THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA This week marks the General Assembly's crossover deadline. Bills that haven't advanced from one chamber to the other by May 1 have little chance of becoming law this year.
After the crossover deadline, bills require a two-thirds vote to even be considered by the other chamber for the session that is set to end on June 2. This is the second year of a two-year session, which means that bills that don't pass this year will die on adjournment of the General Assembly.
H. 4717 (Farm Aid Bill) remains on the Senate calendar for second reading with an objection by Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort).
The Senate voted to non-concur in the House's amendments to H.3579 (Transportation Infrastructure). The House insisted on its amendments so now the bill will go to a Conference Committee to resolve the differences in the two versions. The Senate had previously amended the bill to eliminate a tax increase to pay for road funding and instead required that the legislature appropriate $400 million in general funds annually to supplement the Transportation Department budget.
The Senate Finance Committee introduced S.1258 (Transportation Infrastructure) and sent it to the Senate. This bill leverages $200 million in state Department of Motor Vehicle fees and car sales tax dollars into a $2.2 billion-dollar borrowing proposal to fix aging infrastructure.
The State Budget Process The Senate Finance Committee finished their work on the state budget late last week. The Committee's version of the budget includes the following specifically for Clemson University and Clemson PSA:
Clemson E&G - $5 million in recurring funding for E&G General Operating funds - $2.4 million in nonrecurring funding for Outdoor Laboratory Facilities Maintenance - $700,000 in nonrecurring funding for maintenance
Clemson PSA - $2 million in recurring funding for Agriculture and Natural Resources Programming - $750,000 in recurring funding for Animal Industry Infectious Disease Prevention - $1.7 million in nonrecurring funding for Agriculture and Natural Resources Field Facilities - $1 million in nonrecurring funding for the T. Ed Garrison Arena Education/Conference Center The Senate Finance Committee included a 4% cost of living pay increase for state employees in their version of the budget. The Senate Finance version of the budget includes an increase in the cost of health insurance for state employees which will be paid by the state. The budget also includes a 0.5% increase in state employees' retirement contributions which will not be paid by the state.
The budget now goes to the full Senate for deliberation.
Detailed information on Clemson's 2016 state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2016-17 may be found at these links:
BILLS OF INTEREST The Clemson University Governmental Affairs office is monitoring several bills that have potential impact on Clemson. A complete listing of these bills may be found here. Click on the bill number for a description of the legislation, along with the bill's current status.
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