Budget conference set for next week
House and Senate budget conferees are scheduled to start meeting to work out compromises between differing provisions of the state’s $7.5 billion budget.
The work, however, isn’t expected to take more than a week as the bills passed by each chamber have lots of similarities this year, compared to recent years. One reason is that there was about a billion dollars in surplus funding, which made it easier to fund more priorities. Another reason is that hot-button topics, such as how to fund road repairs, got worked out separately.
House conferees include House Ways and Means Chairman Brian White (R-Anderson) and Reps. Bill Herbkersman (R-Bluffton) and Lonnie Hosey (D-Barnwell). Senate conferees will include Senate Finance Committee chair and President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence) and two senators who had not been names as of Friday morning.
Martin, Finlay get LWV awards
State Sen. Larry Martin (R-Pickens) and Rep. Kirkman Finlay (R-Columbia) each received the annual Issues and Action Award last week from the League of Women Voters of South Carolina.
The League, a nonpartisan advocay organization that has been pushing for ethics reform, praised Martin for pushing through bills that would require income disclosure by lawmakers and allow an independent panel to investigate ethical allegations against them. It lauded Finlay for taking up the cause of ethics reform early and working with the league.
“Ethics reform is not a sexy topic but is essential for assuring the transparency and integrity necessary for democracy to work for all its citizens,” co-president JoAnne Day said.
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