With
only three legislative days remaining until Sine Die, there remains unfinished
business. The House must consider whether to concur with the Senate's
version of the budget, to or non-concur and send the budget to
conference committee. The Governor's Office has said publicly that she expects
the Senate to pass tort reform and a Department of Administration bill before
adjourning this session.
Amazon
On
Tuesday, the Senate suspended the rules and voted 31-14 to add S. 36 to the
calendar, which allowed them to bypass the committee process. The Senate then
spent Wednesday and Thursday of this week debating legislation that would give
Amazon a 5-year exemption on collecting state sales tax for online purchases.
Early this
morning, by a unanimous voice vote, the Senate sent the amended deal back to
the House. They voted 97-20 last week to give Amazon a five-year exemption from
collecting sales tax from South Carolina's online customers in exchange for the
full-time jobs with health benefits and at least $125 million in capital
investment.
The Senate compromise requires Amazon to
notify customers that they're responsible for paying sales tax that the company
doesn't collect, as state law already requires, though only a fraction of
online shoppers ever report their online purchases. The company would begin
collecting the tax in January 2016.
Amazon officials
have said that the total number of jobs created will be over 2000. They
had already announced plans to put a distribution facility in Lexington. There
has also been speculation over the past couple of weeks that an additional 800+
jobs and a similar facility maybe located in Spartanburg County.
Budget
The Senate on Tuesday approved a $6
billion spending plan that locks in spending reductions for Medicaid and
welfare programs, while also adding money to public schools and a break for
businesses on their unemployment taxes. The 23-16 vote approving the spending
plan came as senators agreed to cut off debate as debate entered a fifth week.
The bill now heads to the House and could be in a conference committee by early
next week. It's unclear if legislators will send the spending bill to the
governor before adjournment on June 2.
Education
By
a vote of 61-59, the House voted down a school choice bill that would
have given state income tax credits to parents who send their students to
private school or home school them. State budget advisors have estimated the
plan would cost the state $133 million a year in lost revenue when fully
enacted in 13 years. Advocates insist the tax credits would save the state
money, and the bill was amended to sunset after five years if it did not.
Illegal
Immigration
This
week, the House approved S.20, an illegal immigration bill, by a vote of
69-43. The bill requires law enforcement officers to check the immigration
status of anyone they pull over for traffic violations or stop on suspicion of
other violations.
Labor Issues
A new
report from U.S. Senator Jim DeMint indicates that Right-to-Work states have
discovered a winning economic strategy over years of competition with other
states. This research shows that compared to forced unionism states,
Right-to-Work states have more new residents, more new businesses, more new
jobs and faster income growth.
Currently, 22 states have right-to-work laws
that protect the rights of workers not to be forced to join or pay dues to a
union as a condition of employment. The Right-to-Work states are Alabama,
Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.
When compared to the overall number of employed Americans, total union
membership has fallen more than 40 percent since 1983, with a nearly 60 percent
decline among private sector employees. Click here
to read the full report.
Redistricting
This week a House Election Laws
Subcommittee met to discuss a draft redistricting plan as proposed by the House
Judiciary Committee. The full Judiciary Committee will meet the week of June 6th
to discuss the plans. The first link below contains the proposed House District
maps. The second link contains the proposed Congressional District maps.
By law, the Legislature has to adjourn by June 2. The
House will return on June 14th. The Senate has yet to approve Sine
Die legislation, but it is believed that they will also return during that same
week.
Tort Reform
Tort Reform will be up for debate next week in the
Senate. We will be sending out a “call to action” early next week asking for
business leaders to contact their senators when they return to the statehouse
on Tuesday.
The House passed, H. 3375, a comprehensive tort reform bill in mid-February by a
vote of 100-7. Even though tort reform was set for Special Order by the Senate
in March, the Senate has only spent two days debating the legislation.
Unemployment
Insurance (UI)
Early this morning, the Senate gave 3rd and final reading to H.3762.
The bill now goes back to the House. If passed, this legislation would reduce
state unemployment benefits to 20 weeks from 26 weeks and place restrictions on
seasonal workers seeking unemployment benefits.
This companion legislation is also necessary
for S.C. employers to receive an 18% reduction in their unemployment taxes for
2011. The Senate has $100 million set aside in their version of the budget to
give companies some UI relief this year. Next week, the House will decide
whether to concur with the Senate version of the budget or convene a conference
committee to work out the differences in the House/Senate versions of the
budget.
