THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA
State primary elections are tomorrow, June 14 and the General Election is November 1. The entire South Carolina General Assembly is up for re-election this year.
Only one of these vetoes, Veto 3 in H.5002 (The Capital Reserve Fund), impacts Clemson University.
Veto 3 - Clemson PSA - T. Ed Garrison Arena Education/Conference Center - $1 million
The T. Ed Garrison Arena is an exceptional event venue for livestock and equine events that draw participants and spectators from throughout the Southeast and increases the national reputation of South Carolina's cattle, equine and other agriculture-based industries. The proposed center and facility improvements will enable Clemson to recruit more regional and national events to the arena and provide an excellent meeting and instructional facility and exhibition space that is not currently available in the upstate. The facility will also allow Clemson to expand its ability to provide educational youth events for 4-H and FFA.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to return to Columbia to take up gubernatorial budget vetoes on Wednesday, June 15. The Senate will return on Thursday, June 16.
H.4521 (Tucker Hipps Transparency Act) was signed into law by Governor Haley on Thursday, June 9. This legislation requires South Carolina colleges and universities to post online student organization conduct violations by fraternities and sororities involving alcohol, drugs, sexual assault, physical assault or hazing. No students' names or personal identifying information will be included in the online reports.
S.1258 (Transportation Infrastructure) was signed into law by Governor Haley. The bill includes a 10-year $4.5 billion dollar transportation plan for major highways and bridges along with SCDOT governance changes. These changes allow the governor to appoint all highway commissioners with the advice and consent of the Legislature, allow the board elect a transportation secretary, and limit commissioners to two four-year terms. From a funding perspective, the bill includes new recurring dollars from DMV fees and fines as well as the vehicle sales tax.
CLEMSON ON CAPITOL HILL
Legislative Activity This Week:
Both Chambers will be in session this week and return today. The Senate will convene at 4:00pm. The House will meet at 12:00pm for morning hour and at 2:00pm for legislative business, with votes postponed until 6:30pm.
Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Advances in the Senate
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved their bipartisan Labor-HHS-Education (LHHS-ED) funding bill by a vote of 29-1.
The bill would fund the National Institutes of Health at $34.084 billion, a $2 billion (6.2%) increase from FY2016 enacted. Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII and Title VIII programs would be funded at $527 million, a $35 million (7.1%) increase from FY2016. The Senate FY17 LHHS-ED appropriations bill funds Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) at $324 million, a $10 million (-2.9%) cut from FY2016.
Under the bill, the maximum Pell Grant for FY2017 would be $5,935, a $120 increase from FY2016. In addition, the Senate LHHS-ED bill reinstates year-round Pell Grants. The reinstated year-round Pell program is modeled after the program included in S.1062, the "Year-Round Pell Grant Restoration Act," which does not have a minimum credit requirement or acceleration clause for eligibility.
Reinstating year-round Pell in FY2017 would cost $1.2 billion ($950 million in discretionary funding and $250 million in mandatory funding). Funding year-round Pell would not require a rescission from the Pell surplus, it simply would increase the cost of the Pell program and deplete the surplus more quickly.
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work Study, TRIO, and GEARUP are all level funded.
The LHHS-ED bill language and the report may be found here.
Senate Consideration of FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
On Friday, June 10, the Senate voted to invoke cloture and limit debate on the NDAA. Senators have filed over 500 amendments.
FYI
