About the Senator

Below, you will find some of the legislation addressed by the General Assembly, during the 2007 legislative session. By clicking on the title of the bill, you will be directly able to view the bill in its entirety, while also viewing a bill status and list of legislative sponsors.

TAX CUTS (S. 656)
View an online summary of this session.

Under my grocery tax relief plan, which the Senate passed, the sales tax on groceries would be reduced from 3 percent to 1 percent on Nov. 1, 2007, with half-percent reductions each year thereafter.

STATE BUDGET (H. 3620)
View an online summary of this session.

The Senate fully funded the base student cost, appropriated $22 million for LIFE scholarships, $22 million for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, provided funding to place high-risk sex offenders and criminal domestic violence offenders on a GPS monitoring system, funding for 50 new troopers for the Highway Patrol and funding to place a nurse in every elementary school throughout the state.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION (S. 392)
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This legislation makes sure that South Carolina does not become a safe haven for illegal aliens, by adding standards and verifications for those that want to work and receive public assistance benefits in our great state.

GANG VIOLENCE (S. 141)
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This bill helps authorities across the state crack down on the increasing gang violence, by putting gang activity under the purview of the state grand jury and giving SLED the authority to compile a gang-related database.

DNA SAMPLING (S. 142)
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The Senate passed legislation that requires offenders to submit a sample to the DNA database upon arrest for felony offenses.

VIRTUAL SCHOOLS (H. 3097)
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This bill provides a framework for online courses for high school age students, which will provide them with access to courses not readily available at their schools.

OPEN ENROLLMENT (H. 3124)
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This creates statewide open enrollment for public school students, subject to availability of open spots within the accepting district. It should be noted that priority is given to students within the district.

DOT REFORM (S. 355)
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This restructures the Department of Transportation, giving the governor the appointment of the executive director. It also addresses the current board, the chief highway engineer and the internal auditor. In addition, it creates a 10-member Joint Transportation Review Committee, which screens candidates and reviews the methodology produced by the board and chief engineer.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION (S. 332)
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This Senate bill expands the definitions to broaden the scope of “false statements” and directs that a greater burden of proof be provided should an injury arise out of a qualifying accident.

CRITICAL NEEDS NURSING INITIATIVE (S. 657)
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The initiative will fund nursing faculty enhancements, new faculty hires, nursing scholarships and the establishment of an Office of Healthcare Workforce Research, due to the critical shortage of nurses in our state.

AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE (S. 588)
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This provides the means for small businesses to band together and form “health group cooperatives,” which in turn will help improve the access to affordable health insurance.

AUTISM INSURANCE (S. 20)
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This legislation mandates that all insurance providers operating within the state offer coverage for pervasive development disorders, such as Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.

WIRELESS BROADBAND INITIATIVE (H. 3569)
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The ultimate goal of this bill is to provide greater access to broadband Internet service for all South Carolinians. In addition, this bill creates the South Carolina Broadband Technology and Communications Study Committee, which will investigate the unserved and underserved areas across the state.