Education, economic development top concerns of T&D Region lawmakers
As lawmakers from all over the Palmetto State returned
to Columbia Tuesday, some of the key issues facing them
were the cigarette tax, restructuring of state agencies
and the workers compensation law.
In addition to addressing these legislative priorities,
Orangeburg area lawmakers shared their visions and the issues
that are ON THEIR AGENDAS AS THE 2007 SESSION BEGINS:
--District 66 Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said
her legislative priorities for the upcoming year come under
three main categories: education, economic development and
health care.
"I have pre-filed a bill to address the building of
new schools. The equity lawsuit did not address school infrastructure
and, under this school facilities bill, schools will have
two options to be able to access money for the construction
of new school facilities," she said.
Cobb-Hunter said she will continue discussing early childhood
education, with a focus on early intervention for children
0-3.
"The plan we developed is currently not helping the
districts that brought the lawsuit and is totally missing
those children who are ages 0-3," Cobb-Hunter said.
In the area of economic development, Cobb-Hunter said she
will be pushing for a state Earned Income Tax Credit aimed
at bringing tax relief to the working poor. Modeled after
the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, the credit up of to
20 percent would be phased in over time.
"There are a number of states that have adopted a
state Earned Income Tax Credit, but South Carolina has not,"
she said.
Cobb-Hunter said that she will work to ensure funding of
the Community Development Corporations, will continue to
work for funding for the Lake Marion Regional Water Authority,
and she is currently writing a bill for micro-enterprise
loans for women who want to start their own businesses.
"It is a shame that in South Carolina we cover everything
except making sure poor children have health coverage,"
said Cobb-Hunter, who pledges to make sure that the state
Children's Health Insurance Program is expanded.
The District 66 representative also wants to ensure that
the AIDS Drug Assistance Program gets attention in this
legislative session.
"South Carolina is one of the only states that has
not met its funding obligation to this program (ADAP) and
as a result, we have people dying," said Cobb-Hunter,
who added that four people on waiting lists have died since
June in the Palmetto State.
In reference to working for the elderly of the state, Cobb-Hunter
said she wants to make sure that funding for programs like
Meals on Wheels continues and she will work to increase
the aid so that no older South Carolinian who qualifies
for assistance goes without a hot meal.
--District 95 Rep. Jerry N. Govan Jr., D-Orangeburg, said
his focus will primarily be on education and economic development.
"My goal is to improve the quality of life for the
average South Carolinian through education," Govan
said. He said he will continue to work on legislation that
would serve to educate and retain high-quality teachers
by providing the funding to maintain salaries and to offer
incentives for professional development.
"In addition to retaining teachers, I want to introduce
legislation to address the dropout and graduation rates
of our students. South Carolina has one of the highest dropout
rates in the country. We have to improve student retention,"
he said.
Govan said he advocates legislation that will hold parents
more accountable when it comes to the education of their
children, especially when they are contributing to the truancy
of school-aged minors. He said he supports stiffer penalties
for those found guilty of keeping their children from receiving
an adequate education, whether it be in a public setting,
a private school or a home school situation.
"We have to do a better job of monitoring student
attendance, tracking attendance of those children ages 5-17
who are required by law to be in educational settings,"
said Govan, who added that he supports following up on state
initiatives by providing school districts with the tools
and technology to better track all students.
In addition to attendance issues, Govan said he will continue
to work toward legislation in support of meeting the needs
of students who are not being adequately served by the current
school system.
He advocates the creation of school-in-a-school programs,
which he says could better serve students who have fallen
behind because of academic or attendance reasons. The school-in-school
option would be more beneficial to those students than placing
them in alternative schools with others who have been placed
there because of disciplinary reasons, Govan said.
"Dropouts are generally students who simply fell behind
for whatever reason and their needs are not being met in
a traditional school setting. We have to provide the funding
for school districts to be flexible in their approach to
providing for these students," Govan said.
Financial Literacy Education is another big issue for Govan,
who said it is already a part of state curriculum standards.
He said he will continue working with the private sector
and the State Department of Education to help get money
to train teachers and make the transition from curriculum
standard to classroom instruction.
"South Carolina is one of seven leading states in
progressive legislation dealing with financial literacy
education," Govan said.
Under the heading of economic development, Govan said he
is very concerned about Orangeburg County's unemployment
rate.
"We have a lot of good things going on, but we have
to grow the local economy. In addition to attracting business,
we need to look at other potential sources in our local
small businesses. We also need to make greater use of our
institutions of higher education. We must embrace them in
such a ways as Columbia, Charleston and Clemson," he
said.
"We have to seriously consider what we are missing
by not taking full advantage of the colleges and universities
in terms of research and economic development," said
Govan, who added that Orangeburg County needs to be more
aggressive in forming partnerships with the institutions
of higher learning, businesses and the civic community in
order to open the door to more opportunities for economic
development.
--District 40 Sen. C. Bradley Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said
three of the most important issues that will come before
the Senate this year are the cigarette tax, governmental
reform and the workers compensation law.
Hutto said a bigger issue than increasing the cigarette
tax will be how the money is spent.
"I agree with most of the legislature that the money
go to small businesses in some form to allow employers to
afford insurance for their employees and that some of the
money go to making sure more children who are in poverty
situations are covered by health insurance," he said.
Hutto would like to see the money used to develop commercials
or anti-smoking materials to be used in schools to target
young people before they consider smoking.
"Smoking ads should be developed to show children
the effects on that smoking has on the lung of the smoker,"
he said.
As far as government reform, Hutto said that there will
be lengthy discussions on certain state agencies, including
the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the
S.C. Department of Transportation.
The third major issue that Hutto expects to face is the
workers compensation law and how to reduce premiums for
employers.
In addition to these legislative issues, Hutto said he
supports Gov. Mark Sanford's initiative for 100 new state
troopers as a means of reducing speed-related accidents.
Hutto said he also supports House Speaker Bobby Harrell's
initiative to train more math and science teachers in the
Palmetto State.
--District 97 Rep. Patsy G. Knight, D-St. George, said
as this is her first year in office, she will be busy doing
research and laying the groundwork for her time in office.
Her primary concerns are education, economic development
and health care.
"I want to get involved and touch base with local
school districts to hear their ideas about what can be improved,"
said Knight, who added that after discussion with schools,
she will pursue goals based on their needs and recommendations.
In the area of economic development, Knight said her main
priority is to push for incentives for retaining businesses
and encouraging local youth who leave the county for higher
education to return to the area to work in local positions.
Knight said she will join the fight to make health insurance
affordable for everyone, especially the children who are
currently without any assistance.
--District 90 Rep. Bakari T. Sellers, D-Denmark, said his
priorities include working on a state minimum wage increase
that would include a tax credit for small businesses, which
is included in legislation cosponsored with Cobb-Hunter.
Sellers, who is starting his first term in the Statehouse,
pre-filed a bill that would increase the minimum wage to
$7 per hour in South Carolina, up from $5.15 per hour.
"Other states that have raised their minimum wage
even by $1 per hour over the federal minimum wage have found
state welfare rolls decline while state revenues increase.
Local businesses find less job turnover, more productivity
and higher-quality employees who are attracted to the job,
along with a better work ethic from their employees,"
Sellers said.?
"As the cost of everyday items such as gas and groceries
go up, we need to increase the minimum wage to help families
make ends meet," he said.
The bill allows some small business owners to claim a tax
credit that will help offset the wage increase.
"We want to put money back into people's pockets so
they can in turn invest in their local communities,"
he said.
Sellers said he will work for improvements in infrastructure
and wireless connectivity throughout the state.
Another hot issue for the newly-elected representative
serving Bamberg, Barnwell and Orangeburg counties is cleaning
up and beautifying the entire district in an effort to attract
industry and promote economic development.
"It's time someone paid attention to the western parts
of Orangeburg County and areas like Bamberg and Barnwell,"
Sellers said.
2%
economic growth seen in '07