May 23, 2005
Week in Review
State
Gov. Sanford issued a state record 163 vetoes. Several of the vetoes impact tourism negatively: reductions in S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism's (PRT) budget, elimination of advertising grants and removal of beach renourishment funds are just a few of the vetoes. Unfortunately with reductions in PRT funding and elimination of all new advertising grants and some existing grants, tourism promotion for the Grand Strand could be lessened. The Legislature could act next week to override the vetoes and, if last year is any indication, overrides will be leaving the legislative chambers at a record pace.
The minibottle Conference Committee has met and ironed out some small details. One main issue remains: Who can deliver? The legislation (S 165) passed by the Senate restricts delivery to Class B retailers; the House legislation (H 3638) allows Class A's and B's to deliver. No one knows what kind of compromise will result, but one way or the other, we need this legislation to pass. Those slowing this legislation down had plenty of chances to jump on board with us last year and chose not to do so,which left this critical decision at the hands of our state Legislature.
Federal
The U.S. Senate passed the Transportation Reauthorization bill (HR 3) allocating funding for Interstate 73 and a Southern Connector. This legislation was passed 89-11. Both the House and Senate have passed this legislation but must meet in Conference Committee to iron out the details, including an $11 billion difference in funding. Unfortunately, conferees have yet to be named, making yet another extension a likely next step. It may be July before we get this bill passed.
Legislative Agenda (More Bill Tracking)
| Bill Name | Summary of Bill | Chamber's Position | Status |
| State Legislation | |||
| Sale of Alcoholic Liquor | |||
| Bills pertaining to alcoholic liquors and beverages regulates liquor sales, distribution and tax. |  The chamber supports these regulations. |
Passed House and Senate; in Conference Committee | |
| Tort Reform | |||
| S 83 H 3008 |
Various provisions of the Economic Development, Citizens and Small Business Protection Act of 2005, which provides diverse measures of tort reform. Includes various provisions relating to liability for damage, wrongful death; frivolous lawsuit sanctions; elimination of joint and several liability. |
|
Passed Senate and House |
| Highway Funding | |||
| H 3296 | Various measures to alter and/or increase state highway funding. |  The chamber desires highway funding for new projects. |
Referred to Ways and Means Committee |
| Federal Legislation | |||
| Surface Transportation Legislation | |||
| HR-3 | Funds six-year reauthorization of highway bill. | The chamber supports this measure, which includes interstate funding. |
Passed House and Senate; in Conference Committee |
| H-2B Visa | |||
| S352 | Allows students previously working summer jobs to return to same employer. | The chamber supports this measure. |
Passed House and Senate |
| Association Health Plans | |||
|
HR 525 S 406 |
Allows nonprofit chambers and associations to sponsor and offer health plans | The chamber supports these bills |
Passed House subcommittee; sent to Senate subcommittee |
Hit or Miss
Hit to U.S. Senate for passing the Transportation Reauthorization bill and allocating funds to I-73.
Miss to Sens. Graham and DeMint for voting against the transportation bill. If they traded favors to benefit us later, so be it. But it's hard to imagine what could have been accomplished by choosing to be on the short side of an 89-11 vote that relates to one of our top priorities. We hope to have one or more members on the Conference Committee and we can only hope this vote against the Senate leadership will not hurt our future efforts.
Miss Gov. Sanford for his vetoes of tourism-related funding. We all want the trust funds paid off but not at the expense of tourism. The state government had hundreds of millions of extra dollars to spend this year, in large part due to the economic growth of the Grand Strand. Why cut advertising promotion when we are running some of the lowest occupancies in our history? The state has a lot of needs but this is not the time to starve our cash cow!
U.S. Chamber Update
Americans are paying more at the pump and more to power their homes and businesses for one simple reason: Domestic energy production is not keeping pace with growing demand. That's why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is working to close the deal on a comprehensive energy strategy that would significantly increase energy supplies and help stabilize prices over the long term. Read More