents more options.
Hayes says South Carolina devotes about half of its state budget to education.
I have been encouraged by the General Assembly's commitment to education, he said.
Hayes is no stranger to awards and other formal expressions of appreciation for his efforts. He has received more honors than this magazine has space to list, including multiple legislator-of-the-year awards from a variety of education and health-oriented trade associations.
I was honored that the Chamber would even consider me for this recognition, he said. I have the greatest respect for the Chamber and the work it does.
