The unified voice of business
The Competitiveness Update is an electronic newsletter sent to South Carolina Chamber of Commerce members every Friday during the legislative session that provides updates on what’s happening at the State House.
The Headlines:
Thumbs Down: To South Carolina Congressmen Jeff Duncan and Mick Mulvaney for choosing ideology over jobs by voting against reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.
Thumbs Down: To the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce for its support of the EPA’s proposed strict carbon emission standards for new coal-fired power plants that would drive up costs for small businesses struggling to compete after the economic downturn.
Thumbs Up: To the 51 economic development leaders honored by Governor Nikki Haley and the South Carolina Department of Commerce as South Carolina Ambassadors for Economic Development for their commitment to bringing jobs and investment to South Carolina.
Thumbs Up: To Sens. Harvey Peeler (Cherokee), Brad Hutto (Orangeburg) and Wes Hayes (York) for their diligent work and leadership in moving the Smith Land Company fix to the Senate floor.
Thumbs Up: To Sens. Billy O’Dell (Abbeville) and Paul Campbell (Berkeley) for their leadership in passing a major economic development bill aimed at recruiting data centers to South Carolina.
Thumbs Up: To Sen. Larry Martin (Pickens) for his quick response to a state Supreme Court ruling last week that eliminates individual protections in a LLC.
Thumbs Up: To Sens. Kevin Bryant (Anderson) and John Scott (Richland) for working out a bipartisan compromise on S.1125, legislation to eliminate unemployment benefits to workers fired for misconduct. Thumbs Up: To Reps. Tom Young (Aiken) and Eddie Tallon (Spartanburg) for their leadership in passing H.4043, legislation that would end unemployment benefits to workers who fail or refuse drug tests by prospective employers.
Thumbs Up: To House Speaker Bobby Harrell (Charleston) and Sen. Paul Campbell (Berkeley) for their leadership in passing concurrent resolutions to encourage the state’s congressional delegation to support reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, vital legislation to support the state’s manufacturing industry.
Thumbs Down: To Sen. Wes Hayes (York) for supporting environmental interests over the common sense, pro-business Smith Land Company case fix.
Thumbs Down: To Sens. Lee Bright (Spartanburg) and Tom Davis (Beaufort) for opposing the Export-Import Bank resolution that passed with broad bipartisan support this week in the Senate.
Thumbs Down: To Rep. Walt McLeod (Newberry) for classifying well-constructed, pro-jobs legislation as “unmitigated propaganda.”
Thumbs Up: To Reps. Roland Smith (Aiken), Phyllis Henderson (Greenville) and Brian White (Anderson) for spearheading a budget amendment to provide $30 million in additional unemployment insurance tax relief for employers, which now totals $77 million. Thumbs Up: To Sen. Nikki Setzler (Lexington) for his courage to join the Republican Caucus in attempting to advance legislation to eliminate unemployment benefits for workers fired for misconduct. Thumbs Up: To U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham for sponsoring an amendment to reauthorize and expand the Export-Import Bank, which supports nearly 290,000 export related jobs and each year is helping more and more small and medium-sized manufacturers grow their businesses and hire new workers. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce has asked South Carolina’s congressional delegation to support the reauthorization of the EX-IM Bank.
Thumbs Up: To Governor Nikki Haley for establishing the South Carolina Business Network, devoted to providing resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs to grow or establish companies.
Thumbs Up: To House Speaker Bobby Harrell (Charleston), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brian White (Anderson) and Rep. Jimmy Merrill (Berkeley) for their work in setting aside $180 million for the port harbor deepening project.
Thumbs Down: To Rep. Chandra Dillard (Greenville) for flip-flopping on a vote to reverse the egregious Supreme Court ruling in the Smith Land Company case.
Thumbs Down: To Sen. Phil Leventis (Sumter) for stalling the confirmation of Catherine Templeton even though a super-majority of senators supports her nomination to lead DHEC.
Thumbs Up: To Sens. Tom Davis (Beaufort), Shane Massey (Edgefield) and Vincent Sheheen (Kershaw) for their bipartisan efforts and diligent focus on leading the charge to pass government restructuring.
Thumbs Up: To Sens. Ralph Anderson (Greenville), Ray Cleary (Georgetown), Brad Hutto (Orangeburg), Joel Lourie (Richland), Floyd Nicholson (Greenwood), Clementa Pinckney (Jasper) and John Scott (Richland) for their efforts to defeat H.3408, legislation that would have weakened at-will employment laws.
Thumbs Down: To Sens. Jake Knotts (Lexington) and Gerald Malloy (Darlington) for aggressively pursuing the False Claims Act, a bill that would deputize trial lawyers as mini-attorney generals to bring civil actions on behalf of the state.
Thumbs Up: To Reps. David Hiott (Pickens), Bill Crosby (Charleston), Chandra Dillard (Greenville) and Chris Murphy (Dorchester) for supporting legislation to restore balance to the Pollution Control Act.
Thumbs Up: To Chairman Bill Sandifer (Oconee) for his work to strengthen the state’s right-to-work law.
Thumbs Up: To Governor Nikki Haley for proactively establishing an initiative to better match skill sets with available jobs.
Thumbs Up: To Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (Cherokee) and Rep. Nelson Hardwick (Horry), along with 38 bipartisan cosponsors, for introducing legislation to restore balance to the Pollution Control Act. Thumbs Up: To Reps. Eddie Tallon (Spartanburg), Tom Young (Aiken) and Sens. Lee Bright (Spartanburg), Kevin Bryant (Anderson), Shane Massey (Edgefield) and Glenn Reese (Spartanburg) for their aggressive attempts to continue further reforms to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.
Thumbs Up: To Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (Cherokee), Senate Minority Leader John Land (Clarendon), Assistant House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister (Greenville) and House Minority Leader Harry Ott (Calhoun) for participating in a Business Speaks panel addressing key business issues.
Thumbs Up: To Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell (Charleston) for his leadership on fiscal fitness legislation that provides for a state spending cap, a key provision of the 2012 Competitiveness Agenda.
Thumbs Up: To the 54 Business Advocate Award recipients, legislators who scored 100 percent on the 2011 Legislative Scorecard.
The South Carolina Chamber would like to thank the following:
@scchamber
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