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SCE&G proposes credit to ease rate hike impact

May 4, 2010 By

South Carolina Electric and Gas has proposed a total $25 million credit to its customers to help with the 9.5 percent rate hike, making it about a 6.5 percent hike. SCE&G spokesman Eric Boomhower says shortly after the utility filed for the rate increase, they began looking for ways to help reduce the impact extreme weather has on customer bills.

“We’re not looking to gain a financial advantage at the expense of the customers when we have abnormal weather, like we had this past winter. So, we have introduced through this stipulation through the ORS, the Office of Regulatory Staff, yesterday. We are proposing to introduce a weather normalization mechanism on electric rates that would really help to minimize the impact that weather has on customer bills,” says Boomhower. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Energy, News

SC Senate changes abortion rules in state health plan

May 4, 2010 By

Measures to restrict or change abortion practices in South Carolina continue to come up in the Statehouse even during budget debate. The House version of the budget kept the state health plan from covering all abortions. The Senate said no to that.

Senator Joel Lourie of Richland says there are about 422,000 state employees on the health plan and there were six abortions performed, all under the exceptions of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life.

So somewhere in our state there were six women who were either victims of rape, incest or whose lives were at stake who had an abortion and the state health plan paid for that. So it really is not a case of whether our tax dollars are being used. These are insurance premiums that each and every one of us, state employees throughout the state, paid for.

Lourie posed a different argument:

I cannot imagine what a family would have to go through if a sister or daughter or wife was the victim of rape or of incest. So to me, this debate really should not be about abortion, it should be about protecting the rights of victims here, strictly about protecting the rights of victims. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature, News

Conference committee considers bill for 24-hour wait before abortion (AUDIO)

May 4, 2010 By

Today, bill to require a 24-hour waiting period before abortions was the topic in a conference committee-turned contentious at the Statehouse today.  The six members of the committee are assigned to reach a passage point for the bill which would slow or change the choice a woman makes to have an abortion. There are six members on this committee including Greg Delleney of Richland, Chesterfield’s Ted Vick, and the one woman appointed is Greenville Rep. Wendy Nanney.  Senators include Lexington’s Jake Knotts and Orangeburg’s Brad Hutto. Anderson Senator Kevin Bryant, an outright opponent of abortion, chairs the committee.  He says there are two issues thay may be hard to hammer out:

(Sen. Bryant on some differences in House and Senate’s 24-hour bills,  MP3, 1:35)
Bryant on 24 hour abortion bill

Bryant says the heated, but civil debate, shows that they may get bogged down in their differences. The committee meets again next Wednesday.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Legislature, News

Abbeville tornado confirmed by National Weather Service

May 4, 2010 By

A line of storms passed through the state Monday morning.  The damage in Abbeville County was determined to be caused by a tornado.

Steven McDade, Emergency Management Director of Abbeville County, said several buildings were damaged, as was the roof of a home, and some trees were uprooted.  Confirmation of the tornado was given by the National Weather Service. McDade said there were no bystanding witnesses who saw the tornado.

There was a crew of some construction folks that were working on a house down there. I asked them if they actually saw anything and they said ‘No,’ that they braced for cover themselves.

The tornado touched down near Highway 20.  The touchdown lasted for approximately nine-tenths of a mile.

McDade said he contacted the National Weather Service, which classified the storm as an F-zero tornado with winds reaching 75 miles per hour.

No injuries were reported.

Filed Under: News, Uncategorized, Weather

SC Senate budget includes study committee to streamline agencies

May 4, 2010 By

Senator Darrell Jackson calls it one of the most significant outcomes of this year’s budget debate–a committee to study government restructuring. Jackson says, “The intent is to study over the next several months with a report due in January of 2011 on the possibility of consolidating state agencies in order to save money and in order to better impact the services they provide.”

The state Senate worked nights last week to finish their version of the state budget. Republican Greg Ryberg and Democrat Darrell Jackson sponsored this proviso, with unanimous approval. “We are going to take a serious look at the consolidation of agencies that maybe share some similar purposes. And the goal is with the budget crisis we are experiencing this year– and it is believed that next year will be even worse–that we must start this process,” says Jackson. [Read more...]

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