What’s going on around the State House:

LEXINGTON SALES TAX BILL GAINS SECOND OK

The House gave second-reading approval Wednesday to local legislation that calls for a Nov. 2 vote on whether the sales tax in Lexington County should be raised by a penny. It is expected to get a final OK from the House today and will go on to the governor for his signature.

The Lexington County legislative delegation sponsored the measure to gauge whether constituents are willing to pay a 6percent sales tax if revenues from the additional penny will be used exclusively to pay for school construction and repairs.

KIRSH RECOVERING FROM HEART PROBLEM

Rep. Herb Kirsh, D-York, is recovering at home after having minor heart problems during the weekend, his wife said. He began feeling ill Saturday in Gastonia, N.C., and was admitted to Gaston Memorial Hospital.

Doctors put in a temporary pacemaker — which electronically helps a person’s heart maintain a steady beat — Saturday night and a more permanent one Monday, Sue Kirsh said. Kirsh has not had previous heart problems and was home late Tuesday morning.

Kirsh, a retired Clover businessman who has been in the House since 1979, plans to return to work next week.

BILL WOULD GIVE GOVERNOR SIX YEARS

South Carolina governors would serve single six-year terms under a bill a Senate Judiciary subcommittee approved Wednesday. The panel also said legislators should have longer terms: four years for the House, six for the Senate.

The legislation faces long odds without support from House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, and Gov. Mark Sanford.

IDENTITY THEFT BILL ADVANCES IN SENATE

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a bill amending state law on financial identity fraud. Under the bill, a person would commit financial identity fraud if he obtains information to access financial records, or accesses or attempts to access financial resources of another person.

It would amend the portion of the 1976 Code of Laws that specified the intent of appropriating financial resources, making the act itself fraudulent.

FILMMAKERS COULD GET MORE TAX BREAKS

South Carolina’s sagging motion picture business would get help from bigger tax breaks in a bill heading to the Senate. The House has given second reading to the South Carolina Motion Picture Incentive Act.

The bill would give filmmakers spending at least $1 million in the state a 5 percent rebate on payroll taxes for South Carolina workers, a larger share of the admission tax collections and a break from sales and accommodations taxes. It also would provide incentives to help the state court television commercial production companies.

SOME NEWSPAPERS AVAILABLE TO BLIND

The state has recently ended its contract allowing blind people to listen to news from regional and national newspapers over the telephone. The program is a victim of state budget cuts.

However, the state still offers some newspaper content through programs of S.C. Educational Radio for the Blind, a 24-hour radio reading service for South Carolinians who are legally blind.

Clients need a specially tuned receiver to listen to the programs. The radio receivers are loaned free of charge for as long as the listener needs or wants them. However, there is a waiting list at times — another product of state budget cuts.

For more information, or an application for a receiver, contact S.C. Educational Radio for the Blind, P.O. Box 79, Columbia, SC 29202-0079; by phone, (803) 898-8764, or (800) 922-2222; by e-mail, BJones@sscb.sc.gov .

From Staff and Wire Reports