Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
The House assembled at 1:00 P.M.
Deliberations were opened with prayer by the Chaplain of the House of Representatives, the Rev. Dr. Alton C. Clark as follows:
God of all wisdom and understanding, in all the tangles of human relationships, help us to be as hard and stern with ourselves as we are critical of others. Make our thinking keen and clear, our speech frank and open, our actions upright and courageous. May the glaring lights of the street not blur for our eyes the shining principles of Your truths that are as unchanging as the stars above. Give us to understand the vanity of the temporal and the glory of the eternal, even as we live and labor in these fields of time.
Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.
Pursuant to Rule 6.3, the House of Representatives was led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America by the SPEAKER.
After corrections to the Journal of the proceedings of yesterday, the SPEAKER ordered it confirmed.
Rep. WITHERSPOON moved that when the House adjourns, it adjourn in memory of Ike Long of Conway, which was agreed to.
The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., January 20, 1998
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:
The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the House to H. 3215:
H. 3215 -- Reps. Simrill and Meacham: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 17-13-40, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO A TOWN OR CITY POLICE OFFICER'S JURISDICTION OUTSIDE THE TOWN'S OR CITY'S CORPORATE LIMITS WHEN IN PURSUIT OF AN OFFENDER, SO AS TO INCREASE THE OFFICER'S JURISDICTION FROM A THREE-MILE RADIUS OF THE TOWN'S OR CITY'S CORPORATE LIMITS TO COUNTYWIDE JURISDICTION.
and has ordered the Bill Enrolled for Ratification.
Very respectfully,
President
Received as information.
The following were received and referred to the appropriate committees for consideration.
Document No. 2251
Promulgated By Department of Natural Resources
Statutory Authority: 1976 Code Section 50-15-50
Non-Game and Endangered Species: Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers
Received By Speaker January 20, 1998
Referred to House Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
120 Day Review Expiration Date May 20, 1998
Document No. 2256
Promulgated By Commission on Higher Education
Statutory Authority: 1976 Code Section 59-104-20
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship: 1997-1998
Received By Speaker January 20, 1998
Referred to House Committee on Education and Public Works
120 Day Review Expiration Date May 20, 1998
Document No. 2257
Promulgated By Commission on Higher Education
Statutory Authority: 1976 Code Section 59-104-20
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship: 1999-2000
Received By Speaker January 20, 1998
Referred to House Committee on Education and Public Works
120 Day Review Expiration Date May 20, 1998
Document No. 2238
Promulgated By Commission on Higher Education
Statutory Authority: 1976 Code Section 59-142-20
Need-Based Grants Program
Received By Speaker January 20, 1998
Referred to House Committee on Education and Public Works
120 Day Review Expiration Date May 20, 1998
The following was introduced:
H. 4457 -- Reps. Rodgers, Tripp, Altman, Littlejohn, Simrill, Meacham, Hinson, Allison, Bowers, Stuart, H. Brown, Loftis, Harrell, Witherspoon, Kennedy, Young-Brickell, Spearman, Barfield, McCraw, Kirsh, Davenport, Phillips, Kelley, Walker, Boan, Beck, Cato, Mason, Leach, Hamilton and Limehouse: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO MEMORIALIZE CONGRESS TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND SUBMIT TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION AN AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE ALL FEDERAL COURT JUDGES TO BE RECONFIRMED BY THE UNITED STATES SENATE EVERY TEN YEARS, AND TO ENACT LEGISLATION ACCORDINGLY.
The Concurrent Resolution was ordered referred to the Committee on Invitations and Memorial Resolutions.
The following Bills and Joint Resolution were introduced, read the first time, and referred to appropriate committees:
H. 4458 -- Rep. Bauer: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 41-35-110, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONDITIONS FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF A SCHOOL AGED CHILD MAY NOT BE DENIED BENEFITS FOR SEEKING OR ACCEPTING EMPLOYMENT ONLY DURING SCHOOL HOURS.
Referred to Committee on Ways and Means.
H. 4459 -- Reps. Koon, Knotts, Rice and Bauer: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 23-45-140, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO STANDARDS FOR FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER SYSTEM DESIGN AND INSTALLATION, SO AS TO DELETE CERTAIN PROVISIONS REGARDING DESIGN AND INSTALLATION, PROVIDE THAT LAYOUT AND INSTALLATION OF FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER SYSTEMS MUST BE ACCORDING TO THE 1998 EDITION OF THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION NATIONAL FIRE CODES AND THE 1994 STANDARD BUILDING CODE, AND PROVIDE THAT THESE CODES AND STANDARDS SHALL APPLY UNLESS THE AUTHORITY HAVING JURISDICTION HAS ADOPTED MORE RECENT VERSIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 23-45-147, RELATING TO THE FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER SYSTEMS ACT, SHOP DRAWINGS OF SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, CONTENTS, SUBMISSION, AND CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE, SO AS TO DELETE CERTAIN LANGUAGE AND PROVISIONS, PROVIDE THAT SHOP DRAWINGS MUST CONTAIN SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO SHOW COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION STANDARDS TO THE DEGREE REQUIRED BY THE REGULATIONS OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL, PROVIDE THAT SHOP DRAWINGS MUST BEAR THE LICENSE NUMBER OF THE FIRE SPRINKLER CONTRACTOR LICENSED IN SOUTH CAROLINA WHO PREPARED THEM, PROVIDE THAT SHOP DRAWINGS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITY HAVING JURISDICTION, THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE, OR THE ENGINEERING/REVIEW DEPARTMENT OF THE OWNER'S INSURANCE UNDERWRITER OR ITS DESIGNEE, AND PROVIDE THAT A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE CERTIFYING THAT THE FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPROVED SHOP DRAWINGS MUST BE DELIVERED TO THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING AND THE AUTHORITY HAVING JURISDICTION BEFORE A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY MAY BE ISSUED; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 23-45-145, RELATING TO THE "FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEM SPECIFICATION SHEET".
Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry.
H. 4460 -- Rep. Cato: A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 39, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO TRADE AND COMMERCE, BY ADDING CHAPTER 54, SO AS TO ENACT THE "ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY WARRANTY ACT" WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES SHALL BE MARKETED, REPAIRED, MAINTAINED, AND REPLACED IF REQUIRED, AND WHICH GRANTS TO CONSUMERS CERTAIN CAUSES OF ACTION TO RECOVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY A VIOLATION OF THIS ACT.
Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry.
H. 4461 -- Reps. Fleming, Koon and Littlejohn: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 1-11-300, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENT THAT ROUTINE EXPENDITURES ON A STATE-OWNED MOTOR VEHICLE, INCLUDING GASOLINE AND OIL, MUST BE PURCHASED FROM STATE-OWNED FACILITIES, SO AS TO DELETE CERTAIN PROVISIONS AND LANGUAGE, PROVIDE THAT GASOLINE AND OIL MAY BE PURCHASED AT ANY FUEL OUTLET WHERE GASOLINE AND OIL ARE SOLD REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE OUTLET ACCEPTS A CREDIT OR CHARGE CARD, PROVIDE FOR THE USE OF THE STATE CREDIT CARD AT ALL SUCH OUTLETS, AND EXTEND THE APPLICABILITY OF THESE PROVISIONS TO ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION FUELS.
Referred to Committee on Ways and Means.
H. 4462 -- Reps. Limehouse, Klauber, Campsen, Vaughn, McMaster, Cromer, Tripp, Whatley, Harrell, Leach, Witherspoon, Altman, Hamilton, Cato, Stoddard and Easterday: A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 3, TITLE 16, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO OFFENSES AGAINST A PERSON, BY ADDING ARTICLE 2 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE USE OF DEADLY FORCE IS JUSTIFIED WHEN A PERSON BELIEVES UNLAWFUL FORCE IS BEING USED AGAINST HIM TO COMMIT OR ATTEMPT TO COMMIT THE BURGLARY OR ROBBERY OF A MOTOR VEHICLE; AND BY ADDING SECTION 16-3-90 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN A DEATH RESULTS FROM INJURIES RECEIVED FROM THE DRIVING OF MOTOR VEHICLES STOLEN PURSUANT TO UNLAWFUL FORCE, THEN THE PERSON USING UNLAWFUL FORCE IS GUILTY OF MURDER, AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
H. 4463 -- Rep. Altman: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-3-1080 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO FALSELY REPORTS THE EXISTENCE OF A CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT OR DEBT TO A CREDIT REPORTING AGENCY IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR, AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
H. 4464 -- Reps. Limehouse, Seithel, F. Smith, Altman, Cotty, Campsen, Whatley, Harrell, Cato, Witherspoon, Vaughn, Stoddard, Scott, Tripp, McMaster and Lanford: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 23-3-500 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY BY WAY OF CD-ROM OR OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIUM AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR THE UNLAWFUL USE OF INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS PROVISION.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
H. 4465 -- Rep. Harrison: A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 19, TITLE 38, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DOMESTIC MUTUAL INSURERS, BY ADDING ARTICLE 13 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE REORGANIZATION OF A DOMESTIC OR FOREIGN MUTUAL INSURER AS A DOMESTIC MUTUAL INSURANCE HOLDING COMPANY SYSTEM.
Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry.
H. 4466 -- Reps. Sheheen and H. Brown: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 12-6-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE STATE INCOME TAX, SO AS TO UPDATE THE REFERENCE DATE WHEREBY THIS STATE ADOPTS VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.
On motion of Rep. SHEHEEN, with unanimous consent, the Bill was ordered placed on the Calendar without reference.
H. 4467 -- Rep. Klauber: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-1590, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING THE UNIFORM SECURITIES ACT, SO AS TO CREATE CERTAIN FELONY OFFENSES AND PENALTIES AND REVISE THE PENALTY FOR THE EXISTING MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
H. 4468 -- Reps. Harrison and Cotty: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 19-1-180, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE ADMISSIBILITY OF OUT-OF-COURT STATEMENTS BY CERTAIN CHILDREN, SO AS TO EXPAND THE ADMISSIBILITY OF THESE STATEMENTS TO INCLUDE CHILDREN WHO FUNCTION COGNITIVELY, ADAPTIVELY, OR DEVELOPMENTALLY UNDER AGE TWELVE; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-420, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE FAMILY COURT, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE AUTHORITY TO HEAR AND DETERMINE ACTIONS CONCERNING CONTROL OF A MINOR, INCLUDING GUARDIANSHIP OF A MINOR; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-490, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS USED IN ARTICLE 7, CHAPTER 7, TITLE 20, SO AS TO ALSO APPLY THESE DEFINITIONS TO OTHER ARTICLES IN THE CHILDREN'S CODE; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-510, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PERSONS REQUIRED TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE DUTY TO REPORT EXISTS REGARDLESS OF WHO THE REPORTER BELIEVES TO BE THE PERPETRATOR OF THE ABUSE; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-540, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR REPORTING CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT, SO AS TO EXPAND THE IMMUNITY TO PERSONS WHO PARTICIPATE IN AN INVESTIGATION OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-545, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO IMMUNITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES PERSONNEL FROM LIABILITY FOR PERFORMING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES OR CHILD WELFARE FUNCTIONS, SO AS TO ALSO INCLUDE CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-610, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CUSTODY PROCEDURES, SO AS TO REVISE CERTAIN PROCEDURES; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-618 RELATING TO DETAINMENT OF ABUSED OR NEGLECTED CHILDREN BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT SUCH DETAINMENT IS NOT KEEPING A CHILD IN EMERGENCY PHYSICAL CUSTODY; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-650, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO BEGIN AN INVESTIGATION OF A CHILD WHO DIED OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS UNLESS OTHER CHILDREN ARE IN THE HOME OR IF THE ALLEGED PERPETRATOR IS THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN AND TO REVISE CERTAIN PROCEDURES WHEN A CHILD IS IN PLACEMENT WITH A RELATIVE; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-690, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO CONFIDENTIALITY OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT REPORTS AND RECORDS, SO AS TO REVISE CERTAIN PERSONS, AGENCIES, OR ENTITIES WHICH MAY HAVE ACCESS TO THESE REPORTS AND RECORDS AND TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO DISCLOSE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO PARTICIPANTS IN A FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCE; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-765 RELATING TO FOSTER CARE TREATMENT PLAN REQUIREMENTS REGARDING SUBSTANCE ABUSE, SO AS TO CHANGE THE TERM "TREATMENT PLAN" TO "PLACEMENT PLAN"; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-766, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE PERMANENCY PLANNING HEARING FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE, SO AS TO MAKE THE AGE REQUIREMENTS AND INITIATION PROCEDURES FOR A JUDICIAL STATUS REVIEW INTERNALLY CONSISTENT WITHIN THE SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1572, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, SO AS TO ADD AS A GROUND FOR TERMINATION, CONVICTION FOR CERTAIN CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON, INCLUDING CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-2376, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF LOCAL FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARDS, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE BOARDS TO SUBMIT TO THE COURT WRITTEN REPORTS, DISTINCTIVE FROM OTHER DOCUMENTS IN THE FILE, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO REQUEST AN EMERGENCY HEARING IF THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT THE SAFETY OF A CHILD IS IN IMMINENT DANGER; TO AMEND SECTION 59-63-31 RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR ATTENDING A PUBLIC SCHOOL IN A DISTRICT WITHOUT CHARGE IF THE CHILD IS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, SO AS TO REVISE THESE GROUNDS; TO AMEND JOINT RESOLUTION 157 OF 1997 RELATING TO THE PILOT CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES SYSTEM, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE EVALUATION REQUIRED TO BE CONDUCTED IS THE ONLY EVALUATION THAT MUST BE PERFORMED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES IN COUNTIES PARTICIPATING IN THE PILOT AND TO EXPAND FROM THIRTY TO FORTY-FIVE DAYS THE TIME WITHIN WHICH A DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE FOR A CASE TO BE REFERRED TO THE PILOT SYSTEM.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
H. 4469 -- Reps. Limehouse, Cato, Campsen and H. Brown: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 54-15-90, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE LICENSURE OF PORT PILOTS SO AS TO DIRECT THE COMMISSIONERS OF PILOTAGE TO ESTABLISH CERTAIN SHORT BRANCH LICENSE REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 54-15-120 RELATING TO PREREQUISITES TO LICENSING IN THE PORT OF CHARLESTON, SO AS TO REVISE THE LEVELS WHICH AN APPRENTICE MUST OBTAIN BEFORE LICENSURE.
Rep. LIMEHOUSE asked unanimous consent to have the Bill placed on the Calendar without reference.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE objected.
Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry.
S. 22 -- Senator Leatherman: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 30-4-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO MATTERS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, SO AS TO EXEMPT MATERIALS RELATING TO THE RECRUITMENT AND EMPLOYMENT OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
S. 396 -- Senators J. Verne Smith and Leatherman: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 12-60-2510, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONTENTS OF PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT NOTICES, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE NOTICE CONTAIN THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE OVER THE PRIOR MARKET VALUE IF THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN USE OR CHARACTERISTICS.
Referred to Committee on Ways and Means.
S. 443 -- Senator Leatherman: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 12-37-90, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DUTIES OF THE COUNTY ASSESSOR, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE RESPONSIBILITY AND RIGHT TO ENTER AND EXAMINE NEW NONRESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES BEFORE OCCUPANCY AND PORTIONS OF EXISTING BUILDINGS COVERED BY BUILDING PERMITS.
Referred to Committee on Ways and Means.
S. 832 -- Senators Holland and Giese: A BILL TO ABOLISH THE KERSHAW COUNTY BOARD OF VOTER REGISTRATION AND KERSHAW COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION, AND TO CREATE THE KERSHAW COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND REGISTRATION.
On motion of Rep. SHEHEEN, with unanimous consent, the Bill was ordered placed on the Calendar without reference.
S. 848 -- Senators Passailaigue, Reese, Alexander, Wilson, Mescher, Washington, Branton and Russell: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 12-6-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE STATE INCOME TAX, SO AS TO UPDATE THE REFERENCE DATE WHEREBY THIS STATE ADOPTS VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.
Referred to Committee on Ways and Means.
S. 861 -- Senator Drummond: A BILL TO AMEND ACT NO. 1147 OF 1968, AS LAST AMENDED BY ACT NO. 269 OF 1973, RELATING TO THE GREENWOOD COUNTY VOCATIONAL FACILITY, SO AS TO RENAME THE FACILITY THE GREENWOOD COUNTY CAREER CENTER.
On motion of Rep. McABEE, with unanimous consent, the Bill was ordered placed on the Calendar without reference.
S. 925 -- Senators Cork and Washington: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 7-7-110, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO VOTING PRECINCTS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, SO AS TO REDESIGNATE THESE PRECINCTS AND DESIGNATE A MAP NUMBER ON WHICH THE LINES OF THESE PRECINCTS ARE DELINEATED.
On motion of Rep. RODGERS, with unanimous consent, the Bill was ordered placed on the Calendar without reference.
S. 928 -- Senators Lander, Waldrep, McConnell and Courtney: A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 24, ARTICLE I OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO A BILL OF RIGHTS FOR CRIME VICTIMS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT REQUIREMENTS THAT VICTIMS OF CRIMES BE NOTIFIED AND INFORMED OF THEIR RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES CONFERRED UPON THEM UNDER THIS SECTION DO NOT APPLY TO CRIMES THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BY LAW EXCLUDES FROM THESE REQUIREMENTS, AND TO PERMIT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BY LAW TO FURTHER DEFINE THE TERM "VICTIM" FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION TO STIPULATE THE SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS TO WHOM THIS SECTION APPLIES.
Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
The roll call of the House of Representatives was taken resulting as follows.
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Baxley Beck Boan Bowers Breeland Brown, G. Brown, H. Brown, J. Campsen Cato Cave Chellis Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Cooper Cotty Cromer Dantzler Davenport Delleney Easterday Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Gourdine Govan Hamilton Harrell Harris Harrison Harvin Haskins Hawkins Hines, J. Hines, M. Hinson Howard Inabinett Jordan Keegan Kelley Kennedy Kinon Kirsh Klauber Knotts Koon Lanford Law Leach Lee Limehouse Littlejohn Lloyd Loftis Mack Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McCraw McGee McKay McLeod McMahand McMaster Meacham Miller Moody-Lawrence Mullen Phillips Pinckney Quinn Rice Riser Rodgers Sandifer Scott Seithel Sharpe Sheheen Simrill Smith, D. Smith, F. Smith, J. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Tripp Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilder Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
I came in after the roll call and was present for the Session on Wednesday, January 21.
Alfred B. Robinson, Jr. George H. Bailey Thomas N. Rhoad Denny W. Neilson Joseph H. Neal Alma W. Byrd Timothy C. Wilkes Marion P. Carnell Douglas Jennings, Jr. Theodore A. Brown
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
The SPEAKER granted Rep. McLEOD a temporary leave of absence to be a witness at a trial.
Announcement was made that Drs. Adam Burrell and William Hester of Florence are the Doctors of the Day for the General Assembly.
In accordance with House Rule 5.2 below:
"5.2 Every bill before presentation shall have its title endorsed; every report, its title at length; every petition, memorial, or other paper, its prayer or substance; and, in every instance, the name of the member presenting any paper shall be endorsed and the papers shall be presented by the member to the Speaker at the desk. After a bill or resolution has been presented and given first reading, no further names of co-sponsors may be added. A member may add his name to a bill or resolution or a co-sponsor of a bill or resolution may remove his name at any time prior to the bill or resolution receiving passage on second reading. The member or co-sponsor shall notify the Clerk of the House in writing of his desire to have his name added or removed from the bill or resolution. The Clerk of the House shall print the member's or co-sponsor's written notification in the House Journal. The removal or addition of a name does not apply to a bill or resolution sponsored by a committee."
BILL NUMBER: H. 3999
DATE ADD:
1/21/98 J.M. Knotts, Jr.
BILL NUMBER: H. 4349
DATE REMOVE:
1/21/98 Joe. E. Brown
BILL NUMBER: H. 4388
DATE ADD:
1/21/98 John David Hawkins
BILL NUMBER: H. 4426
DATE ADD:
1/21/98 Michael E. Easterday
BILL NUMBER: H. 4419
DATE ADD:
1/21/98 Michael E. Easterday
BILL NUMBER: H. 4422
DATE ADD:
1/21/98 Michael E. Easterday
BILL NUMBER: H. 4455
DATE ADD:
1/21/98 William Clyburn
1/21/98 James L.M. Cromer, Jr.
The following Bill was read the third time, passed and, having received three readings in both Houses, it was ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act, and that it be enrolled for ratification.
S. 75 -- Senators Drummond and Holland: A BILL TO RATIFY AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE I OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE "VICTIM'S BILL OF RIGHTS" BY ADDING SECTION 24; AND ALSO TO RATIFY AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 15, ARTICLE I OF THE CONSTITUTION, RELATING TO THE RIGHT OF BAIL, CRUEL OR UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT, AND DETENTION OF WITNESSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT BAIL MAY BE DENIED TO PERSONS CHARGED WITH VIOLENT OFFENSES.
The following Bill was taken up, read the third time, and ordered sent to the Senate.
H. 3337 -- Reps. D. Smith, Cato, Rice, Robinson, Govan, Beck, Tripp and F. Smith: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 1-23-580, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE CLERK AND OTHER STAFF OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DIVISION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT EACH ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE MAY APPOINT, HIRE, CONTRACT, AND SUPERVISE THE SUPPORT STAFF HE IS INDIVIDUALLY ALLOTTED; AND TO AMEND SECTION 1-23-650, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PROMULGATION OF RULES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DIVISION, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE PROMULGATION OF RULES GOVERNING PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE BEFORE THE DIVISION.
The following Bill was taken up.
H. 4399 -- Reps. Wilkins, Townsend, Harrell, Haskins, Allison, J. Hines, Hinson, D. Smith, R. Smith, Stuart, Walker, Limehouse, Maddox, Spearman, Kennedy, Vaughn, G. Brown, Battle, Whatley, Barfield, Barrett, Young-Brickell, Bailey, Meacham, Neilson, Rice, Bauer, McCraw, Martin, Chellis, Rodgers, Delleney, Littlejohn, Stille, Stoddard, Cato, J. Brown, Law, Cotty, Witherspoon, Kinon, Knotts, Rhoad, Riser, Mason, Dantzler, Edge, McKay, Sandifer, Davenport, McGee, Gamble, McMaster, Felder, Byrd, Lanford, Miller, Phillips, Koon, McMahand, Kirsh, Quinn, Wilkes, Cromer, Cooper, Wilder, Harvin, Harrison, H. Brown, Sharpe, Woodrum, Beck and T. Brown: A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 8 SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS FOR SCHOOLS (PASS) ACT" INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO ESTABLISH A PASS COMMISSION AND PROVIDE FOR ITS FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES, TO REQUIRE THE ADOPTION OF CERTAIN STATE EDUCATION STANDARDS BY THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND CREATE AN ASSESSMENT SYSTEM TO MONITOR THE ATTAINMENT OF THESE STANDARDS, TO PROVIDE FOR ANNUAL REPORT CARDS, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND AWARDS FOR SCHOOLS, TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR POORLY PERFORMING SCHOOLS, AND TO PROVIDE A STATE-FUNDED PROGRAM OF INCENTIVES FOR PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS AND FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT; AND TO REPEAL CHAPTER 6 OF TITLE 59 RELATING TO MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
Rep. HARRELL explained the Bill.
Reps. ALTMAN, TRIPP, GOVAN and G. BROWN spoke against the Bill.
Reps. MOODY-LAWRENCE, SCOTT, NEAL, COBB-HUNTER and HOWARD proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21047SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-310(A) by striking item (6) which begins on line 29, page 4, and inserting:
/(6) one member shall represent the Colleges of Education from state-supported or independent institutions of higher learning to be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Chairman of the Council of College Presidents and the Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc. This position on the commission shall be rotated every four years between the two above entities, and no public or private institution may be represented a second or subsequent time until all other institutions have been so represented;/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Reps. MOODY-LAWRENCE, SCOTT, NEAL, COBB-HUNTER and HOWARD proposed the following Amendment No. 2 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21052SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new SECTION appropriately numbered to read:
/SECTION ____. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning with school year 1999-2000, the General Assembly shall provide by law for the manner in which funding of all public school districts shall be equalized among districts and among schools within a district so that the per pupil financial support from all sources to the extent possible shall be the same throughout the State./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. NEAL demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Beck Boan Brown, H. Campsen Carnell Cato Chellis Cooper Cotty Cromer Dantzler Davenport Delleney Easterday Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Hamilton Harrell Harrison Haskins Hawkins Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Kirsh Klauber Knotts Koon Lanford Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Loftis Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McCraw McGee McKay McMaster Meacham Mullen Phillips Quinn Rhoad Rice Riser Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Simrill Smith, D. Smith, R. Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Baxley Bowers Breeland Brown, G. Brown, J. Brown, T. Byrd Cave Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Gourdine Govan Harris Harvin Hines, J. Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Jennings Kennedy Kinon Lee Lloyd Mack McMahand Miller Moody-Lawrence Neal Neilson Pinckney Sheheen Smith, F. Smith, J. Spearman Wilder Wilkes
So, the amendment was tabled.
Reps. MOODY-LAWRENCE, SCOTT, NEAL, COBB-HUNTER and HOWARD proposed the following Amendment No. 3 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21050SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new Section 59-8-920 immediately after Section 59-8-910 on page 12 to read:
/Section 59-8-920. Resources made available to any school under this chapter regardless of its report card grade, such resources to include, but not be limited to, computers, textbooks, and instructional materials must be made available to all students in the school./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Beck Boan Brown, H. Brown, T. Campsen Cato Chellis Cooper Cotty Dantzler Delleney Easterday Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Hamilton Harrell Harris Harrison Haskins Hawkins Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Kirsh Klauber Knotts Koon Lanford Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McCraw McGee McKay McMaster Meacham Mullen Neilson Phillips Quinn Rhoad Rice Riser Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Sheheen Simrill Smith, D. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Tripp Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilder Wilkes Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Baxley Bowers Breeland Brown, G. Brown, J. Byrd Carnell Cave Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Gourdine Govan Harvin Hines, J. Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Jennings Kennedy Kinon Lee Lloyd Mack McMahand Miller Moody-Lawrence Neal Pinckney Smith, F. Smith, J.
So, the amendment was tabled.
Reps. MOODY-LAWRENCE, SCOTT, NEAL, COBB-HUNTER and HOWARD proposed the following Amendment No. 4 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21053SD.98), which was ruled out of order.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new SECTION appropriately numbered to read:
/SECTION ____. (1) The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-63-65. (A) By school year 2001, the board of trustees of each school district must attain an average pupil-teacher ratio in grades kindergarten through three of each school of fifteen to one based on average daily membership in grades kindergarten through three. The ratio must be attained as follows:
(1) by school year 1999 - 25:1;
(2) by school year 2000 - 21:1;
(3) by school year 2001 - 15:1.
(B) By school year 2001, the board of trustees of each school district shall attain an average pupil-teacher ratio in grades four through five of each school of twenty to one based on average daily membership in grades four through five. The ratio must be attained as follows:
(1) by school year 1999 - 25:1;
(2) by school year 2000 - 23:1;
(3) by school year 2001 - 20:1.
(C) By school year 2001, the board of trustees of each school district shall attain an average pupil-teacher ratio in grades six through twelve of each school of twenty-five to one based on average daily membership in grades six though twelve. The ratio must be attained as follows:
(1) by school year 1999 - 29:1;
(2) by school year 2000 - 27:1;
(3) by school year 2001 - 25:1.
(D) The State Board of Education is authorized to waive the provisions of this section upon finding that a good faith effort is being made by the school district to comply with the pupil-teacher ratio provisions in each school but that the lack of classroom space which was beyond its control makes it physically impossible for the district to comply by the school years required and the cost of temporary classroom space cannot be justified.
(E) Beginning with school year 2001, a school district violating the pupil-teacher ratio provisions of this section shall have its state aid for the ensuing school year reduced by the percentage variance that the actual pupil-teacher ratios in the various schools of the district in the aggregate has to the required pupil-teacher ratios mandated in this section."
(2) Item (5) of Section 59-20-40 of the 1976 Code is deleted effective July 1, 2001. The pupil-teacher ratios in grades one through three required by the provisions of item (5) of Section 59-20-40 of the 1976 Code continue to apply until the lower pupil-teacher ratios mandated by Section 59-63-65 contained above take effect./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE explained the amendment.
Rep. TRIPP raised a Point of Order that Amendment No. 4 was out of order in that it was not germane to the Bill.
SPEAKER WILKINS sustained the Point of Order and ruled the amendment out of order.
Reps. MOODY-LAWRENCE, SCOTT, NEAL, COBB-HUNTER, HOWARD and KIRSH proposed the following Amendment No. 5 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21048SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-730, as contained on page 11, by adding at the end of the section: /No school shall be awarded a grade of 'A' or 'B' or 'C' unless all students in that school are making satisfactory academic progress as measured by the assessment and performance indicators established in this chapter./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. MOODY- LAWRENCE explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Baxley Beck Boan Bowers Brown, H. Byrd Campsen Cato Chellis Cooper Cotty Cromer Dantzler Delleney Easterday Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Hamilton Harrell Harris Harrison Harvin Haskins Hawkins Hines, J. Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Kirsh Klauber Knotts Koon Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McCraw McGee McKay McMaster Meacham Miller Mullen Neilson Phillips Quinn Rhoad Rice Riser Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Sheheen Simrill Smith, D. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Tripp Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilder Wilkes Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Breeland Brown, G. Brown, J. Brown, T. Cave Cobb-Hunter Gourdine Govan Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Jennings Kennedy Kinon Lee Lloyd Mack Moody-Lawrence Neal Pinckney Smith, F. Smith, J.
So, the amendment was tabled.
Reps. MOODY-LAWRENCE, SCOTT, NEAL, COBB-HUNTER and HOWARD proposed the following Amendment No. 6 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21046SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new SECTION to be appropriately numbered to read:
/SECTION ____. In addition to funding necessary to implement the provisions of the South Carolina Performance and Accountability Standards for Schools (PASS) Act as contained herein, the General Assembly also shall provide funding beginning with fiscal year 1998-1999 to local school districts to provide for remediation classes, summer classes, and alternative schools for those students not able to perform up to required standards in a regular school setting./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Bauer Beck Boan Bowers Brown, H. Brown, T. Byrd Campsen Cato Chellis Cotty Cromer Dantzler Delleney Easterday Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Harrell Harris Harrison Haskins Hawkins Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Kinon Kirsh Klauber Knotts Koon Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Loftis Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McCraw McGee McKay McMaster Meacham Mullen Phillips Quinn Rhoad Rice Riser Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Simrill Smith, D. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Tripp Trotter Vaughn Whatley Wilder Wilkes Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Battle Baxley Breeland Brown, J. Cave Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Davenport Gourdine Govan Hamilton Harvin Hines, J. Hines, M. Howard Jennings Kennedy Lee Lloyd Mack Miller Moody-Lawrence Neal Neilson Pinckney Sheheen Smith, F. Smith, J. Webb
So, the amendment was tabled.
Reps. MOODY-LAWRENCE, KIRSH, SCOTT, NEAL, COBB-HUNTER and HOWARD proposed the following Amendment No. 7 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21049SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-900 by inserting after /plans./ on line 13, page 12: /Faculty and school administrators in a particular district also must be involved in the development, review, or revision of the district's accountability plan./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. CAVE demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Bailey Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Beck Boan Bowers Brown, H. Campsen Cato Chellis Cotty Cromer Dantzler Davenport Delleney Easterday Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Hamilton Harrell Harris Harrison Haskins Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Klauber Knotts Koon Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Martin Mason McCraw McGee McKay McMaster Meacham Miller Mullen Phillips Quinn Rhoad Rice Riser Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Sheheen Smith, F. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Tripp Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilder Wilkes Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Baxley Breeland Brown, J. Brown, T. Byrd Cave Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Gourdine Govan Harvin Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Jennings Kennedy Kirsh Lee Lloyd Mack Moody-Lawrence Neal Neilson Pinckney Simrill Smith, J.
So, the amendment was tabled.
I was out of the chamber due to an emergency but would have voted in favor of Amendments 1 through 7.
Rep. JOHN L. SCOTT, JR.
Rep. KIRSH proposed the following Amendment No. 8 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\PT\1621SD.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-300(B)(1) by inserting after /programs/ on line 5, page 4, /and their funding/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. KIRSH explained the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Rep. KIRSH proposed the following Amendment No. 9 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21041SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-310(A) by striking item (2) which begins on line 15, page 4, and inserting:
/(2) two members of the Senate, one of whom shall be chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and one of whom shall be appointed by the President Pro tempore of the Senate;/
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by striking item (3) of Section 59-8-310(A) which begins on line 17, page 4, and inserting:
/(3) two members of the House of Representatives, one of whom must be the chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee, and one of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. KIRSH explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND spoke against the amendment and moved to table the amendment.
Rep. KIRSH demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Bauer Beck Brown, G. Brown, H. Brown, J. Byrd Campsen Cato Chellis Cooper Cotty Cromer Dantzler Davenport Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Govan Hamilton Harrell Harvin Haskins Hawkins Hines, J. Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Klauber Knotts Koon Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Loftis Maddox Martin McAbee McGee McKay McMaster Mullen Neilson Quinn Rhoad Rice Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Simrill Smith, D. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stuart Townsend Tripp Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilkes Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Bailey Battle Baxley Boan Bowers Breeland Brown, T. Cave Cobb-Hunter Delleney Gourdine Harris Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Jennings Kennedy Kinon Kirsh Lee Lloyd Mack McCraw Meacham Miller Moody-Lawrence Neal Phillips Pinckney Sheheen Smith, F. Smith, J. Stoddard Wilder
So, the amendment was tabled.
Rep. KIRSH proposed the following Amendment No. 10 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21042SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-310(A) by striking /fifteen/ on line 12, page 4, and inserting /sixteen/ and by striking item (6) which begins on line 29, page 4, and inserting:
/(6) one member shall represent the Council of College Presidents and one member shall represent the Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc., each to be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the chairmen of each respective organization;/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. KIRSH explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. KIRSH demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Barfield Barrett Bauer Beck Brown, H. Brown, J. Byrd Campsen Cato Chellis Clyburn Cooper Cotty Cromer Dantzler Davenport Edge Felder Fleming Gamble Hamilton Harrell Harrison Harvin Haskins Hawkins Hines, J. Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Klauber Knotts Koon Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Loftis Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McGee McKay McMaster Rhoad Rice Riser Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Smith, D. Smith, R. Spearman Stoddard Stuart Townsend Tripp Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Altman Bailey Battle Boan Bowers Breeland Brown, G. Brown, T. Cave Cobb-Hunter Delleney Gourdine Govan Harris Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Kennedy Kirsh Lee Lloyd Mack McCraw Meacham Miller Moody-Lawrence Neal Neilson Phillips Pinckney Quinn Sheheen Simrill Smith, F. Smith, J. Stille Wilder Wilkes
So, the amendment was tabled.
The SPEAKER granted Rep. BOWERS a leave of absence for the remainder of the day to attend an emergency town meeting in Port Royal.
Rep. KIRSH proposed the following Amendment No. 11 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21043SD.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-340(3) by striking /fifteenth/ on line 14, page 6, and inserting /first/;
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. KIRSH explained the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Reps. TOWNSEND, HASKINS, WALKER, HARRELL, STILLE, HINSON, J. HINES, BARRETT, STUART, BYRD, LEACH, R. SMITH, ALLISON and LITTLEJOHN proposed the following Amendment No. 12 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21066SD.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-500 by striking item (7) as contained on line 23, page 7; and by striking /as well as preparing students to become productive members of society/ which begins on line 29, page 7
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. TOWNSEND explained the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Reps. TOWNSEND, HASKINS, WALKER, HARRELL, STILLE, HINSON, J. HINES, BARRETT, STUART, BYRD, LEACH, R. SMITH, ALLISON and LITTLEJOHN proposed the following Amendment No. 13 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21068SD.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by , in Section 59-8-900, by adding after /system./ at the end of line 11, page 12 /Parents, teachers, and principals shall be involved in the development, review, and revisions of the district's accountability plan./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. TOWNSEND explained the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Reps. HARRELL, TOWNSEND, HASKINS, WALKER, STILLE, HINSON, J. HINES, BARRETT, STUART, BYRD, LEACH, R. SMITH, ALLISON and LITTLEJOHN proposed the following Amendment No. 14 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\JIC\5155SD.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-520, by adding after /exam/ on line 2 of page 8 /as referenced in Section 59-30-10(f)/.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. TOWNSEND explained the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Reps. HARRELL, TOWNSEND, HASKINS, WALKER, STILLE, HINSON, J. HINES, BARRETT, STUART, BYRD, LEACH, R. SMITH, ALLISON and LITTLEJOHN proposed the following Amendment No. 15 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\JIC\5158SD.98), which was ruled out of order.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-5-900 by striking /shall/ on line 16 of page 12 and inserting /may/.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. TOWNSEND explained the amendment.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE raised a Point of Order that Amendment No. 15 was out of order in that it amended a different section of the Bill.
SPEAKER WILKINS sustained the Point of Order and ruled the amendment out of order.
Reps. KENNEDY, CAVE, TOWNSEND, HASKINS, WALKER, STILLE, HINSON, J. HINES, BARRETT, STUART, BYRD, LEACH, R. SMITH, ALLISON, LITTLEJOHN and HARVIN proposed the following Amendment No. 16 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\JIC\5174SD.98), which was ruled out of order.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new SECTION to be appropriately numbered to read:
/SECTION ___. The State Board of Education shall develop regulations for the creation of state-funded alternative schools in each school district across the State within two years after the effective date of this act for the purpose of providing students who have been disruptive, suspended, or expelled the opportunity to continue their education and to encourage diverse approaches to educating these students. These schools shall focus on instructional methods in meeting academic standards, strict codes of student conduct, and strategies to gain strong parental input and support./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. KENNEDY explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND raised a Point of Order that Amendment No. 16 was out of order as it was not germane to the Bill.
Rep. KENNEDY argued contra.
SPEAKER WILKINS sustained the Point of Order and ruled the amendment out of order.
Reps. HARRELL, LITTLEJOHN, BARRETT, STUART, BYRD, LEACH, R. SMITH, ALLISON, TOWNSEND, HASKINS, WALKER, STILLE, HINSON and J. HINES proposed the following Amendment No. 17 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\JIC\5156SD.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-580 by adding after /provided/ on line 42 of page 9 /academically based/.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. HARRELL explained the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Rep. MILLER proposed the following Amendment No. 18 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\JIC\5169SD.98).
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new SECTION appropriately numbered to read:
/SECTION ____. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-24-15. School administrators may be employed on an annual or multi-year contract and shall retain their contract or tenure status as a teacher but shall not be granted contract or tenure status as an administrator. Any such administrator who presently is under contract with contract or tenure status as an administrator shall retain that status until the expiration of that contract."/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. MILLER explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. MILLER demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barrett Beck Brown, G. Brown, H. Cooper Cotty Felder Harrell Harris Harrison Harvin Hinson Jordan Klauber Law Limehouse Lloyd Mack Martin Mason McAbee McMaster Mullen Quinn Rhoad Riser Robinson Sandifer Sharpe Smith, R. Stille Stuart Townsend Trotter Walker Webb Wilkes Wilkins
Those who voted in the negative are:
Bailey Barfield Battle Bauer Boan Breeland Brown, T. Byrd Campsen Cato Cave Chellis Cobb-Hunter Cromer Dantzler Davenport Delleney Easterday Fleming Gamble Gourdine Govan Hamilton Haskins Hawkins Inabinett Jennings Keegan Kelley Kennedy Kinon Kirsh Knotts Koon Lanford Leach Lee Loftis Maddox McCraw McGee McKay Meacham Miller Moody-Lawrence Neal Phillips Pinckney Rice Scott Seithel Sheheen Simrill Smith, F. Smith, J. Spearman Tripp Vaughn Whatley Wilder Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
So, the House refused to table the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND spoke against the amendment.
Rep. MILLER spoke in favor of the amendment.
Rep. STUART raised the Point of Order that Amendment No. 18 was out ot order in that it was not germane to the Bill.
Rep. HARRELL argued contra.
Rep. F. SMITH argued contra.
Rep. SHEHEEN argued contra.
SPEAKER WILKINS overruled the Point of Order and order that the amendment was germane to the Bill.
Rep. MILLER moved to adjourn debate upon the amendment, which was adopted.
Rep. HOWARD proposed the following Amendment No. 19 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21076SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-700 by striking beginning on line 34, page 10, the following: /The report card must be mailed to all parents of the school and the school district. The school, in conjunction with the district board, must also inform the community of the school's report card by advertising the results in at least one South Carolina daily newspaper of general circulation in the area. This notice must be published within ninety days of receipt of the report cards issued by the State Department of Education and must be a minimum of two columns by ten inches (four and one-half by ten inches) with at least a twenty-four point bold headline./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. HOWARD explained the amendment.
Rep. WALKER moved to table the amendment.
Rep. HOWARD demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Beck Boan Brown, H. Byrd Campsen Cato Chellis Cooper Cotty Cromer Dantzler Davenport Delleney Easterday Felder Fleming Gamble Gourdine Hamilton Harrell Harris Harrison Haskins Hawkins Hines, J. Hinson Jennings Jordan Keegan Kelley Kinon Kirsh Klauber Knotts Koon Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Loftis Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McCraw McGee McKay McLeod McMaster Meacham Mullen Phillips Quinn Rhoad Rice Riser Robinson Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Sheheen Simrill Smith, F. Smith, J. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Tripp Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilder Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Breeland Brown, G. Brown, J. Cave Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Govan Harvin Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Kennedy Lee Lloyd Mack Moody-Lawrence Neal Pinckney Scott
So, the amendment was tabled.
Rep. HARRELL moved cloture on the entire matter.
Rep. HOWARD moved that the House do now adjourn.
Rep. YOUNG-BRICKELL demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Bailey Breeland Brown, J. Byrd Cave Davenport Gourdine Hines, M. Inabinett Lee Lloyd Mack McLeod Moody-Lawrence Pinckney Robinson Scott Tripp Wilder
Those who voted in the negative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Beck Boan Brown, H. Campsen Cato Chellis Clyburn Cooper Cotty Cromer Dantzler Delleney Easterday Felder Fleming Gamble Harrell Harris Harrison Harvin Haskins Hawkins Hines, J. Hinson Howard Jennings Jordan Keegan Kelley Kennedy Kinon Kirsh Klauber Knotts Koon Law Leach Limehouse Littlejohn Loftis Maddox Martin Mason McAbee McCraw McGee McKay McMahand McMaster Meacham Miller Mullen Neal Neilson Phillips Quinn Rhoad Rice Riser Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Sheheen Simrill Smith, D. Smith, J. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stoddard Stuart Townsend Trotter Vaughn Walker Webb Whatley Wilkins Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
So, the House refused to adjourn.
The question then recurred to the motion to invoke cloture.
Rep. MOODY-LAWRENCE demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Allison Altman Barfield Barrett Battle Bauer Beck Brown, H. Campsen Cato Chellis Cooper Dantzler Felder Fleming Gamble Harrell Harrison Haskins Hawkins Hines, J. Hinson Jordan Keegan Kelley Kinon Klauber Knotts Koon Law Limehouse Littlejohn Maddox Martin Mason McCraw McGee McKay McMahand McMaster Meacham Miller Neilson Phillips Rice Riser Rodgers Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Simrill Smith, D. Smith, R. Stille Stuart Townsend Trotter Walker Webb Whatley Wilkins Witherspoon Woodrum Young Young-Brickell
Those who voted in the negative are:
Bailey Boan Breeland Brown, G. Brown, T. Byrd Cave Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Cotty Cromer Davenport Delleney Easterday Gourdine Govan Hamilton Harris Harvin Hines, M. Howard Inabinett Jennings Kennedy Kirsh Leach Lee Lloyd Loftis Mack McLeod Moody-Lawrence Neal Pinckney Quinn Rhoad Robinson Scott Sheheen Smith, F. Smith, J. Spearman Tripp Vaughn Wilder
So, cloture was ordered.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved that the House do now adjourn.
Rep. SCOTT raised the Point of Order that fifteen minutes had not elapsed since a similar motion was made, which point was sustained by the Chair.
Reps. KENNEDY and CAVE proposed the following Amendment No. 20 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21072SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new SECTION appropriately numbered to read:
/SECTION ____. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning with school year 1998-99, the General Assembly shall provide by law for the manner in which state funding of all public school districts shall be equalized so that the per pupil financial support from all sources to the extent possible shall be the same throughout the State./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. KENNEDY moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 21 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21055SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking Section 59-8-310 beginning on line 11, page 4, and inserting:
/Section 59-8-310. (A) The membership of the commission shall consist of seven members as follows:
(1) two nonlegislative at-large members appointed by the Governor;
(2) two members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(3) two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(4) the State Superintendent of Education to serve ex officio;
(5) the members appointed pursuant to items (2) and (3) may serve notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8-13-770. Their terms of office on the commission must be coterminous with their terms of office as members of the General Assembly.
(B) The terms of office of the members of the PASS Commission, except for the legislative members and the ex officio member, are four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify.
(C) Initial appointments must be made by July 31, 1998, at which time the Governor or his designee shall call the first meeting. At the initial meeting, a chairman shall be elected by a majority vote of the members attending with quorum present. A quorum is defined as having a majority of the number of voting members present. The term of chairman shall be two years. At the end of each two year term, an election must be held for the chairmanship by majority vote of the members attending with quorum present as defined above. No member shall serve more than four consecutive years as chairman. Other officers as considered necessary also may be elected by the commission./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 22 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21056SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-360 by striking: /, schools, school districts, the Department of Education, and the Board of Education/ which begins on line 29, page 6.
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 23 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21057SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-500 as contained on page 7, by deleting items (7) and (8) which begin on line 23.
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 24 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21058SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-520, by striking /, and the exit examination must be administered for the first time at the end of grade ten/ which begins on line 17, page 8, and inserting:
/Each principal shall certify in writing to the commission for each student so excused from testing that the student is laboring under such a disability, specifying the disability or disabilities, that testing would provide no useful information. The exit examination must be administered in the beginning of grade twelve by October thirty-first of each year. A student failing to pass the exit examination shall be offered it again by March thirty-first of the next calendar year. A student who fails the second time to pass the exit examination shall not receive a high school diploma for that year but instead shall receive a certificate of attendance if otherwise eligible to graduate or may re-enroll for the following year to attempt to pass the exit examination and receive a diploma. The commission shall satisfy itself in a manner able to be clearly understood by the public that the subject area examinations are substantially equivalent to and no less difficult than the GED./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 25 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21059SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-730 by adding at the end of the section: /A school scoring any combination of four 'Fs' on its absolute or improvement grades within three consecutive school years shall be taken over and operated by the State Department of Education, but funded by the local district, for the next two consecutive school years. Administrators, teachers, and staff at that school may be terminated without further cause and students may be transferred to other schools in the manner the State Department of Education shall provide./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 26 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21060SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-900, by striking /shall/ on line 16, page 12, and inserting /may/.
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 27 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21061SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, in Section 59-8-1110, by deleting item (2) which begins on line 6, page 14.
Renumber items to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 28 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21062SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting Section 59-8-1310, page 15, as contained on lines 17 through 38.
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 29 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21063SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new section immediately following Section 59-8-580 on page 10 to read:
/Section 59-8-581. (A) Following the effective date of this chapter, no teacher shall be newly hired in this State who has not scored at least in the fortieth percentile in that teacher's subject area on the National Teachers Examination or its equivalent.
(B) At any time, the commission, a local school board, a district superintendent, or a principal may require a teacher under their jurisdiction to retake at the next opportunity the teacher's subject area examination on the National Teachers Examination, or its equivalent, and score at least in the fortieth percentile or face termination. No teacher may be required to undergo such testing under this section more than once. However, a teacher required to be so tested, who fails to reach the required score and as a result is terminated, may voluntarily retake the same examination one or more times within the next eighteen months, and if reaching a satisfactory result, may reapply for a teaching position.
(C) A teacher refusing or failing to take the examination when requested shall be terminated and shall not be re-employed as a teacher in this State.
(D) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the commission in a proper case for good reason may waive any provision of this section, and shall state the reason in writing. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. ALTMAN proposed the following Amendment No. 30 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\GJK\21064SD.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding a new section immediately following Section 59-8-740 on page 11 to read:
/Section 59-8-745. (A) In addition to all other report card requirements, a school district by September first of each year shall publish in at least two newspapers of general circulation in its area and in a minimum size of two columns by ten inches (four and one-half by ten inches) with at least a twenty-four point bold headline the following financial report:
(1) the average daily student attendance of the school district based on the one hundred thirty-five day average daily membership of the school year just passed;
(2) the total public dollars spent from all local, state, and federal sources for all school district purposes;
(3) the average cost per student for the most recent School Year computed by dividing item (1) above by item (2) plus any surplus or reserve funds.
(B) the commission shall produce guidelines for these computations and enforce them by appropriate means. Each financial report published by a school district must be Certified As True and Correct by the PASS Commission, the certification to be signed by the chairman thereof. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. ALTMAN moved to table the amendment, which was agreed to.
Rep. LOFTIS proposed the following Amendment No. 31 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\DKA\4751MM.98), which was tabled.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Section 59-8-110, Article 1, SECTION 1, page 2, by deleting beginning on line 17 /parents, students, and the community and taking whatever actions are necessary/.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. LOFTIS explained the amendment.
Rep. TOWNSEND moved to table the amendment.
Rep. LOFTIS demanded the yeas and nays, which were not ordered.
The amendment was then tabled by a division vote of 55 to 15.
Rep. LOFTIS proposed the following Amendment No. 32 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\DKA\4747MM.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Section 59-8-110, Article 1, SECTION 1, by deleting beginning on line 18 /and taking whatever actions are necessary/.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. LOFTIS explained the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Rep. LOFTIS proposed the following Amendment No. 33 (Doc Name P:\AMEND\DKA\4748MM.98), which was adopted.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, page 6, beginning on line 41, by deleting Section 59-8-380 in its entirety.
Amend title to conform.
Rep. LOFTIS explained the amendment.
Rep. SHEHEEN spoke in favor of the amendment.
The amendment was then adopted.
Rep. COBB-HUNTER moved that the House recede until 6:45 P.M., which was adopted.
Further proceedings were interrupted by the House receding, the pending question being consideration of amendments, cloture having been ordered.
The Senate returned to the House with concurrence the following:
H. 3336 -- Reps. Lanford, Hawkins, Davenport, Littlejohn, Allison and Wilder: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO NAME A PORTION OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 85 IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY FROM MILE POINT 68.8 TO MILE POINT 77.4 THE "JOE GRIFFIN EXPRESSWAY".
At 6:45 P.M. the House resumed, the SPEAKER in the Chair.
The House stood at ease subject to the call of the Chair.
At 6:55 P.M. the House resumed at the Koger Center, the SPEAKER in the Chair.
At 7:00 P.M. the House of Representatives and the Senate convened at the Koger Center.
The President of the Senate called the Joint Assembly to order and announced that it had convened under the terms of a Concurrent Resolution adopted by both Houses.
H. 4390 -- Reps. Wilkins, Haskins, Harrison, H. Brown, Cato, Sharpe, Townsend, J. Brown and D. Smith: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION INVITING HIS EXCELLENCY, DAVID M. BEASLEY, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, TO ADDRESS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN JOINT SESSION AT 7:00 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1998, AT THE KOGER CENTER FOR THE ARTS.
Governor David M. Beasley and distinguished party were escorted to the rostrum by Senators Passailaigue, Courson, Thomas, Leatherman and Glover and Representatives SCOTT, FLEMING, LIMEHOUSE, SPEARMAN and DELLENEY. The President of the Senate introduced Governor David Beasley who then addressed the Joint Assembly as follows:
"Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the 112th General Assembly, Constitutional Officers, Cabinet appointees, and my fellow South Carolinians. It is my honor and privilege to report to you for the fourth time on the state of our State. First, I'd like to recognize two people who have meant much to me and to South Carolina. One is my wife, Mary Wood. She has been a tireless advocate for children, for the poor and needy, for the health of women all across this State. All the while, she has been the most loving wife and mother anyone could ask for. I would like for the unquestionably most popular first lady in America to please stand and be recognized. Obviously you can see why I am the happiest governor in the United States. Next, I would like to recognize a man who's devoted over 45 years of his life to this state's progress. We retire great leaders every year, but we will especially miss my good friend and yours, Comptroller General Earle Morris. Earle, if you would please stand and be recognized for your years of duty and service. Even as we bid farewell to old friends, we can't help but be intrigued by the prospects for our future. In 1998, we stand on the threshold of a great transition. And South Carolina will soon claim her rightful place on the global stage. Thankfully, brave men and women of this State are standing up for us all around the world defending the future we will inherit. Even as we speak, the 20th Fighter Wing from Shaw Air Force Base is patrolling the no-fly zone over Iraq. And last spring, South Carolina had more National Guardsmen deployed in worldwide peacekeeping missions than any other state in the nation. In the deserts of Saudi, the hills of Bosnia and all over the globe, South Carolinians are protecting our world from tyranny. Representatives of those airmen, guardsmen and reservists are with us tonight. Let us recognize them for their service and sacrifice. These men and women protect our most precious gift: freedom. And as we look forward to a new century, what a blessing it is to be free to make South Carolina everything we want her to be. I believe we all want her to be a place where every citizen has the opportunity for a good education and a good job. We want a South Carolina where every child is loved and nurtured. We want safe neighborhoods, a clean environment, responsible government and united families. Our hopes for tomorrow aren't much different from our forefathers'. But in this age of wealth and progress, unimagined by our ancestors, we must renew our energies and clarify our vision. One hundred years ago, on the cusp of a new century, the American Century, a great leader defined the challenge of the new era. He said, 'Our country calls not for a life of ease, but for the life of strenuous endeavor. The next century looms before us big with the fate of many nations' - so said Theodore Roosevelt, and so must we all say as the year 2000 approaches. 'Strenuous endeavor' is our mandate as elected officials, as South Carolinians, and as Americans. It was also the mandate of our forefathers, who poured the very sweat of their brows into tending this soil. Now the same majestic land that our forefathers discovered, the land God blessed us with at creation, will be preserved in all its glory. Working with private conservation groups, the State has bought over 140,000 acres of the most beautiful land within our borders, from the mountains to the sea acreage that will be protected forever. I'd like to show you some images from three of these crown jewels... all saved by our visionary commitment. This, my friends, is the legacy we will leave our grandchildren. Nowhere on earth does a morning break with more spectacular beauty than in the highlands of the Jocassee Gorges 33,000 acres of breathtaking wilderness in the Carolina Blue Ridge. This is South Carolina's Eden, a treasure trove of waterfalls and trails, abundant forests and skies that our children will explore for generations to come. All this pristine beauty is just down the road from one of the fastest-growing areas of our State. And its protection is one of the Southeast's most significant conservation projects of this century. Traveling to the heart of our State is Congaree Creek. The shores of this riverbed are rich with history, dating back thousands of years to the first South Carolinians who made a home on this land. The Congaree banks will one day be alive again with exploration of our ancient past, yet the wilderness of these swamps and wetlands running through our state's capital will remain unspoiled. Our journey ends on Sandy Island, a remote paradise just across the Intracoastal Waterway. This is the South Carolina of novels and poetry, with its canopy of moss, its rich kingdom of wildlife and the tidal marshes few hands have touched. Sandy Island is the first island ecosystem in the Southeast preserved in its entirety as mitigation. This is your land, South Carolina. This is your heritage. And this is your future. Ladies and gentlemen, you have just seen magnificent proof that we will protect the beauty that helped make us what we are, and we will do it without sacrificing all we're yet to be. The bedrock of our economy was forged by the good, God-fearing farmers of this land. From the seeds these faithful stewards planted, we have grown into one of the fastest-growing, most pro-business states on the map. You see the evidence of that growth in every 'Help Wanted' sign in the downtown shops getting fresh coats of paint and in the bulldozers moving dirt for yet another multi-million dollar project. Ours is a State reborn, industrialized and modern, a State that captains of industry call one of the best places in the world to do business. But let's not forget how far we've come. When we first came together, some of our communities were facing severe hardships. Knocking at our door were base closures, Savannah River Site lay-offs and mill closings. Yet with strenuous endeavor and God's good grace, there's never been a more exciting time to be a South Carolinian. Our economy is going gangbusters. These three years, we've doubled the accomplishments of the last three. We've recruited a grand total of $16 billion in investments and 80,000 new jobs. Just last year, more companies invested than ever before. We attracted the most international businesses, the most new investment and the most expansions of existing industry. But the rubber meets the road when you talk jobs. Since 1995, job creation has risen 75 percent, and we created more jobs last year than ever before, paying an average of over $30,000 a year. The results? Unemployment is at its lowest point in nearly three decades. Our income is among the fastest-growing in the nation. And consumer confidence is the highest on record. All these victories can be traced back to the very qualities that make us South Carolinians: stubborn determination and fierce integrity. So in the past few years, when communities were staring defeat in the eye, they never blinked. Down-sizing could have turned Aiken into a ghost town. Instead, Aiken led the State in capital investment, and earned the title of All-American City. In the Lowcountry, many feared the worst after the naval base closed. But these three years, the Tri-County area has averaged more than a billion dollars each year. That's five times the annual average for the decade before we started working together. That's what happens when Democrats and Republicans work together to put the interests of the people above the interests of partisan politics. This General Assembly has promoted triumphs like these with a single-minded purpose to create wealth through the private sector by getting off the backs of business, cutting taxes and reducing regulations. We set the wheels in motion with pro-business policies, like the Rural Development Act. Now, global powerhouses like Honda and Bridgestone/Firestone light up the sky in every corner of this State. We created a way to fund our most important road and bridge projects, through the State Infrastructure Bank. Now, decades of wrangling and debate will end in Myrtle Beach, and the paving of the Conway Bypass will finally begin. Of course, we're still getting shortchanged by the federal gas tax that's sending about 30 cents of every dollar we pay at the pump to other states that amounts to about $100 million a year of our money going elsewhere. Many of us have been working with Congress on a fairer way to distribute those funds. Well, I'll tell you, we are going to keep fighting Washington until the taxpayers of this State finally get what they pay for. And I ask your help in making that happen. Keeping our highways in good shape for travelers and commerce is critical if we're going to keep growing our multi-billion dollar tourism industry. Improved roads will carry those tourists safely to the beach, but once they're there, they need to know our waters are safe, too. That's why I'm asking you to set aside $2 million to test our coastal waters, so we can give every one of our visitors the assurance that our coasts are clean, safe and ready for business. Whether we're attracting tourists to the coast or renewing the small town square, the fact is that we're growing the economy like never before. And cutting back heavy taxation has given South Carolina the freedom to grow. I applaud you, members of the General Assembly, for letting families decide how to spend their own money. Because you understand full well: this money isn't ours to spend. It's the taxpayers'. If you adopt my budget proposal this session, you will have returned to the taxpayers these four years more than one billion dollars. That's a billion dollars less in government and a billion dollars more for families. As you recall, we also made a commitment last year to our senior citizens. Tonight, I ask you to build on what we started by raising the exemption for seniors even higher. Of course, there's another tax that's heavy on everyone's minds, one that's among the highest in the nation, and one that must be dealt with responsibly this session. And that's the tax on cars and trucks. This tax is the responsibility of local government. Local governments collect more than three billion dollars a year, and many are running surpluses and growing faster than state government. So let's form a partnership with local governments so they can experience what you know: that tax cuts work. I am proposing tonight that we dedicate 20 percent of our state's revenue growth until we eliminate the tax on cars and trucks. State government will pick up 75 percent of the total tab. Local governments will pick up 25 percent. That's a minuscule one-half of one percent of what local government now collects. My friends, local governments will be able to help cut this tax by using just 10 percent of their growth each year. I don't think that's too much to ask to help the working families of our State. Schools won't get cut, and no county in the State should have to make a single cut in any necessary service. In fact, counties will benefit, because people will spend that money in the local economy, bringing even more growth to our State. In fact, counties will benefit, because people will spend that money in the local economy, bringing even more growth to our State. Let me be very clear, there cannot be a car tax cut until a constitutional amendment is adopted by the people. This amendment would bind the hands of state and local government, freeze the tax at its current level, and give us the authority to eliminate this tax once and for all. Whatever the formula, we must set a goal this session: taxes on cars and trucks are to be declared dead, buried and never to rise again. Better government, less taxes, more jobs all these ingredients have helped us grow an environment where families can truly be a part of the American Dream. Together, we are giving people of poverty the chance to finally walk away from welfare with their heads held high. Welfare used to entrap families, tear them apart, and drain them of their dignity. It was a disaster that needed to be dismantled, and we responded by passing the Family Independence Act. The Department of Social Services is no longer an entitlement agency. Now it's an employment office. Every day, we are training welfare clients for work, teaching them how to fill out a job application and get along with co-workers and a boss. We are providing temporary assistance with child care and transportation. And above all, we expect that everyone who walks through the door has the capacity to achieve. The caseloads are now the lowest in two decades. About 1,000 welfare clients are moving into jobs every month. And tonight I am pleased to report that South Carolina's welfare rolls have been cut nearly in half. Elaine King and Angela Dinkins are two examples whose success stories were reported in the Wall Street Journal. After years on welfare, these women recently completed a rigorous program called Bright Futures, which trains welfare clients to be correctional officers. Today, both women are ready to support their families with demanding, good-paying careers. The first day she wore her uniform, Ms. King looked in the mirror a few extra minutes, smiled to herself and said these words: 'I'm a working mother now... not a welfare mom.' The trap of poverty is not made of steel. It can be broken, and these women have proved it. Ms. King and Ms. Dinkins are in town tonight for training, and I'd ask them to stand and be recognized. When people have good jobs, when parents are responsible, when South Carolinians have hope and opportunity, neighborhoods are safer. And these past three years, overall violent crime has been dropping. We're helping keep criminals away from our families, because together we have passed some of the toughest crime measures on the books: a two-strikes/three-strikes crime bill and truth in sentencing. Ladies and gentlemen, we've put the hammer down, and finally the law has meaning again. In the prison system, it used to be that inmates lived better than some of us on the outside. But inmates don't run the show anymore. We do. Now it's standard: inmates work and work hard. They raise their own food. They make their own uniforms. And for the first time in a long time, they're doing what we have to do: they're learning skills and earning their keep. Together, we are changing behavior and preparing people to re-enter a free society. But there is more we must do. We can start by tilting the scales of justice back toward the victims of crime. It seems to me that a system has evolved that offers criminals a full menu of resources and rights. Meanwhile, the survivors beg for scraps. The people voted in November to right those wrongs. And I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for today adding the Victims Bill of Rights to our state's Constitution. Next, we should take strong action against vicious criminals who have made preying upon women and children a way of life. We've all heard horror stories of rapists who aren't out of jail a day before they rape again. But now we have the power to keep them from ever walking out that door. The Supreme Court has ruled that if a sexual predator's sentence is complete but he is still considered a danger we can lock him away indefinitely. Rapists and pedophiles have no place in this society but behind lock and key. I ask you to give me a sexual predators bill, and we will keep these criminals far away from our children. There is another force that has free rein over our State, and it's not a force for good. I'm talking about video poker. You and I understand the inherent goodness of our people. It is this goodness that businesses around the world find so compelling. It's a sense of decency and honor that does not descend to the lowest common denominator, but instead attempts to uplift and inspire. So, as we look at the difficult issue of video poker, we are confronted with one simple question: does the face of video poker represent the goodness, decency and honor of a State that all of us know so well? The answer, my friends, is no. I ask you to ban video poker from South Carolina forever. With their unlimited resources for lobbying and advertising, the video poker industry is mounting an assault on the senses and sensibilities of the people of South Carolina. You've seen the ads with the all-American faces. No one claims that the day-to-day employees are bad people. But there is another face to video poker which the industry barons with their millions are desperately trying to hide. It's the face of Joy Baker, the tiny baby who died in a hot car while her mother played a machine. It's the face of Joy's anguished father who begs us to understand what this industry did to his family. The face of video poker is a 52-year-old woman in Newberry who wrote that she believed suicide was the only escape from her mounting gambling debts. She says she'd be dead today if her husband hadn't saved her from a drug overdose. She asked me a question that deserves to be asked of us all: 'What is more important: revenue or ruined lives?' The face of video poker is also a little girl from Lancaster who wrote me this letter: 'Dear Governor Beasley, This is a crying little girl who is crying because her family is being torn apart by something you might not can fix, but you can sure try. My dad is hooked on gambling machines and I am desperately trying to help him.' Ladies and gentlemen, this little girl needs our help. She is the face of video poker. The face of video poker is troubled children, broken homes, and overwhelmed social agencies. One study estimates that one in five players in South Carolina is already a problem gambler, and it's getting worse. Just four years ago, Gamblers Anonymous had eight chapters in our State. Today it has 27. Thirty-three percent of the players surveyed admitted to having spent the last dollar in their pocket playing the machines. Five percent said they have considered suicide at least once. The revenue this industry generates is a drop in the bucket compared to the economic and social calamity that will be visited upon us if we fail to act. Studies show that every dollar spent on gambling actually costs us another three dollars to pay for its consequences. Every dollar going into a machine is a dollar less for local retailers and businesses, which are the lifeblood of our economy. Every dollar going into a machine is a dollar less for family budgets. And that's food off the dinner table and clothes off the backs of children. The great refrain is that you can't legislate morality. So what do you call the body of law that forbids drug use and prostitution and a variety of human behaviors that you, the elected representatives of the people, do not deem appropriate for our State? Routinely we are asked to decide to choose between right and wrong. This is such a time. All of the arguments moral, economic, and social make a compelling case. Choose one. But in the end, remember the other faces of video poker they don't want you to see. Don't regulate it. Don't tighten it. Ban it once and for all. Diligence, honesty, virtue - these are trademarks of our people. But future generations will only learn the value of a hard day's work, the value of healthy lifestyles, if we live them out. That's why we have created policies that empower parents with resources and knowledge to set their children on the path to self-sufficiency. Ours has been a full-scale preventive strike for the health of our children. And we're beginning to see rewards from the partnerships we've formed. Just five years ago, only about 60 percent of our two-year-olds were getting immunized. Now that number is over 90 percent, and South Carolina has the highest immunization rate in the country. Our infant death rate dropped more last year than it has in two decades. Now infant mortality is at an all-time low. And to expand Medicaid coverage to more children in need, we formed a visionary coalition, called Partners for Healthy Children. Now we're able to offer consistent, quality health care to not just a few more children, but to 75,000 more children all across this State. Hard-working families who once could not afford medical care for their children will now have access to regular checkups from a family doctor. And these children will now enter their classrooms, minds clear and ready to learn. It's in those classrooms where we find our next great challenge, the challenge to fill those healthy minds with knowledge. Historian Will Durant once said that, 'If in youth we fell in love with beauty, in maturity we can make friends with genius.' Every day more global headquarters and knowledge-based industries are putting down roots in South Carolina. We want to make friends with that genius. To do so, we must not only build our new economy with the workings of our hands; we must build it with the workings of our minds. And these three years, with the help of education-minded legislators, we are re-tooling the way we educate for the 21st century. Through our SCINET partnership, every school in this State now has access to the Internet. In fact, for the first time, the State of the State address is being carried live over the Net. Eighty percent of our children tested ready for first grade this year, the highest number since we started testing in 1979. We're making students work harder and earn four more credits to graduate. We started a fund that helps send our brightest scholars to college... and helps renovate and build schools across the State. And to recruit and retain the best teachers, we are finally paying our teachers above the Southeastern average. All told, we're putting more than $2 billion a year toward education. Well over half of our budget this year alone goes to education. But still the simple fact remains: South Carolina needs better results from our education system and our students. If reform is to last, reform must start at the heart with the strong, steady drumbeat of back to basics learning. One year ago, I appointed a group of business and education leaders called the PASS Commission. They came back with a comprehensive report that could be the most important education initiative we've ever seen. The PASS Commission is telling us to raise the bar higher, raise it for every student in every grade in every subject. And they devised a set of academic standards to help us clear that bar - tough, measurable, back-to-basics standards. These standards finally spell out to students in no uncertain terms, this is what we expect you to learn; to every educator, this is what we expect you to teach; and to every parent, this is how we expect your child's school to perform. We must teach the basics again, ladies and gentlemen. Let me give you one clear and simple example of what should be one of our highest goals: by the end of the first grade, every child must know how to read. I applaud the State Board of Education for moving quickly to adopt the standards. Now, I ask all of you to act decisively on the PASS Commission recommendations, act boldly and act quickly. Our children have waited long enough, and we can't wait one moment longer. Even as more high school students achieve the excellence we demand, there is more we can do to inspire good grades and empower more families. We're calling it the Palmetto LIFE scholarship. And many of you have already pledged your support for our new merit-based scholarship plan. Any graduate with a 'B' average and a thousand SAT score will earn a scholarship for $2,000 to any college in the State, public or private. If they choose a technical or two-year college, they'll earn a $1,000 scholarship. That's money for any college expense tuition, books or room and board. Our program is designed so that families can take full advantage of the federal HOPE tax credit. When you put the two together, tuition for almost any public school in the State would be free. I'm asking you tonight to make Palmetto LIFE law. Let's keep our best scholars here at home, and we will prepare South Carolina for all the greatness she can achieve. With high standards and help for scholars, we will live out the motto on our state seal: 'Prepared in mind and resources.' We've already prepared our State for greatness these three years by forging a robust economy and cutting taxes, which has revitalized communities and offered opportunity to the least of these. Jobs are plentiful, so welfare families can safely leave the rolls for a better life. Laws and prisons are tougher, so neighborhoods are growing safer. Homes are getting healthier, so young minds are prepared to learn. And they're learning in schools that are soon to be transformed from the inside out. South Carolina is prepared in mind and resources. Now we look to the other side of our state seal, to a woman extending the laurel branch of victory. Inscribed below her are these words: 'While I breathe, I hope.' Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time for hope. Now is the time, through long days of strenuous endeavor, to claim our rightful place on the world stage. I am reminded of a story from the waning moments of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Benjamin Franklin stood waiting his turn to sign the document that would seal the fate of our nation. His gaze fell upon a painting of a sun on the horizon hanging behind George Washington's chair. Ben Franklin turned to those around him and said: 'I have often looked at that picture behind the President without being able to tell whether it was a rising or setting sun. Now at length I have the happiness to know that it is indeed a rising sun.' The sun is rising upon this great State, ladies and gentlemen. It's rising because our people are good. Our challenge is to reflect their goodness and common sense in the laws that we pass. If we gather the courage and the unity to live justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God, then my friends, the sun will continue to rise on South Carolina, and we will finally embrace our destiny. May God bless our efforts and the good people of South Carolina."
Upon the conclusion of his address, Governor Beasley and his escort party retired from the Koger Center.
The purposes of the Joint Assembly having been accomplished, the President announced that under the terms of the Concurrent Resolution the Joint Assembly would recede from business.
At 7:45 P.M. the House resumed, the SPEAKER in the Chair.
Rep. HASKINS moved that the House do now adjourn, which was adopted.
At 7:46 P.M. the House in accordance with the motion of Rep. WITHERSPOON adjourned in memory of Ike Long of Conway, to meet at 10:00 A.M. tomorrow.
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