Posted on Sun, Jun. 04, 2006

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WEEK IN THE LEGISLATURE

Santee Cooper at full power

Utility board complete again

By Zane Wilson

The Sun News

COLUMBIA - With 5 minutes left in the legislative session Thursday, the Senate confirmed five new members to the Santee Cooper board, giving the utility its first full board in more than a year and a half.

Horry County has not had a representative on the board of the utility since Vernie Dove resigned in December of 2004 after Gov. Mark Sanford fired the board's chairman.

Georgetown County has not been represented in more than a year.

Santee Cooper is a state-owned electric and water utility that serves most of Horry and Georgetown counties either directly or indirectly. Most residences east of the Intracoastal Waterway receive direct service from Santee Cooper, and Horry County is its biggest direct-service area.

The utility serves the whole state through the sale of power to the electric cooperatives.

John Molnar of Myrtle Beach, director of emergency medical services at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, was named to represent Horry County on the 11-member board. David Springs of Murrells Inlet, a retired engineer, was elected to represent Georgetown County.

The board members take office immediately, said Santee Cooper spokeswoman Laura Varn, and they will jump into some serious business.

"The decisions that the board is having to make right now are very critical ones," and will affect the state's future for years to come, she said.

They include how to serve the fast-paced growth along the coast that the agency serves directly, and whether to expand a shared nuclear plant Upstate.

The utility recently voted to build a large new coal-fired plant near the Florence-Marion county line to serve growth areas.

The vacancies occurred during a period of turmoil after Gov. Mark Sanford fired previous Chairman Graham Edwards as a simmering dispute over the utility's funds went public.

Sanford wanted the utility to pay more into state coffers than the 1 percent of its revenue it has been providing.

Edwards resisted, after agreeing to a one-time extra payment.

That set off months of public sparring among Santee Cooper board members, Sanford and legislators who said the utility should serve its customers, not act as a revenue source for the state.

Some board members resigned during the dispute, others were nominated by Sanford and did not get confirmed, and at least one who was confirmed to represent Georgetown County had his nomination revoked after he said he did not support providing utility revenue to the treasury.

Legislators succeeded in changing the law governing Santee Cooper's board last year. The governor can no longer fire board members at will.

The dispute continued in the latest round of confirmations, however, when Sanford attempted to change Springs and another nominee's seat designations to representing the electric co-ops.

The screening committee said there is no such designation.

Hunting-fishing bill

A bill followed by many outdoors enthusiasts, especially hunters, died on the Senate floor last week. It calls for a constitutional referendum to guarantee the right to hunt and fish.

Passed by the House, then killed in a Senate committee by Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, it was revived by Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Clearwater, who had it pulled out of the committee for discussion.

But Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, blocked it from further consideration.

"We're going to file it again next year," said Rep. Thayer Rivers, D-Ridgeland, one of the sponsors. Rivers and supporters fear a loss of hunting rights as more people move into the state.

Opponents say the state already has sufficient laws to protect hunting and fishing rights and they do not need to be written into the Constitution.

Lawmakers are taking a breather until June 14, when they will come back for a few days to take up any budget vetoes by Sanford. They will also be able to consider a limited amount of unfinished bills.

The only bills that can be considered are those close to passage and in the hands of a conference committee charged with working out the House and Senate differences.

The eminent domain bill, one that tightens governments' ability to condemn property, is among those still in play.