Posted on Fri, Feb. 09, 2007

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Capitol connection

There are 50 days left in the 177th General Assembly.

Quote of the Day

“I feel for the people on the coast. I live 220 miles from the coast, and I think there’s an element of hurricane coverage in my (homeowner’s insurance) policy.”

— Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, addressing co-mingled Senate concerns about wind pool coverage, workers’ compensation reform and questions about industry influence on legislation affecting the Department of Insurance

Schmoozing

Where and when lawmakers can eat and drink for free Tuesday — and who’s buying:

6-9 p.m.: Reception, Clarion Town House hotel, by the S.C. Association of Probate Judges

Campaign Trail

Here’s a glance at presidential candidates’ visits expected this month:

Today: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Anderson

Saturday: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Myrtle Beach

Wednesday: Romney in Columbia

Feb. 16: U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in Columbia

Feb. 17: Obama in Orangeburg

Feb. 18: U.S. Sen. John McCain in Spartanburg

Feb. 21: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at Spartanburg fundraiser

Feb. 22: Romney at Spartanburg County GOP banquet

• Conflict-of-interest rules scrutinized

South Carolina law isn’t strong enough to control conflicts of interest that can arise when environmental regulators resign to work for industry, an audit released Thursday said.

The Legislative Audit Council says a state environmental worker can get a job with a private firm and, in many cases, immediately represent the company as it seeks state environmental permits.

Other states, such as Florida and Alabama, require a two-year waiting period, the audit said. It suggested tightening state law to require a waiting period of at least one year for former state employees.

Now, workers “may be tempted to show favoritism toward former co-workers who have recently left state government service,’’ the audit said.

Attorney Blan Holman, who represents environmental groups in permit cases, said he sometimes squares off with former employees of the Department of Health and Environmental Control in agency permit disputes.

“DHEC is like a training ground,’’ Holman said. “As soon as they get good, they get hired by the private sector.

Mary Shahid, a former DHEC attorney, said she gets no special favors when dealing with the agency on behalf of clients.

“It has not been my experience that you walk back in and they bestow favors on you,’’ she said.

The lack of a waiting period applies generally to DHEC permits. State law does prohibit former DHEC employees from representing clients on matters they were directly working on before they left. But that ban is for one year and also needs tightening, the report said.

BILL ENDS PREPAID TUITION PROGRAM

A Senate panel approved a bill to end the state’s prepaid college tuition program. The legislation, headed for the Senate Education Committee, closes the money-losing program to newcomers but doesn’t affect people already enrolled.

The Legislature created the program a decade ago. It let people set up a fund for students in the 10th grade or below to lock in current tuition rates. At the time, few expected tuition costs to rise as fast as they have. The increases have left the program without enough money to cover obligations.

6 PERCENT SPENDING CAP PROPOSED

The House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill to limit state spending increases to 6 percent a year.

A similar cap was included in last year’s budget, but if approved by the House and Senate this year, the cap would become state law.

Gov. Mark Sanford capped his executive budget at the rates of population growth plus inflation and called for lawmakers to do the same. The House plan would cap budget growth at the lesser of the rates of population growth plus inflation or 6 percent. Additional money would be put into a savings account and could be spent on one-time costs such as school buses, roads or temporary tax cuts.

PORT ROAD ADVANCES

A road that would let drivers in North Charleston see fewer tractor-trailers on their local streets got a boost Thursday when a House committee approved spending much of the state’s budget surplus on building the road.

The committee agreed to spend 80 percent of the state’s $171.5 million surplus on building an access road to a new port terminal in North Charleston. The State Ports Authority considers the access road crucial to its expansion at the old Charleston Naval Base. The 1.5-mile road would connect the terminal directly to Interstate 26, bypassing local roads and railroad tracks.

In other news:

• Students who major in math and science-related fields would receive more scholarship money under a proposal headed to the House floor.

• A device that turns liquor into a breathable vapor of oxygen and alcohol would be banned under a bill that received key approval in the state Senate.