South Carolina Legislative Report - December 14, 2012
December 14, 2012
On the Floor
Senate – Organizational Session
This week the South Carolina Senate met in Columbia to organize, elect leadership and make committee assignments for the 2013-2014 legislative session which will begin on Tuesday, January 8, 2013. John Courson (R- Richland) was reelected President Pro Tempore. Harvey Peeler(R-Cherokee) will remain the Majority Leader and Nikki Setzler(D-Lexington) will serve at the Minority Leader.
The Senate also adopted its rules for the coming session, including new rules to speed up the body’s ability to consider legislation. Each Senator will now only be able to object to three bills on the calendar at a time. Previously, one Senator could object to an unlimited number of bills which prevented them from being debated. Additionally, the Senate voted to limit the amount of time a Senator can spend introducing a new bill.
In Committee
Senate Finance Committee
The Senate Finance Committee added new members this week to fill vacancies. The new Senators are: Tom Davis (R-Beaufort), Ray Cleary (R-Georgetown), Paul Campbell (R-Berkeley), Joel Lourie (D-Richland), Robert Ford (D-Charleston), and Kent Williams (D-Marion).
To view the updated list of all Senate committees, click here.
Prefiled Legislation
This week both the Senate and House of Representative released their first round of prefiled legislation for the coming session. Several bills regarding tax credits for identity theft protection, reduction of corporate tax, reduction of property tax for rental property, and government restructuring were filed. You can view the list for each chamber and the committee of jurisdiction by clicking the links below. The House and Senate will prefile again on December 18.
House Prefiled Legislation – December 11th
Senate Prefiled Legislation – December 13th
In the News
Haley’s Short List for Senate
This week, CNN reported that Governor Haley has narrowed her choices to 5 individuals that she is considering for appointment to replace Senator Jim DeMint. DeMint made a surprise announcement that he is stepping down to take over the leadership position at the Heritage Foundation. Haley has also announced that she will not consider a “placeholder” who would be expected to step-down and not run for a full-term. The special election for the seat will be held in November 2014. The reported 5 finalists are: Congressman Tim Scott (R-Charleston), Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-Greenville), former Attorney General Henry McMaster, DHEC Director Catherine Templeton and former First Lady Jenny Sanford.