Staff reports | State lawmakers are expected to buckle down to work when the General Assembly reconvenes for its 2020 session Tuesday. The House likely will start on a bill related to Daylight Savings Time, while the state Senate could head straight into debate on the House-passed large education package.
Also under consideration in the House will be bill that seeks to prohibit approval of an action supporting seismic testing for oil or natural gas on land or in water of the state of South Carolina, as well as a rival bill that would ban state agencies or local governments from impeding plans to deter or prohibit seismic testing infrastructure. See the House calendar here.
Senate Education Chair Greg Hembree of Horry County has said a large education bill that does everything from teacher pay raises to allowing the state to remove chronically failing school boards will be “the first major debate” of the session. Also on the Senate’s calendar are measures to boost higher education funding and to require county clearks to report restraining orders to state law enforcement officials to keep people from possessing firearms. See the Senate calendar here.
In recent news briefs:
Big year. The S.C. Ports Authority said it had its best calendar year in history in 2010, handling 2.44 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs). That’s a 5 percent annual increase over the previous year, according to a press release. “We enter 2020 with a great decade of growth behind us, during which we doubled our volumes, tripled our asset base and added more than 200 people to our team,” Ports President and CEO Jim Newsome said. “Our cargo growth and efficient terminals are only made possible through the dedication of our team and the broader maritime community.”
Santee Cooper. Statehouse Report correspondent Lindsay Street outlines the stakes of the coming legislative debate over Santee Cooper, the state’s public utility, later this month in the General Assembly. Lawmakers are prepping to determine whether to sell it, change the management structure or simply reform the utility following the $9 billion debacle over a joint project to build new nuclear facilities. Read her story here.
2019-2020 could have $507 million surplus. In a meeting with journalists Thursday, state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office staff members offered data showing the current fiscal year is on track to have a $507 million surplus from lowball revenue projections. Add to that another $350 million in surplus funds from the 2018-19 budget. That leaves state legislators with a pot of more than $850 million in surplus funds to be used for non-recurring expenses. Executive Director Frank Rainwater told Statehouse Report said the agency missed the revenue forecast largely due to “volatile” revenue sources difficult to predict, such as corporate income tax, and due to the state’s new revenue source from online sales. This is in addition to the projected $1 billion in extra revenues predicted for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
New job. A hearty welcome to Ashley Henyan, new executive director of the Lowcountry Chapter of the American Red Cross. She comes from the Red Cross of Georgia where she served on the communications team, primarily focusing on media relations.
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