February 10, 2012

You are here: Home / 2009 / May / Archives for 12th

BEA freezes revenue estimate

May 12, 2009 By

Th South Carolina Board of Economic Advisers elected Tuesday not to change the revenue estimate for the year. It remains at $6.263 billion, meaning that additional state job losses are not as likely before June 30th, the end of the fiscal year.

Board Chairman John Rainey:  “We think it will be close.  We think we’ll make it if unemployment stays on the trajectory it’s on now.  We have unemployment reaching 14 percent by June 30th as one of the factors getting to our revenue estimate.”  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Economy, News, Politics & Government

Outgoing SC GOP Chair not interested in RNC post

May 12, 2009 By

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele has been a lightning rod since winning the post January 30th by a narrow 91 to 77 margin Over outgoing South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson on the sixth and final ballot. Commenting on President Obama’s stated goal of replacing retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter with a judge who brings empathy to the Supreme Court bench, Steele, appearing on a national radio show, said Obama can “empathize right on his behind.”

The National Republican Party is trying to right itself after losing the White House as well as becoming the minority party in the House and Senate. Dawson agrees that the former Maryland Lt. Governor is off to a tough start.”Michael Steele is a friend of mine and certainly he has a had a rocky rough start, some self-inflicted, some not. That’s to be expected when you take on a party that has been driven by the White House and turn it back into a committee driven party. I think Michael has certainly had his challenges, but right now I’ve moved on to do some other things outside of the Party.”

Dawson is stepping down after seven years as South Carolina Republican Party chair and he says he is looking to move on to do other things including running his auto parts business in Columbia.

Dawson is not interested in any talk of him taking over as Chair of the RNC should Steele falter. “I have a lot of friends on the Republican National Committee and it was a really close race, but I’m not up to running the race again, but I will certainly serve Republicans all over the country. I was able because we’re from such a respected state in South Carolina, an early Presidential (primary) state.”

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

Washington delegation says SRS could benefit from fuel rod recycling

May 12, 2009 By

Advocates of nuclear power are hoping to convince the Obama Administration to develop the U.S. nuclear infrastructure. That includes recycling spent nuclear fuel. The South Carolina delegation is hoping that the Savannah River Site will benefit from a new nuclear focus, as a center of research and possibly as an active facility.U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham says recycling fuel rods is the way to go.   ”If we could persuade the new administration to allow us to change the way we build nuclear power plants and allow us to recycle nuclear waste like they do in some other countries,  it would create a lot of jobs, particularly in South Carolina, and clean up the environment and make us less dependent on foreign oil.” 

Graham says originally, the Obama Administration was in favor of the Yucca Mountain nuclear storage facility, but then changed its mind.  “Once a fuel rod is taken out of a reactor you have to do something with that rod.  It was going to go to Yucca Mountain.  Now there’s no place for it to go.  Now we’re in noman’s land.  France and Japan recycle rods and put 95 percent of the material back into reactors.  I think that’s what we ought to be doing.  It’s called recycling.” 

At the same time, the licensing process has begun for Yucca Mountain, the giant nuclear dump inside a Nevada mountain, but due to opposition from the state of Nevada, it will be many years before licensing is completed and the facility is opened, if that happens. Almost all of the 319 concerns raised by Nevada were accepted Monday for consideration by federal regulators.

Graham says it’s good that House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina has endorsed nuclear growth, since he has the ear of President Obama.

Second District Congressman Joe Wilson is hoping that the S.R.S. research center will benefit from the pro-nuclear swing.   “We actually promote a carbon-free technology and this would be part of it.  There would be up to 110 billion dollars to recycle spent nuclear fuel.  Nuclear energy has the advantage of being clean, and it wouldn’t raise taxes, and would create jobs.”

Filed Under: Business, Environment & Conservation, News, Politics & Government

Wilson supported bill calls for offshore drilling

May 12, 2009 By

Second District Congressman Joe Wilson joined with fellow Republican congressmen Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania and Hawaii Democrat Neil Abercrombie in introducing the American Conservation and Clean Energy Independence Act on May fourth. Wilson says the legislation does not call for raising taxes on the American people. A major component of the measure calls for offshore drilling and Wilson says such searches for oil and natural gas does not have to affect tourism off the South Carolina coast.”I have been in touch with geologists who have advised me that there is significant potential for natural gas and oil off the coast of South Carolina. But of course, I only favor it if it’s beyond 20 miles because I do not want it to be observable from the coast. The hospitality industry is very important to me, it creates a lot of jobs, it creates a lot of tax revenue.”

In September 2008, U.S. House Democrats and Republicans agreed to let the near 30 year old moratorium on offshore drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to expire September 30th. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economy, Legislature

Legislative deadline means some bills will wait

May 12, 2009 By

There are officially two weeks left for the legislature this year to take care of business.

Even with a special provision, called Sine Die, which allows them to come back in and deal with certain matters, there are many bills that will have to wait until next year, because the legislature plans to cut its session by two weeks.

Greeville Senator Mike Fair says, “It’s just like airplanes lining up on the tarmac; these last few weeks are gonna be crammed.”

One of those pending bills …a highly publicized plan for minimum sentences in daycare child abuse cases. Called Kendra’s law, it has enough opposition to slow down the last two weeks of the legislature, so it may have to stand by while PayDay Lending and Cigarette tax and budget battles take up chamber time.

Fair says lawmakers should stay to take care of these bills, “and I am one of those who believes that yes , we should stay here and take care of business. It’s not that much money in the big picture because we are not budgeted much. It doesn’t take much for the House or the Senate to operate.”

Senate President Pro Tem Glann McConnell says it’s out of their control.

“Well I hate to see some of these bills die on the calendar, but unfortunately it’s my understanding we are just coming so close on the budget. That’s why we are working the long hours we’re working and why we’ll be trying to push through the bills in the last three weeks,”says McConnell.

He expects lawmakers will have to come back in, so they must limit their time and expenses right now.

“Should the budget wobble five percent out of balance because of the downward spiral of the economy, we retain the right to come back and make course adjustments,” he says. “Should a court rule adversely on the stimulus, should something come up, we reserve the right of the speaker of the house or the president protem to call back the Senate and the House to deal with that. Additionally, we need to deal with the vetos, so if the governor vetos whatever in the bill, we can come back.”

McConnell says the legislature will have 30 percent cut from their budget by the time they are finished, lopping off at least six weeks of the session.

McConnell cites Senator Marion Gressette by saying “If a bill is so good that it can pass today, it can wait ’til tomorrow.”

Filed Under: Economy, Legislature, News
« Older Posts