June 16, 2014
THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA The South Carolina General Assembly is scheduled to return in statewide session tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17.
BUDGET On Thursday, June 12, Governor Nikki Haley issued vetoes for the FY14-15 Appropriations Bill. Four of these vetoes would impact Clemson PSA (Public Service Activities. The vetoes total $405,000 and would eliminate funding for critical research and extension scientist positions associated with Clemson PSA's Emerging Farmers and Precision Agriculture programs, which will have a statewide economic impact on the agriculture sector of South Carolina.
The House is scheduled to begin work on vetoes tomorrow at noon. The Senate will take up vetoes on Wednesday.
Detailed information on Clemson's 2013 state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2013-14 may be found at these links:
THE CLEMSON UNIVERSITY ENTERPRISE ACT (S.535) The Clemson University Enterprise Act (S.535) is currently under negotiation in a Conference Committee after the Senate voted to non-concur in the House amendments. The Committee held its first meeting last week where they heard testimony from Clemson University President Jim Clements, Angie Leidinger (Clemson University Executive Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Executive Director of Governmental Affairs), and representatives of the College of Charleston and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. No action was taken on the bill. A second meeting of the Conference Committee is scheduled for tomorrow morning.
House conferees are Rep. Brian White (R-Anderson), Rep. Jim Merrill (R-Charleston), and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg). Senate conferees are Senator Thomas Alexander '78 (R-Oconee), Senator Harvey Peeler '70 (R-Cherokee), and Senator Darrell Jackson (D-Richland).
The bill passed the Senate in May, 2013 and was sent to the House where it was first heard in a Ways and Means Subcommittee on May 8, 2014. The bill was first amended in the House Ways and Means Committee to provide "regulatory relief" in the area of the capital improvement process (facilities approval) for all higher education institutions in the state. The amendment was offered by Chairman Brian White and was unanimously adopted by the House. On the House floor, Chairman Brian White (R-Anderson) and Representative Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston) offered an amendment to include The University of Charleston Act which was also adopted by the full House.
CLEMSON ON CAPITOL HILL The House is not in session today and reconvenes tomorrow, June 17 at 2 p.m., and is expected to consider measures under suspension of the rules. The House is expected to consider later this week the Department of Defense FY15 Appropriations bill.
Upcoming Hearing Monday, June 23: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight will hold a roundtable discussion on campus sexual assault as it relates to university administrative processes and the criminal justice system. College Affordability Initiatives After failing last week to secure enough votes to proceed to floor consideration of Senator Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) student loan reform legislation, Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act (S.2432), Democratic Senators committed to continuing to raise the issue - eyeing a week in September to refocus on student loans - and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) vowed to address student debt issues in reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. (He hopes to release a draft bill in the coming months.) Currently, Committee leaders are looking at a variety of bipartisan changes to the current student loan system. These reforms would include prohibiting part-time students from borrowing enough money to pay for school full-time, permitting colleges to require additional loan counseling, and giving schools the ability to limit the amount of loans a student may take out to pay for their education.
FYI "Like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the week.
|
