Prefiled bills ’09: Government restructuring
It seems that the tipping point in the restructuring of the S.C. state government has happened, and with a vengeance. If a number of these bills pass and go into law, the way South Carolina does business from here on out will change dramatically. Hopefully, it will be for the better. A goodly amount of the legislation comes with Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell as the chief sponsor, which means they will blow through committee and likely sail through the Senate, at the very least.
Taking control of fixing the the complicated mess of state administration appears to be McConnell’s main concern in 2010.
S. 897: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO CREATE THE COMMISSION ON STREAMLINING GOVERNMENT AND REDUCTION OF WASTE AND PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP, POWERS, DUTIES, AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION, CONSIDERATION, APPROVAL, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE FOR STAFF SUPPORT AND FINANCES FOR THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE FOR COOPERATION WITH AND SUPPORT FOR THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS; AND TO PROVIDE FOR ITS TERMINATION.
This bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Hugh Leatherman and Harvey Peeler, which means it’s basically signed, sealed and ready to go already. As we’ve seen with the city government in Columbia, lack of oversight and proper addressing of waste will screw everyone over. If state government can be slimmed down, service duplication eliminated and outdated programs eliminated, we may well be on the way to sessions where worrying over million-dollar revenue shortfalls won’t cause major issues.
S. 898: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 11-11-85 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A ZERO BASE BUDGET PROCESS BEGINNING WITH FISCAL YEAR 2010-2011.
This bill is also co-sponsored by Peeler, which means it’s also good to go at least as far as the Senate is concerned. As well, it well-compliments the previous measure. Now, all state agencies won’t be up for zero-based budgeting at the same time (there are four groups that will rotate — like the BCS!), but it’s a start. Our parents have worked in state agencies, so we’ve seen foolish decisions made with the best of intentions. For instance, agencies spending bank at the end of the fiscal year to justify at the very least the same funding as the previous year. That’s a horrible way to run a government, and zero-based budgeting seeks to end such things.
S. 899: A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE III OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, BY ADDING SECTION 37, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE SENATE MUST ELECT FROM AMONG ITS MEMBERS A PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE TO PRESIDE OVER THE SENATE AND TO PERFORM OTHER DUTIES AS PROVIDED BY LAW; PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 8, ARTICLE IV, RELATING TO THE ELECTION, QUALIFICATIONS, AND TERM OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE JOINT ELECTION OF THE GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR; PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE IV, RELATING TO THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE, SO AS TO DELETE SECTION 9, WHICH PROVIDES THAT THE SENATE MUST CHOOSE A PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE AND WHICH ALSO PROVIDES THAT A MEMBER OF THE SENATE ACTING AS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR VACATES HIS SEAT AND ANOTHER PERSON IS ELECTED IN HIS STEAD; PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE IV, RELATING TO THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AS PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, BY DELETING SECTION 10, WHICH PROVIDES THAT THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE; PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 12, ARTICLE IV, RELATING TO THE DISABILITY OF THE GOVERNOR, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IF BOTH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE STATE TREASURER TRANSMIT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES A WRITTEN DECLARATION THAT THE GOVERNOR IS UNABLE TO DISCHARGE THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF HIS OFFICE, THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MUST ASSUME THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OFFICE AS ACTING GOVERNOR.
Oh, Gov. Mark Sanford. What hell you hath wrought. This is the beginning of the bills dealing with the Sanford fallout, and is also chief-sponsored by McConnell. It’s as close as an omnibus rewriting of the lieutenant governor’s duties as we’ve ever seen. It never made much sense for the lieutenant governor to preside over the S.C. Senate, as it doesn’t for the vice president to have the same duties in the U.S. Senate. Having a senator actually be president of the Senate only makes sense. It’s amazing that this hasn’t been fixed years ago.
S. 900: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 23-3-16, SO AS TO MANDATE THAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION PROVIDE SECURITY AND PROTECTION FOR THE GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, WHICH MUST NOT BE DECLINED.
More Sanford fallout. Of course, the Lothario-in-Chief has always wanted to shirk his SLED protection, and definitely did so when he want on his Argentinean rendezvous. Sen. Jake Knotts signed on as a co-sponsor.
S. 901: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 1-3-630, SO AS TO DEFINE “EMERGENCY,” “FULL AUTHORITY,” AND “TEMPORARY ABSENCE” IN ORDER TO CLARIFY WHEN A LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR HAS THE FULL AUTHORITY TO ACT IN AN EMERGENCY IN THE EVENT OF THE TEMPORARY ABSENCE OF THE GOVERNOR FROM THE STATE.
SANFORD! It’s fairly obvious at this point that McConnell got fed up with the mess the state government is in, and is working to make sure we never get back here.
S. 907: A BILL TO REPEAL ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 61, TITLE 44 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
This bill is a Peeler effort, to address the mess with the EMS. Efforts to keep people’s medical records private went too far, and has led to issues with proper emergency medical service. The bill is written to fix that.
S. 947: A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XV OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO IMPEACHMENT OF CERTAIN EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL OFFICERS OF THIS STATE, BY ADDING SECTION 4 SO AS TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR RECALLING AND REMOVING FROM PUBLIC OFFICE PERSONS HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICES OF THE STATE OR ITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS IN THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES OF STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS; AND PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII, BY ADDING SECTION 15 SO AS TO ESTABLISH A SPECIFIED PROCEDURE FOR THE ENACTMENT OR REPEAL OF LAWS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS BY INITIATIVE PETITION AND REFERENDUM AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.
Yet more Sanford-inspired legislation. This comes from Sens. Larry Grooms and Kevin Bryant. While former The State editorial page editor Brad Warthen may despise progressive election reforms, we like the Western idea: give the electorate the option for recall and initiatives. If you don’t trust the voters to do that, you might as well not trust them to vote in elections, either. Southern states (and Northern ones, for that matter), have been way too late to the party on these ideas.
And, this is the only time we’re going to say this, but you legislators need to get together and talk this shit out. There are a number of different proposals that had the same legislation introduced. It’s not unusual to have basically the same bill go into the House and the Senate, but to have the same proposal put in a number of times into the same chamber is silly. Sen. Mike Rose, you’re next up on the recall boat.
S. 995: A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XV OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO IMPEACHMENT OF CERTAIN EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL OFFICERS OF THIS STATE, BY ADDING SECTION 4 TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR RECALLING AND REMOVING FROM PUBLIC OFFICE PERSONS HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICES OF THE STATE OR ITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS IN THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES OF STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
And, look, Rose is for introducing the chance for initiatives, too.
S. 1002: A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, BY ADDING SECTION 15, TO PERMIT THE ENACTMENT OF LAWS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS BY INITIATIVE PETITION.
Don’t totally knock him, though, because Rose does have an idea that wasn’t previously filed. He’s filed a bill that will set South Carolina on a biennial budget and a biennial session, like Virginia. Maybe he doesn’t know, but when the legislature is in session in the Old Dominion, it’s fucking in session. Legislators have no lives for a number of weeks. Neither do the civil servants that do their grunt work. It’s a bastard. And, Columbia doesn’t have the badass bars and diners that make Richmond an OK place to stay up for three months straight every two years.
S. 1003: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 9, ARTICLE III OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION, 1895, RELATING TO SESSIONS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, TO PROVIDE FOR THE BIENNIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, TO PROVIDE FOR A SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT DATE, TO PROVIDE THE MEANS AND THE LIMIT TO WHICH THE SINE DIE ADJOURNMENT DATE MAY BE EXTENDED, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONVENING OF THE FIRST BIENNIAL SESSION.
