By Bill Davis | When the S.C. House again passes a bill this year to shorten future legislative sessions, it may do more than die in the state Senate. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Larry Martin (R-Pickens) just may murder it with his own hands.
South Carolina’s legislative session runs annually from mid-January until the first of June. There’s also usually a week in June that lawmakers return for a week to deal with final touches on the budget and other important lingering issues.
For years, a handful of legislators in the House and Senate have been pushing to shorten the legislative session. For years, House-passed bills have gone nowhere.
Arguments for shortening the session point to cost savings and the importance of forcing legislators to vote and debate seriously, instead of stalling and peacocking at the rostrum.
Other Southern states have shortened legislative sessions with varying degrees of success. North Carolina goes long one year, but short the next, but also runs the state on a two-year budget.
Texas, much larger geographically and in population, meets every other year. Georgia has a shortened session, but meets every day of the week during session from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — and later when needed.
If South Carolina had a shorter session, the coming week would represent what arguable would be the start of the final month of a shortened session.
Train wreck a-comin’
“Don’t talk to me about shortening the session this year,” said Martin, fuming that the House this year has routinely ignored bills that the Senate has sent over, only to send back their own versions on the same subject.
Examples from Martin: A bill to revamp S.C. State University or the time-sensitive measure he fast-tracked that would allow raffles by nonprofits. Or the bill on tougher penalties for domestic violence.
“We’re heading for a train wreck,” said the normally calm Martin, a veteran of 37 years in the House and Senate. “I’ve not seen anything like this in my years here.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence) met two weeks ago with House Speaker state Rep. Jay Lucas (R-Hartsville) to discuss the issue, Martin said.
“So far, nothing’s changed,” said Martin, who added that this wasn’t a turf battle between the two chambers. “It’s Legislating 101,” he said, where the other chamber doesn’t have to “re-plow ground” and can just amend bills to send back.
“We need to deal with this now, because it will be a mess come May, and then all the finger-pointing will start and everyone will say ‘Why didn’t you say something earlier?’” said Martin.
Leatherman and Lucas met again Thursday, which Martin reported was positive.
Martin is still waiting for a call back from his peer in the House, state Rep. Greg Delleney (R-Chester), who chairs that chamber’s Judiciary committee.
Delleney did not respond to Statehouse Report’s calls to his legislative office, home or law practice.
“This does not reflect well on any of us,” said Martin, who vowed to work with the House going forward.
Wide range of opinions on session-shortening
House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford (D-Columbia) is dead set against shortening the session. “There is no way we can talk about shortening the session considering what we have gotten done so far this session … which is nothing.”
Rutherford said the House and the Senate have done nothing toward solving the state’s big issues, like improving its roads or fixing its K-12 education system.
Lucas has historically been a big supporter of a shorter session, and this year is no different, but said 2015 wouldn’t have been a good year to go short because of the big issues.
On top of dealing with the budget, domestic violence reform, roads and schools, the legislature this year started to provide more oversight of state agencies following last year’s creation of the Department of Administration.
Lucas, a 17-year veteran of the legislature, disagreed with Rutherford that “nothing” has been done, and that he’s been a big proponent of roads and infrastructure improvements.
House Ways and Means Chair Brian White (R-Anderson) said “if they can do it in Texas, we can do it here.” White said the key would be to have subcommittees meet throughout the year, especially on the budget, and then present tight packages of bills during the session.
“That way we’d have more time on the floor than we would in committee during the session to debate,” he said, adding that he thought North Carolina’s two-year budget scheme was worth investigating.
Senate Democratic leaders seem to be split on shortened sessions.
Minority Leader Nikki Setzler (D-W. Columbia) was one of those who pushed for the session to end in May instead of in October, as was the custom when he first got into state politics in 1977.
Setzler, like Rutherford, thinks big issues would get short shrift in a shortened session. But state Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D-Camden), a gubernatorial candidate the last two elections, favors a shortened session. “We can do it,” he said.
Martin said he is now considering pushing for moving back the legislature’s May 1 “crossover” date, which requires both chambers to send bills to the other with large majority votes. That move would, he said, force both sides of the legislature to work together better.
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