Se. Kevin L. Johnson S.C. Legislative Update - June 2015

S.C. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
A message from Senator Kevin L. Johnson
District 36- Clarendon, Darlington, Florence, and Sumter Counties
June 2015

We have now come to the end of the 121st session of the South Carolina General Assembly. We will return on June 16th for one or two weeks to deal with the Governor's budget vetoes and to 'tie up some loose ends'.

The following bills were read for the third time and sent to the House of Representatives: S.490, Small Business Regulatory Review Committee; S.754, Murrell's Inlet-Garden City Fire District; S.731, Bamberg-Ehrhardt School District One; S.732, Denmark-Olar School District Two; S.703, Charter schools; S.484, Elementary school food service meals requirements; S.809, Florence County School District Number 3; S.810, Florence County School District Number 5; S.652, Savings promotion contests; S.693, Insurers' Rehabilitation and Liquidation Act; Together these Bills have now been moved over to the House of Representatives. 

Governor Haley has signed S.3, the Criminal Domestic Violence Bill and I was happy to work on and support that bill. Although these and all bills are important, I remain highly disappointed that some of the more important pieces of legislation were not passed. Chief among these is the fact that we did not pass a roads funding bill. Providing funding to repair our highway infrastructure should have been the number one priority of the General Assembly. Senator Tom Davis' three week filibuster, along with the Governor's and the Senate Republicans' insistence that DOT reform and income tax reduction be a part of the bill actually muddied the water and caused it to be dead on arrival. It is my hope that when we reconvene in January 2016 we will get a chance to debate a clean roads funding bill without any other measures attached to it. Any desire for income tax rate deduction or DOT reform should be separate proposals from the roads funding bill.
 
Please remember to visit www.scsenate.gov to see the bills that I have sponsored and co-sponsored as well as to receive more information about the aforementioned bills. Although we will not be back in legislative session until January 2016, please feel free to contact me at any time that I may be of service. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.
 
Contact Information: Senate Office of Kevin L. Johnson, 
PO Box 142, Columbia, SC 29202
Email: kevinjohnson@scsenate.gov
Ashley Stewart - Administrative Assistant
Office Telephone: (803) 212- 6048