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Web posted Monday, April
19, 2004
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Herbkersman: Make voting easier for young
folks
Bill Herbkersman
Special to the Carolina Morning News
From the House
This week was
not quite as fast and furious as some of the
earlier weeks in the legislative session in
Columbia but we managed to get some things done
nonetheless.
While it is not as serious a
problem in our district as it is in some others,
voter participation in elections is a cause for
concern throughout the state. In an effort to
address the general problem and possibly make it
more likely that young folks, in particular, will
join the political process, we passed and sent to
the Senate House Bill 4767.
This proposal
requires that each county or district election
commission make voter registration forms available
to those high school administrations who request
them.
This is a common-sense strategy that
may eventually pay big dividends. As soon as
students turn 18, they need to begin shouldering
the burdens of citizenship.
The larger the
pool of active participants in the democratic
process, I believe the better the decisions we
make.
As golf carts and other small
four-wheel vehicles continue to increase in number
on our streets, we need to make sure the
Department of Motor Vehicles begins to develop
policies and procedures to handle the potential
problems that will inevitably arise from this
phenomenon.
If H. 4803 becomes law, there
will be uniform regulations and requirements for
these small vehicles.
This is something
that Florida has had pretty good success with,
especially in making sure vehicles are properly
registered and equipped.
There was also
good news on the wetlands front. I'll have more to
say on this later.
I don't know if my good
friend Karen Heitman has been lobbying the House
when I was not looking but House Bill 4740
certainly seems familiar. Also known as the South
Carolina Safe Routes to School Act, the bill is
remarkably similar to a program that Karen and
Greater Bluffton Pathways have been pushing for a
couple of years.
The bill requires that
municipal and county governing bodies work with
the school districts in their jurisdictions to
identify barriers and hazards to children walking
or bicycling to and from school.
There must
be a plan developed to fund the improvements that
will reduce or eliminate the barriers and
hazards.
The bill also authorizes the
school districts to establish a Safe Routes to
School Coordination Committee with each school
having its own Safe Routes to School
Team.
The first Wednesday of October of
each year is designated as Walk or Bicycle With
Your Child to School Day.
I am personally
urging my colleagues in the Senate to act with all
deliberate speed on this important measure. This
should give added impetus to the effort currently
under way to fund and build a trail system in our
community.
It should also present guidance
to the hard-working commission presently creating
a list of projects to be funded by the urgently
needed 1 percent sales tax for capital
projects.
Whether it's pathways to our
schools, or riding your golf cart to Lorraine's,
or preserving the wetlands that help keep our
waters pristine, we are trying to do the right
thing - for all of us.
That's why we call
it the House of Representatives.
Bill
Herbkersman represents District 118 in the South
Carolina House of Representatives. He can be
reached through his Web site at
www.herbkersman.com or by telephone at 757-7900.
He is assigned to the agriculture, natural
resources and environmental affairs
committees.
Other state lawmakers
are:
Sen. Scott Richardson,
R
District 46
52 North Calibogue
Cay
Hilton Head Island, S.C.
29928
610 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia,
SC 29202-0142
(803)
212-6040
SR1@scsenate.org
Committee
assignments: banking and insurance, general,
judiciary, rules and
transportation.
Sen. Clementa C.
Pinckney, D
District 45
P.O. Box
300
Ridgeland, S.C. 29936
613
Gressette Bldg.
Columbia, S.C.
29202
(803)
212-6056
CCP@scsenate.org
Committee
assignments: agriculture and natural resources,
corrections and penology, finance, medical affairs
and transportation.
Rep. R. Thayer
Rivers Jr., D
District 122
P.O.
Box 104
Ridgeland, S.C. 29936
532D
Blatt Bldg.
Columbia, S.C.
29211
(803) 734-3073
Committee
assignment: judiciary.
Rep. JoAnne
Gilham, R
District 123
21 Dune
Lane
Hilton Head Island, S.C.
29928
326C Blatt Bldg.
Columbia,
S.C. 29211-1867
(803)
734-2977
JG@scstatehouse.net
Committee
assignment: education and public works and
rules.
Rep. Catherine Ceips,
R
District 124
1207 Bay
St.
Beaufort, S.C. 29902
326A Blatt
Bldg.
Columbia, S.C. 29211
(803)
734-3261
ceipsc@scstatehouse.net
Committee
assignments: medical, military, public and
municipal affairs.
Rep. Walter P. Lloyd,
D
District 121
102 Rearden
Lane
Walterboro, S.C. 29488
(home)
549-5026
(fax) 549-1281
(office)
549-7586
434C Blatt Bldg.
Columbia,
S.C. 29211
(803)
549-5026
WPL@scstatehouse.net
Committee
assignments: education and public
works.
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