from Palmetto Family  Council:
Yesterday afternoon, by a vote of 28-13, the South Carolina Senate once again put another bill in front of “24 Hours for Life.”

The bill lengthening South Carolina’s shortest-in-the-nation abortion reflection period, H.3245, is still not a Special Order (a priority) in the Senate.

To find out what you can do to change this, please visit our Action Center<http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/92778.aspx>.

More on this story on Monday…

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Note: Most of the Senators who voted “No” on setting another bill for Special Order were actually voting in support of “24 Hours for Life.” Those Senators were:

Sen. Thomas Alexander
Sen. Lee Bright
Sen. Kevin Bryant
Sen. Chip Campsen
Sen. John Courson
Sen. Tom Davis
Sen. Mike Fair
Sen. Larry Martin
Sen. Shane Martin
Sen. Mick Mulvaney
Sen. Greg Ryberg
Sen. Phil Shoopman
Sen. Danny Verdin

S. 0292 will get a sub committee hearing on Thursday morning at 10:00 am. The Judiciary Sub-Committee consists of Knotts (ch), Massey, & Coleman. Basically, this adds penalties to officers assaulted if the assault is related to his official capacity. For example, if crack head gets out of jail and sees the arresting officer in a grocery store and beats him up, he would get additional penalties.

S 0292 General Bill, By Bryant: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 16-3-625, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO RESISTING ARREST WITH THE USE OR THREAT OF USE OF A DEADLY WEAPON, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY AND WILLFULLY COMMITS AN ASSAULT AND BATTERY ON A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER DURING THE LAWFUL DISCHARGE OF THE OFFICER’S OFFICIAL DUTIES, OR WHEN THE OFFENSE IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE OFFICER’S OFFICIAL DUTIES, IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR THIS OFFENSE. to read the full bill

Last night an amendment was offered to the Employment Security Commission reform. The current bill allows for the Governor to choose the executive director with advice and consent of the Senate. The amendment was to set up a screening committee to screen candidates and send them one for the Governor to either approve or deny. There was a tabling motion which passed  by an unsual mix of Senators. Most votes fall along partisan lines and several different coalitions. Here’s the roll call vote:

AYES: Bright, Bryant, Campsen, Courson, Davis, Fair, Grooms, Hutto, Leventis, Lourie, Martin (Larry), Martin (Shane), Massey, McGill, Peeler, Reese, Rose, Ryberg, Setzler, Sheheen, Shoopman, Verdin, Williams Total–23

NAYS: Alexander, Campbell, Cleary, Cromer, Elliott, Ford, Hayes, Jackson, Knotts, Land, Matthews, McConnell, Nicholson, O’Dell, Pinckney, Rankin, Scott, Thomas Total–18Amendment No. 28 was laid on the table.

The final bill contained a compramise for the selection of the executive director. A screening committee is created to release qualified applicants. The Governor will make his selection from this list of qualified list. Also, the executive director will be in “at will” status.

The State Newspaper has some interesting polls:
First Lady Jenny Sanford or First Lady Michelle Obama?
U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint or U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham?
Pres. Barack Obama or Gov. Mark Sanford?

http://kevinbryant.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=http%3A%2F%2Fkevinbryant.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fcomment.php%3Faction%3Dcdc%26dt%3Dspam%26c%3D5814

A Day for Vision

In these exciting times, you are invited join us as we observe the 29th anniversary of the inaguration of Ronald Wilson Reagan.

On a cold January 20, 1981, at noon, five decades after he served as president of the student senate at Eureka College, Ronald Reagan raised his hand to take the oath of office as the 40th President of the United States.

The inaugural address he delivered that afternoon spelled out a vision that has anchored the national discussion and debate to this day.

The journey that led this man to the Presidency is a profound American story whose narrative can help inspire each new generation, but only if we continue to share it.

Ronald Reagan is the only president born in Illinois, and he held onto his Midwestern roots for all his years, never forgetting the humble lessons of freedom, equality and dignity he took with him from growing up in Dixon and graduating from Eureka College. Through the efforts of The Ronald W. Reagan Society of Eureka College, his alma mater continues to honor his extraordinary example of lifelong critical thinking and his sense of servant leadership we instill in our students and encourage as a model for people everywhere.

Thank you for all you do to help support Eureka College as a living legacy for the story of Ronald Reagan. The inauguration photo above is courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and we are grateful to be able to share it with you.

Reagan Forward!

I introduced S. 967 to help many constituents that have had to jump through hoops to reciprocate their drivers license to South Carolina. South Carolina should throw out the welcome mat for retirees, this will help.

TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-80, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO INFORMATION THAT A PERSON MUST SUBMIT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO OBTAIN A DRIVER’S LICENSE OR PERMIT, SO AS TO PROVIDE A LIST OF DOCUMENTS THAT MAY BE SUBMITTED TO PROVE THE DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH OF A PERSON WHO IS AT LEAST SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OLD.

Here’s the major proposals on the ESC reform bill, S. 391.

commissioners: The commissioners’ salaries must be approved by the Agency Head Salary Commission. New commissioners must be 2 years removed from the General Assembly Commissioners must be accountable to the Ethics Commission

at will: Executive Director appointed by governor with advice and consent of Senate; serve at-will The Executive Director, Assistant Directors and Area Directors are at-will employees Tech schools, Commerce and Workforce must have compatible computers;

temp workers: Workers placed by a temp service must return to the temp service for possible further assignment prior to filing for unemployment

fraud: The department must increase investigations of fraud and misrepresentations by claimants, keep detailed records of all commission hearings and make them available to the General Assembly, improve interagency integration and data sharing, and refer all cases of significant claimant and/or employer fraud to the Attorney General to determine whether to prosecute the offender (ESC can do all of this now. This is the resolution adapted to the statute.)
They must promulgate regs on the hearing and appeals procedures.

fired employees: Addition of “gross misconduct” as a list of items for which all benefits are denied and employee must re-establish their wage base with a new employer in order to draw future benefits. The list includes: wilful or reckless employee damage to employer property of more than fifty dollars; alcohol possession or use; theft of more than fifty dollars; criminal assault or battery; criminal abuse of patient or child in his professional care; willful failure to comply with a lawful, reasonable order; willful neglect of duty. All other “fired for cause” remains at the discretion of the ESC to disqualify from 5-26 weeks.

Midlands Biofuels has made an interesting proposal:

From Gov. Sanford’s regular newsletter:

We also had an interesting presentation from Midlands Biofuels about a proposal they have to produce fuel from cooking oil, which they would take from school cafeterias at no charge - saving schools thousands of dollars in disposal fees. This is the sort of public-private partnership that can really make a difference when it comes to looking out for the taxpayer.

Midlands Biofuels is a locally owned and operated recycling company in Winnsboro, SC. We produce Biodiesel using Waste Vegetable Oils (WVO) generated from the food service industry. Our mission is to increase the availability of alternative fuels in South Carolina and create sustainable jobs in the biofuels industry.

We specialize in custom blends of biodiesel designed to meet the specific needs of our eco-friendly clients. Our products are created using multiple feedstocks from both virgin and recycled sources. Our fuels and additives meet or exceed ASTM standards.

Midlands Biofuels is not only in the business of selling products but we also provide our clients with a multitude of value added fuel services such as: Engine Efficiency Testing, Fuel Consumption Reports, Fuel Blend Consulting, Fuel Additive Consulting and Demos, Bulk and JIT Fuel Delivery, and BioFuel Training.