— Capping off a long day of debate Thursday, senators voted to sell the two planes owned by the state. South Carolina has owned the planes for decades, but it appears the bad headlines they’ve garnered in recent years finally led legislators to get rid of them entirely. Senators voted 26-14 to include language in the budget to sell the planes.

Gov. Nikki Haley participated in the Governor’s Volunteer Awards outside her Statehouse offices Thursday

— It was a dispute over Gov. Nikki Haley’s use of the planes that appears to have been the final straw. Democrats on Thursday focused on the governor’s videographer Zach Pippin, who frequently flies with Haley to film her press conferences and speeches. The problem is that he’s not a state employee; he’s paid by her campaign. The Governor’s Office insists Pippin is conducting state business and is legally allowed to go on the flights, even producing an email from a State Ethics Commission attorney to back up their case.

— The state Department of Public Safety on Thursday released the dashboard camera video of Rep. Ted Vick’s (D-Chesterfield) arrest on Tuesday night. An officer says he stopped Vick in the Statehouse parking garage after watching him stumble across the Statehouse grounds, then hit a traffic cone with his car. In the video, Vick can be seen struggling to avoid being handcuffed. He also repeatedly tells the arresting officer that he is “not intoxicated.”

— As the House Ways & Means Committee prepares to take up a cyber-security reform bill, a consultant is warning them not to do too much at once. Michael Wyatt of Deloitte & Touce, LLP., was hired to help recommend changes in South Carolina’s antiquated computer network after the Department of Revenue hacking. On Thursday, he told committee members that he felt they were wrong to centralize all aspects of information security into a single office.

— When senators come back for a second week of budget debate next Tuesday, they will likely take up a controversial school-choice proposal. The issue of giving tax deductions for parents whose children attend private school has been fought in the public sphere for years now. But supporters feel they are very close to winning support in the Senate for the first time. Opponents prevented it from coming up to a vote Thursday, knowing three critical “no” votes were not in Columbia at the time.

— Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell joined with Honda to kick off a new effort to fight hunger among seniors in South Carolina. The Sustain Our Seniors effort launched after a brief Statehouse ceremony Thursday. Honda donated two minivans for senior centers to use, while Leadership South Carolina presented over $100,000 in donations. South Carolina has the second-highest level of senior hunger in the nation.

— The House passed a bill Wednesday that would restructure state government, the fifth time they’ve done so in the past three years. That’s because both the House and Senate disagree on how to divide up the massive agency which controls much of the state’s bureaucracy. The plan which passed 91-23 Wednesday would break up the independent Budget & Control Board, shifting most of its functions into a new Department of Administration under the governor’s control. The bill now heads to the Senate, which is expected to reject it, sending it to a joint conference committee.

State Rep. Shannon Erickson (R-Beaufort) had a sign expressing support for Beaufort native Candice Glover, who was competing in the final round of the TV show “American Idol” on Wednesday

— One man who did not vote Wednesday was State Rep. Ted Vick (D-Chesterfield), who was arrested on suspected DUI charges for the second time in the past year. Late Tuesday night, a Bureau of Protective Services officer said he spotted Vick stumbling and struggling to keep his balance as he walked to his car in the Statehouse parking lot. Shortly afterwards, the officer said he watched Vick’s car strike a cone inside the garage. Vick refused a breathalyzer test after the officer stopped him and was arrested.

— In a 22-21 vote, senators narrowly rejected an effort to set aside an extra $70 million for repairs on South Carolina’s aging roads and bridges. Instead, senators said they wanted to focus on a permanent, long-term solution. This specific budget proposal would have taken the money out of higher-than-expected tax revenue. But a slim majority of senators wanted to create a new source of permanent funds, specifically increasing vehicle registration fees and the state gas tax.

— Senators did vote to include language in the budget that would allow school districts to sell advertising on their activity buses. These would not be the ordinary buses that take students to and from school, but specially-marked ones that take students on field trips or to athletic events. Opponents were worried that kids are already too exposed to advertisements. Supporters say the ads are not targeting the students, but drivers.

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