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| House minority leader will miss start of session |
| (Columbia-AP) -- House Minority Leader
James Smith will miss the start of the 2004 legislative session.
The 36-year-old Smith is a captain in the South Carolina Army National Guard, and has started eleven weeks of military training at Fort Jackson. Representative John Scott of Columbia is the first vice chairman of the Democratic caucus and who will fill in as minority leader until Smith returns. Scott says House Democrats met in the summer and talked about their priorities for the coming session, which opens January 13th. Republican House Speaker David Wilkins says lawmakers will conduct business in a normal routine, but will miss Smith. |