South
Carolina General
Assembly Home Page
Click Here or type in
www.scstatehouse.net
click here or
go to the address below to
register to vote
www.awod.com/election/reg
|
|
2008 begins my twenty-fourth year of
service as your elected representative to the General Assembly. After
serving in the General Assembly for seven year as your House member and
then seventeen years as your State Senator, I am grateful that you have
allowed me the honor of representing this community in Columbia. With the
exception of a few years of military service and higher education, I have
lived my whole life in this community. I pledge my commitment to serve
you, and I consider it my duty to provide you with the best representation
I can give. As the second year of the 117th General Assembly begins, we
face many significant challenges. Hopefully, this Newsletter will give you
a snapshot of the issues that are before us. Whether it may be by mail, at
a public meeting, or by personal contact, I look forward to your opinions
and comments, for it is through your involvement that I best serve.
SURFACE
WATER REMOVAL PERMITTING ACT. For several
years now I have stressed the need to balance the distribution of water in
South Carolina. Georgia increasingly has seen the Savannah River as a
source of alternative water as it uses more water in its cities like
Savannah and Atlanta. North Carolina continues to demand more use of the
Catawba River before it reaches South Carolina. Lake Hartwell has been
below its projected levels for many years now. New industry places new
demands on the Pee Dee River, and new housing developments on the coast
threaten a precious supply of ground water. The drought we are
experiencing now has brought to the forefront the need to protect this
precious and limited resource. Much debate has been given to a Bill I
introduced last year dealing with this issue. Rep. Gullick has a companion
Bill in the House. Hopefully, we will be able to pass this meaningful
legislation which will require all who withdraw more than three million
gallons of surface water a month from the state's waterways to obtain a
permit allowing for the protection and equitable distribution of this
natural resource.
SOUTH
CAROLINA vs NORTH CAROLINA. The U. S. Supreme
Court has agreed to hear this law suit dealing with the issue of planned
Catawba River Interbasin Transfers in North Carolina. At the request of
virtually all of the Municipalities and Counties along the Catawba River
Basin, the Attorney General has filed this law suit against North
Carolina. This action was necessitated by North Carolina's intent to
transfer water from the Catawba River to the Concord/Kannapolis portion of
the "Mecklenburg Statistical Area" without properly informing or
seeking input from South Carolina. North Carolina even rejected the offer
of mediation by the Catawba River Basin Bi-State Advisory Commission. This
Commission is made up of representatives from both states and was
established by both General Assemblies to bring about better cooperation
between the two states in the use and regulation of this vital waterway.
This law suit has been supported by the Governor and the General Assembly.
IMMIGRATION
REFORM. This has been a key issue during this
General Assembly of the State's Legislature. Polls show that a majority of
South Carolinians are concerned that illegal immigrants are taking too
many of the state's limited social services and paying too little income
taxes and social security fees. A Senate study committee held Town Hall
meetings across the state. We have heard your concerns, and we have begun
to take corrective action. The Senate passed a comprehensive reform bill
that will better identify illegal immigrants and provide the criteria to
deal with them. It provides for many new actions. Some examples are as
follows: verification programs for public employers; state law enforcement
officers with auxiliary immigration enforcement agents designations;
verification of lawful presence in the USA for those seeking public
assistance; and, establishes the Registration of Immigration Assistance
Services. This Bill now resides in the House Judiciary Committee. House
Judiciary Chairman, Rep. Jim Harrison, has given his assurance that he
will give this his full attention.
EDUCATION.
Several issues on education are pending before the General Assembly. One
example is full funding for establishing Pre-Kindergarten programs
statewide. For the past two years we have approved funding for a four year
old (K-4) pre-kindergarten pilot program. This has been most successful,
and many hope the General Assembly will approve statewide funding for
this. I support this if funding can be assured. Another example is
"Virtual School" programs, where public school courses are
offered on-line to qualified students was expanded in 2007. This has been
a successful and cost-effective program, and it is my hope to see it
expanded to include a greater variety of courses.
CIGARETTE
TAX ACT. This House Bill, as amended by the
Senate Finance Committee, is on the Senate's Calendar and is due to be
debated shortly. It imposes an increase of forty-five cents per pack,
which would increase the current tax (now seven cents) to fifty-two cents.
An increase of thirteen cents per ounce on smokeless tobacco (snuff and
chewing tobacco) is also included. With this revenue a Health Care Trust
Fund and a Smoking Cessation Trust Fund would be established. The original
Bill sent to the Senate from the House of Representative was substantially
different from what it has become in the Senate. The original Bill
provided for, among other things, a sales tax reduction on groceries with
a provision for offsetting losses to the Education Improvement Act Fund
caused by the reduction. Of course, we have already passed legislation
that eliminates the tax on groceries. Many different views exist about
increasing the cigarette tax and how to use the revenues it would
generate. I anticipate a lengthy debate on this Bill, but I am encouraged
that positive movement is taking place, and there now exist the
possibility that new funds will be generated for better healthcare
programs in South Carolina.
DUI LAW
REVISIONS. In 2005 I sponsored legislation
that significantly changed the laws governing alcoholic beverage
consumption and driving under the influence. Central to the "Driving
Under the Influence" legislation was reducing the blood alcohol
content legal level while driving an automobile from .10% to .08%. This
Bill was passed into law. After two years of implementing, law enforcement
came to us with the opinion that certain aspects of the new law were
ineffective. So, Senator Lourie and I joined together to introduce a more
comprehensive revision to the current DUI law. In a bi-partisan effort, we
hoped making the law more strict would help to stem the flow of highway
accidents and deaths related to driving under the influence of drugs and
alcohol. Representatives Smith and Harrison in House did the same. The
legislation introduced in the House, which is similar to the Senate's
Bill, has reached the Senate first. This legislation contains significant
additions to current law. It clarifies the definition of "felony
driving while impaired," and penalties for DUI are defined under a
tiered system of punishment having four levels of impairment. Also, a
person convicted of felony DUI involving great bodily injury is to have
his license suspended for his period of incarceration plus three years.
Furthermore, a person who is convicted of felony DUI involving death will
have his license suspended for his period of incarceration plus five
years. Many other provisions included with these will hopefully deter
individuals from driving after drinking alcoholic beverages. With both
bills now in the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am optimistic that passage
will occur this year.
PAYDAY
LENDING. More formally known as
"Deferred Presentment Transactions," this type of lending
practice has become a major retail business across South Carolina. While
admittedly, the customers of these lenders can be high credit risk
individuals who are not allowed to borrow from traditional banking
institutions, most of these loans are made to people on fixed monthly
incomes of one thousand dollars or less. Many Bills have been introduced
to deal with this issue. I have chaired a Banking and Insurance
subcommittee that is ready to present a Bill that will tighten regulations
of these lending companies by allowing these companies to lend only twenty
percent of a person's income during the term of the loan. This means that
somebody receiving a monthly Social Security benefit of one thousand
dollars can only borrow $200 if this Bill is passed. This committee
strengthened this Bill by adding increased licensing fees that will be
used for enforcement. Furthermore, the Senate Banking and Insurance
Committee's legislation will require annual reporting to the General
Assembly. It will also provide further restrictions for consumer
protection, and will mandate a statewide database for tracking the number
of loans each customer has active.
DEPART. OF
TRANSPORTATION REFORM. Signed into law by the
Governor this past June, the General Assembly is beginning to implement
this Act's new standards. This year the Transportation Review Committee
met to interview and screen Commission applicants to insure they are
qualified under new guidelines before they are considered for election by
each Congressional District.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Sen. Wes Hayes, Dist. #15
Gressette Building Room 205
P.O. Box 142
Columbia, South Carolina 29202
Phone in Columbia 803-212-6410
Phone in Rock Hill 324-2400
email: set@scsenate.org
website: www.weshayes.com |
