By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, is already rattling sabers over the Senate’s proposed changes to a massive education overhaul bill.
Lucas introduced a sweeping education reform bill in January. It passed the House with relatively little opposition. In the Senate Education Committee, however, certain provisions are already being eyed for slashing — setting up a conference battle between the bodies.
Through his office, Lucas released this statement Wednesday to Statehouse Report:
“As I’ve said before, I viewed this bill as a starting point for overdue education change. We wanted everyone to bring good ideas to the table to make the bill better. We did just that in the House. Unfortunately, as of today, the Senate has not offered any ideas to improve the bill and has instead chosen to remove critical components that could lead to transformative change in the districts that need it most.”
- See a summary of the House bill here in Statehouse Report editor Andy Brack’s Feb. 15 column.
- See initial changes proposed in the Senate here.
The Senate Education Committee has not agreed upon aversion of the bill yet, but already has proposed striking the teacher bill of rights and an educator- and business leader-led education oversight committee. Committee Chair Greg Hembree, R-Horry, was unable to be reached for comment, and a Thursday committee meeting that would look at more components of the bill was canceled. His committee has held public hearings throughout the state seeking input over the last month.
On the sidelines and not involved in the education committee, longtime educator and Sen. Mike Fanning, D-Fairfield, said the Senate needs to hit “the pause button” and even “pretend the (House) bill doesn’t exist.” He said there should be no rush to pass an education reform bill before the end of the session.
“There’s no risk in waiting,” Fanning said. He upbraided the bill for lacking teacher input in its drafting. “It’s a two-year session. The bill didn’t exist two months ago and here we are feeling pressured to pass something that has had no stakeholder input.”
In other news:
Leach tapped to lead DSS. Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday nominated Michael Leach to be the next director of the S.C. Department of Social Services. Leach is a trained mental health clinician and has more than 10 years of experience in Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services. He most recently served as the Deputy Commissioner for Child Programs at the agency. The S.C. Senate must confirm the nomination.
Solar compromise reached. An amendment to the S.C. Energy Freedom Act bill, H. 3659, was made in a Senate subcommittee on the fixed-price contracts that allow some flexibility, but it remains in subcommittee. The next meeting is slated for April 2 upon adjournment of the Senate in room 308 of the Gressette building.
Weekly update on Palmetto Priorities
Throughout the legislative session, we’ll provide you relevant updates related to our list of Palmetto Priorities, which are 10 big policy areas where major progress is needed for South Carolina to escape the bottom of lots of lists. Over the last week:
EDUCATION/JOBS: Education-to-work database hub advances. A proposed data hub that looks at student’s outcomes in the workforce will likely go before the full House Education and Public Works committee next week, according to staff. The committee meeting has not been scheduled yet as of publication. H. 3757 would create a committee that would create and manage the data hub.
TAXES: Income tax reform bill introduced. A data-led income tax reform bill has emerged from the S.C. House after years of study.. York County GOP Rep. Tommy Pope, who has led the House special committee evaluating taxes, proposed the bill, which calls for a “flat” income tax of 4.85 percent that is lowered over a period of five years to a rate of 4.5 percent. Read the bill here.
ROADS: Bill to require DOT to consider “complete streets” policy. S.C. Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, D-Charleston, has proposed a bill that will require the state transportation agency to adopt a policy that includes pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders as part of any transportation plan. On Tuesday, a House subcommittee gave a favorable report to H. 3656, which now advances to the full committee of House Education and Public Works Committee.
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Looking ahead
Click below for other items coming up in the Statehouse:
- House calendar
- Senate calendar
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