AVX incident spurs call for DHEC audit
Posted on February 7, 2008
Filed Under News
Strand lawmakers want answers on accountability to affected area
Grand Strand lawmakers have asked a state auditor to investigate whether the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control effectively prosecutes polluters and whether the agency should do more to notify people whose properties might be affected by contamination.
“We’re particularly concerned about the accountability of DHEC to local governments and affected citizens,” said state Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach. “If contamination flows onto your property, how accountable is DHEC in informing you of the impact.”
Clemmons and six other legislators sent a letter Friday requesting the audit to the state’s Legislative Audit Council.
Senator Cleary Launches New Website
Posted on January 29, 2008
Filed Under News
Today State Senator Ray Cleary announced the launch of his new website www.senatorcleary.com. Sen. Cleary’s website will feature the latest news from the legislature and entries in his blog about issues facing
Sen. Cleary hopes people visiting the website will use it to share their thoughts and ideas about legislation with him. “I’m always looking for input from my constituents. I never forget the primary function of my position is to serve the people living in my district” said Sen. Cleary. “I want this website to be another way for people to connect with me.”
The Sun News: Lawmakers discuss taxes, I-73
Posted on November 29, 2007
Filed Under News
Interstate 73, tourism promotion, tax reform and immigration issues were among the top concerns aired Wednesday at the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual legislative luncheon.
About 200 people attended and listened for almost two hours as most of the county’s delegation spoke on issues they expect to be topics of legislation in the coming session and answered questions posed by chamber members.
Lawmakers were asked if they think they can get $10 million - or more - in the state budget again for tourism promotion, and if it could be a permanent allocation rather than one that has to be considered each year.
Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, said more accommodations tax money was collected from Horry County last summer than ever before, and he believes it is related to the stepped-up tourism promotion.
That will help make a good case for permanent funding because increased revenue helps the whole state, Clemmons said.
How to get permanent funding for I-73 in the budget is another problem. A House-passed plan to do so failed last session because Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, opposed it. Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, said Leatherman supports I-73 but did not think it was the right time to spend state money on it.
Rep. Nelson Hardwick said the issue is one reason he works on developing relationships with legislators from other parts of the state.
“They enjoy divvying up our money,” he said. So he works on trying to persuade them to help Horry County make more money, such as with an interstate highway.
Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, also said it’s important to keep pressing the argument that I-73 is needed “from the state’s perspective,” and that it isn’t just to help Myrtle Beach bring in more tourists.
Clemmons commended the chamber members for lobbying other legislators about the area’s needs, especially with the annual reception for lawmakers held in the capital during the legislative session.
“You have made so much difference in how the Grand Strand is perceived in the General Assembly,” Clemmons said. Most of the delegation said they expect some action will be taken on immigration this year. More than a dozen bills on the subject were filed last year, many of them by Viers, and more will be filed this year.
“We just can’t continue to let things go on and on and on,” said Rep. Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway.
“Something’s going to happen,” but legislators will make sure it is fair to employers, Viers said.
Rankin said the state cannot allow local governments to pass their own immigration ordinances. The chamber and most other business groups do not want local governments to be able to regulate immigration, or to investigate employers.
On tax reform, Clemmons said there will be attempts to adjust the swap of sales tax for school operating taxes on owner-occupied homes. One result has been higher taxes for second homes, which affects investing and the real estate industry, he said.
Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet, said economists predict a slowdown early in the year and local legislators will first have to make sure they hold onto local allocations before trying for additional money.
Lawmakers discuss taxes, I-73
By Zane Wilson - The Sun News - Nov 29, 2007
The Sun News: Lawmakers at work on panels in offseason
Posted on November 12, 2007
Filed Under News
Lawmakers at work on panels in offseason
By Zane Wilson - The Sun News
From broadband Internet access to government taking of property, some local lawmakers are busy with issues in committee meetings even though the legislative session doesn’t start until Jan. 7.
The legislative sessions meet January to June on a two-year cycle. This year’s session was the first of the two-year cycle, so bills that were not passed are still alive until next year’s session ends.
Public hearings on immigation and spending caps, both of which are likely to be hotly debated in the next session, were held in several locations across the state, though not in Horry or Georgetown counties.
The Sun News: Local Veterans Day Events
Posted on November 12, 2007
Filed Under News
The following is from the Myrtle Beach Sun News:
LOCAL VETERANS DAY EVENTS
At 12:15 p.m. today, state Sen. Ray Cleary will present a resolution at the Eagle Crest retirement complex on Grissom Parkway in Myrtle Beach, passed by the state Senate to Gerard Tempest honoring him for his service in World War II.
A native of Italy, Tempest served in U.S. Army Intelligence because he was fluent in German and French - which led to unusual assignments after landing in Normandy on D-Day.
He got his start as an artist in Myrtle Beach, then went on to be recognized for his work in Europe and the U.S. His paintings hang in permanent collections here and in the Vatican.
