Archives for May 2014

Courson won’t replace Lt. Gov: “I would prefer to remain in SC Senate”

May 30, 2014 By Matt Long

Senate President Pro Tempore John Courson

With Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell telling the Charleston Post & Courier Thursday that he plans to step down next week, the question arises: Who will replace him as South Carolina’s Number 2 position?

But it appears real question is: Will anyone replace him?

Under South Carolina’s constitution, the Senate President Pro Tempore is required to resign his position and become lieutenant governor once the office becomes vacant. McConnell himself did exactly that in 2012. But the man currently holding that post says he won’t make the same commitment only five months before Election Day.

“I would prefer to remain in the South Carolina Senate,” Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, said when reached Friday. “The vacancy would be temporary. The primaries to replace the lieutenant governor will be taking place in less than 10 days (June 10). Then you’ve got the fall elections.”

Four Republicans (Columbia businessman Mike Campbell, former state Attorney General Henry McMaster, Charleston real estate developer Pat McKinney, pastor Ray Moore) and one Democrat (State Rep. Bakari Sellers) are seeking to replace McConnell this November.

But Gov. Nikki Haley says South Carolina shouldn’t be without a lieutenant governor between June and next January. According to the Associated Press, Haley told reporters in Charleston that Courson may be required to step into the state’s soon-to-be vacant seat.

Courson said there is precedence for the Lt. Governor’s office to be vacant for a few months. No one held the position in the late 1960s when a similar situation arose. He said there is no need for him to take the largely-ceremonial office. The lieutenant governor’s primary duty is presiding over the Senate, which will likely adjourn for the year after June. He adds that the Senate pro tempore is still the next in line should something happen to the governor.

The lieutenant governor also oversees the state Office on Aging.

New research university under heavy debate

May 30, 2014 By South Carolina Radio Network

State Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston

It appears an effort to establish a new research university connected with the College of Charleston will be one of the final floor fights in the Statehouse this year.

A bill that would have established the college appeared to be dead last week after Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, and Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. John Courson placed procedural holds on it. The holds effectively block the bill from being debated.

But the House, controlled by Charleston native House Speaker Bobby Harrell, tried again. They tacked the exact same language onto a separate bill that would give Clemson more independence in construction projects — legislation strongly pushed by Peeler. The new bill passed the House 82-13 on Thursday and is now headed back to the Senate.

State Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston, is among those pushing the idea. He says the new university could help fill jobs by offering the right advanced degrees. “We have jobs that are being unfilled by South Carolina workers because we’re not offering the right advanced degrees in this region,” he told South Carolina Radio Network. “It’s causing an economic drag and obviously a higher education drag.”

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Haley calls for end to Atlantic Beach Bikefest

May 30, 2014 By South Carolina Radio Network

Gov. Nikki Haley

Gov. Nikki Haley is now calling for an end to a Memorial Day bike rally in the Myrtle Beach area after three people were shot to death and seven others injured in at least five shootings last weekend.

Many Horry County officials, including Myrtle Beach mayor John Rhodes, have previously called for changes but stopped short of advocating the event’s end. However, the governor said Friday she believes the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, which annually draws an estimated 350,000 people each year, should be replaced entirely.

“There are no revenues worth the bad press that we got this past weekend,” she told reporters shortly after meeting several Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach leaders. “There are no revenues worth the lack of companies that will come to this area because of what happened this weekend. There are no revenues worth the lack of tourism that we will lose because of what happened this past weekend. It is time for that Bikefest to come to an end.”

Many Grand Strand leaders say they have long been concerned about the event held in the tiny town of Atlantic Beach. However, complaints have often been guarded due to the underlying racial aspects. The Bikefest is historically a black biker event, while the predominantly-white Harley Davidson Rally is held the prior week. For their part, Bikefest organizers have often maintained that law enforcement and businesses treat them with more suspicion and discrimination than the Harley rally.

Atlantic Beach mayor Jake Evans has said he doesn’t see a need to ban the event and insists there is no evidence that those involved in last week’s shootings were bikers. But those sentiments are not shared by leaders in the nearby cities who often see thousands of non-bikers visit specifically for the weekend.

“It is time for that Bikefest to come to an end,” Haley said. “And that is the way that I’m going to talk to the elected officials at Atlantic Beach. And I think it’s time that everybody in Horry County come together and say, ‘No more.'”

She did not believe it was a law enforcement issue, noting that 273 state troopers and police officers assisted local law enforcement with security.

McConnell to step down from Lt. Governor post earlier than planned

May 30, 2014 By South Carolina Radio Network

Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell shortly after his 2012 swearing-in

South Carolina’s lieutenant governor plans to step down next week.

Lt. Governor Glenn McConnell told the Charleston Post & Courier on Thursday that he will leave office a little earlier than he originally expected. McConnell had originally planned to resign his post at the end of the session next month and become the new president at the College of Charleston on July 1.

But he said Thursday that a likely contentious vote involving his future employer next week sped up the decision.

Part of the lieutenant governor’s responsibilities include presiding over the state Senate. That chamber is currently embroiled in debate over whether or not to create a new research school at College of Charleston. Two powerful senators made it clear Thursday they did not like how quickly the bill reached the Senate floor with little vetting in committee.

The potential floor fight puts McConnell in a precarious position. He would need to rule on any questions of rules during the debate and could cast the deciding vote if the measure comes down to a tie. He told the Post & Courier that he does not want to become a “lightning rod” from the potential conflict of interest.

McConnell did not say which day he would resign his office, only that it would happen “next week.” His departure leaves the lieutenant governor’s office vacant for the second time in two years. Under the state constitution, the Senate President pro tempore is supposed to become the next lieutenant governor when that happens (McConnell himself resigned his Senate post to become lieutenant governor in 2012).

However current President Pro Tempore Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, does not want the job. He notes there is only a week remaining in the regular legislative session. It is not unprecedented for the lieutenant governor’s office to be left vacant in South Carolina, although the last time it occurred was in the late 1960s.

Weekend weather

May 30, 2014 By South Carolina Radio Network

Scattered showers and thunderstorms possible in South Carolina on Friday, hot and humid with highs right around 90. Lingering showers will be possible overnight with lows in the mid 60s to about 70.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms likely again on Saturday with highs in the mid to upper 80s.

Look for sunnier and less humid weather on Sunday with highs in the lower to mid 80s.

DNR vet discourages feeding, watering of manatees

May 29, 2014 By South Carolina Radio Network

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says anyone who feeds a manatee or allows the animal to drink from a hose is actually putting the creature at risk of being harmed.

DNR veterinarian Dr. Al Segars said manatee sightings are scattered throughout the year in South Carolina, but sightings are more common along the coast once the water starts to warm.

Segars says feeding or watering a manatee leads to a change in their behavior. He says the animals return to marinas and docks looking for food and water, and end up being injured or even killed by boats.

“This seemingly fun, harmless behavior indeed is really very harmful to the animal,” Segars said. “It’s altering their behavior in a way that puts them at a much higher risk for getting hit by a boat.”

He wants people to know that the action is illegal and could eventually lead to a manatee’s death. “I think once 99% of the people understand that, they’ll say, ‘Wow this is an amazing animal and I don’t want to do anything that could inflict harm or increase the risk of it being harmed’ and then they’re going to stop,” Segars said.

Segars also said he does realize there are some people that will disregard his warning and continue to feed and provide water to the manatees. That’s when he says law enforcement will get involved. “It is a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act,” he noted.

DNR encourages anyone who sees a manatee to report their sighting at the agency’s website or call their hotline at 1-800-922-5431.

Patrick Ingraham filed this report

Lawmakers seek tougher conditions for drug-abusing parents to regain custody

May 29, 2014 By Matt Long

SC Statehouse

The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that tries to protect children who have been removed from the custody of drug-abusing parents.

The measure, which cleared the Senate in a unanimous vote Thursday, would require either one or both parents to pass a drug test program in order to regain custody of their child, if the parents’ drug use caused them to lose that custody in the first place.

The measure now heads back to the House, which already approved it earlier this year.

“I’m all about keeping the child with their biological parent, but we’ve got to protect them,” the bill’s sponsor State Rep. Mike Forrester told South Carolina Radio Network. “If the parent hasn’t overcome the drug issues, then we need to make sure they’re clean before they take that child back.”

Under the proposed law, a mother or father in such a situation would need to undergo a drug treatment program. The individual would lose parental rights if they refuse or fail two subsequent drug tests after completing the program.

Senators included additional language that expands the state Department of Social Services’ reporting requirements to let lawmakers know the number of children and cases in their care.

The bill is known as “Jaidon’s Law” after 22-month-old Jaidon Morris, who died from a drug overdose in 2008 shortly after being returned to his parents from foster care.

The legislation also strengthens the power that DSS has to terminate parental rights if an individual is convicted of homicide by abuse of another child.

State senators vote to ban powdered alcohol for one year

May 29, 2014 By South Carolina Radio Network

Sample Palcohol Label (Image: Palcohol.com)

South Carolina state senators agreed to ban powdered alcohol for one year while the product is undergoing the federal approval process.

The move comes as the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau considers whether to allow a new product called “Palcohol.” The powder can be mixed with water to create a mixed drink. The agency is currently considering six flavors, including “margarita,” cosmopolitan, and “lemondrop.”.

Some senators are concerned about the fact that the product could be easy to purchase or acquire for anyone, especially children and underage youth.

State Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, pointed to a letter he received from the South Carolina Department of Revenue which says the compound would not be covered by the state’s alcohol laws if it is approved.

“If we don’t act alcohol could literally be sold to children when this comes to market,” Martin said on the floor Wednesday. “And that’s not acceptable.”

Some senators originally blocked the ban on Tuesday, saying it was an overreaction that infringed on the free market. But they agreed to allow one-year ban to see how the ATTB rules and allow further research into its potential impact.

The amendment was tacked onto a separate bill that would allow a business located near a playground, school or church to receive an alcohol license if those groups do not object. The measure now goes back to the House of Representatives.

Alligator season causes concern for SC hunting guides

May 29, 2014 By South Carolina Radio Network

The state’s seventh annual alligator hunting season opens in a few months and hunters have until June 15 to get their hunting permits. However, some guides and pest removers in the swampy areas of the state are saying the amount of hunting permits issued should be reduced.

The season opens on September 13 and lasts until October 11. This is a time when, according to Hilton Head’s Critter Management Company owner Joe Maffo, the mother alligators are nursing their young and become more aggressive around people.

Alligator at public access at Sea Pines, Hilton Head

“The baby alligators are hatching and the mother alligators are aggressive,” Maffo said. “If you get an eight foot female and she shows aggression to you as you’re rowing by in a boat, you’re going to shoot the female and now all of her babies are going to die.”

Despite his worries about protecting female alligators, Maffo said he’s not against the hunt itself because he knows some of the large gators cause problems.

Maffo said “There are guides out there that want to guide people to the larger gators and I don’t have any problem with that at all.”

Saluda County hunting guide Brad Taylor, who works with SC Department of Natural Resources (DNR), says hunting permit fees help pay for the agency to evaluate and study the animals.

“We’re doing research, coding these animals, learning more about them and that’s something that this money has allowed us to do,” Taylor said.

“We can understand and know that what we’re doing is the right thing,” he added.

According to DNR, 452 gators were killed during the 2013 public hunting season.

Sheree Bernardi contributed to this report.

SC Big Story: More calls for DSS director’s resignation

May 29, 2014 By Matt Long

Aiken County legislators on Wednesday said farewell to longtime Rep. J.R. Smith (at podium). Smith is retiring after this year

A roundup of what’s making news in South Carolina state government

The most powerful lawmaker yet has now added his voice to the calls for Department of Social Services director Lillian Koller to step down.

Senate President pro tempore John Courson, R-Richland, represents a county where critics have said DSS failed on numerous occasions to stop several abuse and neglect cases that eventually led to the child’s death.

Courson told the Charleston Post & Courier he reached the conclusion last month, but had not publicly made the call public until Wednesday. The comments came a day after the paper released a scathing report showing that DSS caseworkers were overloaded. The paper’s report revealed 29 percent of workers had 16 cases or more, as of May 18. Those numbers differed from a reported statewide caseload average of six per worker, a number frequently repeated by agency leaders.

Members of the Senate General Committee, which has heard testimony all year into alleged failings at DSS, have previously called for Koller’s resignation. State Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, and State Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, have even asked the governor to fire Koller. Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, has made the agency the focus of his campaign for governor. He released a new ad Wednesday that features Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott blasting Gov. Nikki Haley’s administration over its handling of the agency.

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