Posted on Wed, May. 17, 2006

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Your General Assembly

A quick spin around the State House

“Senator from Charleston, I can assure you I feel your pain.” — Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, commenting after Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, took issue with reporting in The State newspaper.

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. About 1½ hours after House adjourns, 516 Blatt Building, a Judiciary subcommittee discusses electronic monitoring of sex offenders.

IN THE SENATE: Convenes at 2 p.m. At 11 a.m., 308 Gressette Building, an Education subcommittee reviews financial literacy standards in schools.

THE DAILY BUZZ farm fresh Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, enjoyed a recent trip through Clarendon County, where he apparently picked up an agricultural lesson Gov. Mark Sanford could have used a few years ago. Knotts told Sen. John Land, D-Clarendon, “I was in your neck of the woods to pick up some hogs. Of course, I know how to pick up hogs. You put them in a cage.” Sanford, in 2004, famously brought two squealing pigs into the State House to protest legislative spending. The pigs, which were under the governor’s arms, not in a cage, pooped all over.

SCHMOOZING Where and from whom state lawmakers will be able to get free food and drinks

• Breakfast: 8 a.m., 221 Blatt Building, hosted by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

• Lunch: 12:30 p.m., Summit Club, hosted by S.C. Manufacturers Alliance.

• Evening reception: 6 p.m., Clarion Town House Hotel, hosted by S.C. Association of Certified Public Accountants.

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

A QUICK SPIN AROUND THE STATE HOUSE A property rights bill advanced in the House. The House Judiciary Committee first approved, but then killed, a plan requiring governments to pay private property owners for diminished land values due to zoning or regulations. The move came as the panel approved a proposed constitutional amendment making it more difficult for governmental entities to use condemnation to seize private property. By a vote of 11-10, the committee first approved an amendment from Rep. Thad Viers, R-Horry, to add the so-called “regulatory takings” language to the bill. But immediately afterward, the panel voted 11-10 to take it out. Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Horry, was the swing vote, having supported Viers the first time and then voting for a second amendment by Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Beaufort, that essentially undid it. The bill headed to the House floor is more in line with what the Senate passed and what Gov. Mark Sanford wants. The full House previously approved a measure that included the takings language, but that bill is not likely to clear the Senate.

State budget

A six-person House-Senate conference committee has been named to negotiate a compromise over hundreds of millions of dollars in the state budget. Representatives from the House are Ways and Means Chairman Dan Cooper, R-Anderson; Annette Young, R-Dorchester; and Herb Kirsh, D-York. Senate members are Finance chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence; David Thomas, R-Greenville; and John Land, D-Clarendon. Any compromise approved by the committee needs to be accepted by both houses before the budget is complete. The committee will meet for the first time at 9:30 a.m. today.

Hospital data

A House committee advanced a bill requiring hospitals and other surgical facilities to collect data on hospital-acquired infections and state regulators to make the information public. The Senate-passed bill heads next to the House floor. Statistics on clinical procedures that range from relatively benign surgical site infections to the often-deadly ventilator-associated pneumonia would be compiled by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

On the road

Bikers could legally drive a motorcycle with high handlebars under a bill that received key approval in the House. The measure would delete state restrictions on motorcycle handlebars. State law currently outlaws handlebars more than 15 inches higher than the biker’s seat. The House also gave key approval to a bill making it illegal for people to use technology that interferes with law enforcement’s radar equipment. Anyone who uses a jamming or scrambling device in their vehicle could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000. The proposal does not outlaw radar detectors. The Senate approved both bills in April.