THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA There are 6 legislative days left in the session. By law, the General Assembly must adjourn sine die at 5 o'clock on Thursday, June 2 but may return to finish work on the budget or other items agreed upon by both bodies. Since this is the second year of a two year session, bills that did not pass this session will not be carried over to the 2017 legislative session.
S.1177 (Licensure of Architects) was reported favorably out of the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee and is now on the House calendar for second reading.
H.4717 (Farm Aid Bill) was vetoed by Governor Nikki Haley (Clemson '94). The House overrode the Governor's veto by a vote of 112-2 and the Senate overrode the veto by a vote of 39-3. This bill establishes a grant program for farmers who experienced significant crop losses as a result of the heavy rains South Carolina experienced during the fall of 2015.
The State Budget Process The House amended the budget and returned it to the Senate which is expected to nonconcur in the House amendments. A conference committee will be named to negotiate the differences in the House and Senate versions. The House conferees are Chairman Brian White (R-Anderson), Rep. Bill Herbkersman (R-Beaufort), and Rep. Lonnie Hosey (D-Barnwell). Senate conferees are expected to be named on Tuesday.
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.
CLEMSON ON CAPITOL HILL This Week's Legislative Activity Both Chambers are in session this week. The Senate will convene today at 3:00pm. The House will meet at 12:00pm for morning hour and at 2:00pm for legislative business, with votes postponed until 6:30pm.
FY2017 Appropriations Update Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved its Department of Defense (DoD) FY2017 appropriations bill. The bill would fund DoD Science & Technology at $13.028 billion, a $223 million increase from FY2016 enacted levels. Basic Research (6.1) would be funded at $2.124 billion, a $185 million decrease, while DARPA would be funded at $2.973 billion, an $82 million increase from FY2016 enacted.
The House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee approved its FY2017 bill which would fund the National Science Foundation (NSF) at $7.407 billion, $57 million less than FY2016 enacted. Under NSF, Research and Related Activities would receive $6.08 billion, a $46 million increase and Education and Human Resources would be level-funded at $880 million. Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction would receive $87.1 million, a $113 million decrease from the FY2016 enacted amount.
For NASA, the bill would provide $19.5 billion, a $223 million increase from the FY2016 enacted level. The Science Directorate would receive $5.597 billion, an increase of $8 million. Space Grant would be level-funded at $40 million. Aeronautics would receive $712 million, an increase of $72 million and Space Technology would receive $739 million, a $52 million increase. The House CJS appropriations report is expected to be released this week.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its Agriculture Appropriations bill. This measure would fund the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) at $375 million, a $25 million increase from FY2016. The bill would also level-fund a number of extension and research and education activities accounts, including Hatch Act Funds and the Evans-Allen Program.
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