Today’s debate is on s. 1205 commonly known as “The Right to Farm Act” sponsored by Sen. Larry Grooms. Basically this bill calls for statewide regulation of agriculture instead of the current system. At this time, there is a mixture of local, state, & federal agencies regulating agriculture. Since only federal & state agencies have the resources for science-based standards, this proposal is good for agriculture, development, environmental, & economic concerns.
Interestingly, s. 1205 has support from across the state and across the aisle. Cosponsors are: Verdin (R- Laurens), Hutto (D-Orangeburg), Peeler (R-Cherokee), Williams (D-Marion), Land (D-Clarendon), Bryant (R-Anderson), O’Dell (R-Abbeville), Jackson (D-Richland), Cromer (R-Newberry), Ford (D-Charleston), Knotts (R-Lexington), Setzler (R-Lexington)

Governor Mark Sanford, Attorney General Henry McMaster, Rep. Jim Harrison (SC House Judiciary Committee Chairman) endorse the Senate Version of Jessica’s Law. Gov. Sanford held a press conference in the Statehouse this morning. I expect Jessica’s Law to get quick passage in the house, then the Governor’s signature shortly. I look forward to the day when we can say that SC leads the nation in punishing crimes on our precious children.

Looks like we’re off to the races in Anderson County. What do ya’ll think?
County Council District 1 Francis Crowder
County Council District 1 Steve Lovelace
County Council District 1 Bob Waldrep
County Council District 2 Marshall Mitchell
County Council District 3 LarryGreer
County Council District 3 Matthew Hilley
County Council District 4 Bill McAbee
County Council District 4 Randy Price
County Council District 4 Joe Renna
County Council District 5 David E. Cothran
County Council District 5 Skip Gilmer
County Council District 5 Mike Holden
County Council District 5 Michael G. Thompson
County Council District 6 Bill Dees
County Council District 6 Rick Freemantle
County Council District 6 Ron Wilson
County Council District 7 Julia Ashley-Barnes
County Council District 7 M. Cindy Wilson
SC House District 10 Dan Cooper
SC House District 6 Brian White
SC House District 7 Michael W. Gambrell
SC House District 7 Dan Harvell
SC House District 8 Don Bowen
SC House District 8 Ted W. Luckadoo
SC House District 8 Becky Martin
SC House District 9 Michael D. Thompson

Today is a historic moment in SC history! The SC Senate just passed my amendment to allow for capital punishment for child rapists receiving a 2nd conviction. The roll call vote was 38-3. Out of our 46 members, some were not present and some evidently felt uncomfortable with this sentencing & chose to not vote. Should Jessica’s Law pass the house in its amended form, SC will be only the 2nd state to allow for sentencing this severe.

Wednesday morning at 9am I’ll join Sen. Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg) on Fox News and Friends.

I would like to thank our excellent Senate staff . This ground breaking legislation involving capital punishment and probable appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court took many long hours making sure the legislation is crafted correctly. Those mostly involved with this tremendous task were: Mr. Gentry, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Linksi, Mr. Moffitt, & Mr. Varat

The most popular questions asked:
1-Why are you asking for punishment this severe? When a child is raped something precious is taken from the child’s soul. They will never recover, therefore, I believe that his invasion of a child warrants capital punishment, especially since the bill calls for a 2nd conviction of child rape. This also sends a message across the world, that SC does not tolerate the molestations of our kids! Will this sentencing keep perverts out of SC? I certainly hope so.
2-Does the amendment jeopardize the rest of Jessica’s Law bill or our current capital punishment statutes? A “severability clause” was included in the amendment to prevent this from happening. Also, the language calls for a separate statute that may isolate this sentencing should we get a court challenge.

As mentioned before, I submitted an amendment to allow for capital punishment to be sought if an offender was twice convicted of raping a child. This amendment has good support and I am optimistic of its passage. We have the opportunity to make SC the safest place in the nation for children.

Also, if this sentencing is challenged in the courts, Attorney General Henry McMaster has promised to defend SC should we pass such legislation.

I have been pleasantly surprised of the recent media exposure. We’ve had interviews with newspapers, local TV stations and radio talk shows. I have 3 appearances scheduled on National TV.
Saturday, March 25 @ 7:00 am – ABC News
Saturday, March 25 @ 10 pm – CNN
Wednesday, March 29 @ 9:00am – Fox News

Bill O’Reilly’s staff has contacted me in the past, but I haven’t been scheduled yet.

There is a scheduled meeting Tuesday morning with invited guests including the USC school of Law, the SC Prosecutors Association, and Att. Gen. McMaster. The purpose of this meeting is to tweak than language of the amendment to better its chances of surviving a constitutional challenge. I applaud Judiciary and Senate Council for their hard work on this issue!