Posted on Wed, May. 24, 2006

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Property rights fight brewing in House

“He and Senator Leventis have something in common; they both put people to sleep.”

— Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, as he introduced the Senate’s Doctor of the Day, Columbia anesthesiologist Chris Yeakel. Leventis, known for long talks on the Senate floor, had taken a break from speaking to allow for the introduction.

TODAY AT THE STATE HOUSE

For a complete list of legislative meetings, go to http://www.scstatehouse.net/ and click on the “Meetings” link.

IN THE HOUSE: Convenes at 10 a.m. in third-floor conference room in State House, House-Senate property tax conference committee meets.

IN THE SENATE: Convenes at 11 a.m. At 10 a.m., 209 Gressette Building, Education Committee discusses school bullying.

THE DAILY BUZZ

WING AND A PRAYER

House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Charleston, was looking for a little divine help with budget and property tax conference committees on Tuesday.

After Rep. Bob Leach, R-Greenville, delivered the invocation to start the morning’s House Republican Caucus meeting, Merrill said the power of prayer could be useful in negotiations with the Senate, and one senator in particular.

“Pastor Leach might need to go down and lay some on Senator (Hugh) Leatherman,” Merrill said of the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who is on both conference committees. “We need some help in that conference committee.”

MORE ON THE WEB

What you can find online at thestate.com

• YGA Today, midday news from inside the State House, is updated several times each legislative day.

• Our searchable list of state employee salaries for workers earning more than $50,000 a year UPCOMING DEBATES

ETV and The State are sponsoring debates featuring participants in contested statewide races on the June 13 primary ballot.

All debate shows begin at 7 p.m. on local ETV stations. Programs will also be streamed through http://www.thestate.com/.

SUNDAY: Republican candidates for superintendent of education

JUNE 2: Republican candidates for lieutenant governor

JUNE 4: Democratic candidates for governor

JUNE 7: Republican candidates for governor

A QUICK SPIN AROUND THE STATE HOUSE

The House quit before debating legislation expanding private property rights, but a floor fight over the bill is expected today.

The Senate-passed measure covering eminent domain rules is less comprehensive and controversial than one previously approved by the House.

Some House members are likely to attempt to amend the bill back to their original version, which would require local governments to compensate landowners if zoning reduces the property’s value.

Supporters of the original version, which limits governments’ abilities to tackle blight through condemnation, held a news conference Tuesday. The S.C. Policy Council, a conservative think tank, featured Jenifer Zeigler of the Washington-based Institute for Justice. The institute represented the plaintiff in a Connecticut case that led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The ruling in the Kelo case prompted the state to consider legislation to close potential loopholes in eminent domain that the case unearthed.

RICHLAND RECREATION

The bitter battle between the Richland County Recreation Commission and the county’s legislative delegation is heating up again.

The House gave key approval to a bill taking away the power of the commission to levy property taxes and giving that power to Richland County Council. The move follows legislation passed last year in which the delegation, which used to select the commissioners, gave council the right to appoint district commissioners.

Five of the seven commissioners filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the legislation. The commissioners lost, but the S.C. Supreme Court is hearing an appeal.

In recent months, Gov. Mark Sanford, at the request of County Council and lawmakers, has appointed replacements for two of the commissioners who sued. A third replacement should be named soon.

Meanwhile, Sen. Kay Patterson, D-Richland, sent a letter to Sanford asking that the final two commissioners in the lawsuit — chairman Jim Davis and vice chairman Steve King — be removed. Patterson claims they misused public funds when they paid for the lawsuit with $38,000 in user fees collected by the agency.

SEX OFFENDERS

A House committee postponed debate on a bill meant to clamp down on sex offenders after half a dozen members walked out of the meeting.

The walkout, combined with several other lawmakers absent for different reasons, meant there weren’t enough members to take a legal vote. The meeting ended, leaving stunned supporters to figure out what to do next.

House Judiciary chairman Jim Harrison, R-Richland, said the committee will meet again today to try to move the bill to the House floor, and he’ll make sure all supporters are present.

Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, was among those who left on purpose. He said he feared lawmakers would try to put back into the bill a provision to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty against sex offenders convicted twice of molesting children. The death penalty for some offenders — the most contentious part of the Senate bill — was removed last week in a House subcommittee.

The bill, dubbed “Jessica’s Law” after a 9-year-old Florida girl who was murdered by a registered sex offender, would require longtime electronic monitoring and lengthen prison sentences for some sex offenders. It also creates penalties for people who hide offenders and requires updates of home addresses more often.