WINTER NEWSLETTER
2008 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
CURRENT ISSUES
Senator Wes Hayes            District #15

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.

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