June 14 to June 20, 2011
The House of Representatives is in session for 2011. I hope that you find this update helpful and informative:
House Passes Congressional Redistricting Plan: Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives gave final passage to its proposed Congressional districts and House districts for the next decade. The new 7th Congressional District is proposed to include Myrtle Beach and all of Horry County with Florence County and other areas of the Pee Dee section of the state. For the past decade, Aiken County has been split with a portion of the county in each of the Second (Cong. Joe Wilson) and Third (Cong. Jeff Duncan) Congressional Districts. Under the proposed House plan, all of Aiken County would be in the Second Congressional District with all of Lexington and Barnwell counties and portions of Richland, Calhoun, Orangeburg, and Fairfield counties. As proposed, the Second District would no longer extend from Lake Murray to Hilton Head.
House Rejects Amendment Placing North Augusta in Third Congressional District: An amendment offered by Representative Bill Hixon and Aiken delegation members would have placed a large portion of the Town of North Augusta into the 3rd Congressional District giving Rep. Jeff Duncan a presence in Aiken County. That amendment initially passed by 1 vote (56-55) but then it was eventually reconsidered and tabled by a vote of 61-55. All of the Aiken delegation supported the amendment.
House Passes House of Representatives Redistricting Plan: Also, last Wednesday, the House passed the proposed House districts for the next decade. Because of population shifts and growth, four districts in the state are collapsed and four new districts have been created in their place in York County south of Charlotte; Beaufort County near Bluffton; Berkeley County near the Charleston county line; and Horry County between Conway and Myrtle Beach. The biggest change for the Aiken County area is that District 86 (Bill Taylor) will extend east to include the Wagener, Salley, and Perry areas of the County. District 81 (Tom Young) will extend further into South Aiken including new neighborhoods such as Woodside – Reserve Club; Beaver Creek; Willow Woods; College Acres; Chukker Creek area; Cullum Farms; Stratford Hall; and Spring Stone.
Legislature Returns Tomorrow: The General Assembly returns to Columbia tomorrow. The House is expected to take up legislation returned from the Senate including immigration on Tuesday and the budget conference report on Wednesday.
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and H-Canyon: The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board met on Thursday of this past week in Augusta to hear testimony from the public on safety matters and other information related to radioactive liquid waste processing, emergency preparedness, and nuclear materials disposition. I submitted a letter to the Board on as to our community’s concerns regarding H-Canyon and the DOE’s pending decisions as to the future of H-Canyon. That letter can be seen here. Also, Channel 12 covered the story and their coverage including video can be seen here.
State Budget: A Conference Committee from both the House and Senate worked out the differences in the House and Senate version of the budgets. Both the House and the Senate will consider the Conference Report on Wednesday of this week.
Education Funding in State Budget: The current base student funding rate (one portion of money from state) for the public schools is $1,618 per student. The Conference Committee accepted the House’s amended proposed based student funding rate which is $1,880. According to the State Department of Education, what this means for the Aiken County Schools is as follows:
- At the current rate of $1,618, the Aiken County school district received approximately $37.7 Million.
- If the Conference Report is adopted at $1,880, then the school district will receive about $42.1 Million.
Unemployment Trust Fund Tax Relief: The Conference Committee adopted the House’s unemployment trust fund tax relief proposal. This proposal is to spend $146 Million to decrease the liability of every employer in South Carolina for the debt owed to the federal government out of the unemployment insurance trust fund. The Senate’s proposal was to spend $100 Million in this area. The House version spends more money paying down debt which is preferred by Governor Haley according to what her legislative staff advised me this morning. I also prefer this version.
Light at Cemetery Hill Road and 118 By Pass: SCDOT has confirmed that plans are underway to add a traffic light and turning lanes at the intersection of Cemetery Hill Road (also known as Gregg Highway) and 118 By Pass. DOT says the improvements will be done some time over the next 12 months.
New Chief at SLED: Governor Haley appointed Mark Keel this past week to head the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Keel will leave his post as head of the State Department of Public Safety. This appointment is widely praised by law enforcement officials around the state.
Heritage Golf Tournament: On Thursday of last week, the Heritage Golf Tournament has a title sponsor for the next 5 years – Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). To see the press release, go here.
Help for Displaced SRS Workers: If you or someone you know lost a job at SRS, there is a One-Stop Transition Center open in downtown Aiken at Park Avenue and Laurens Street to assist workers displaced at SRS with finding new work. The Center is open from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. For more information, visit www.workforce.psa.-inc.com.
Aiken County Public Library Summer Reading Program: The annual summer reading program for children through the 5th grade has started at the Aiken County Public Library. The Program runs through July 30. Children who read the required number of books will receive a medal and a certificate of completion. Reading is essential to doing well in school. Please encourage as many young people as you can to read this summer. For more information, call the Aiken County Public Library at 642-2020 or go to this link: http://www.abbe-lib.org/ . This program is paid for with private donations from the Friends of the Public Library.
Report Waste, Fraud and Abuse in State Government: To report waste, fraud and abuse in state government, you can call: 1-855-SC-FRAUD.
Roll Call Voting: There is a new link available to keep up with all the roll call votes in the S.C. House. That link can be accessed at either my website at www.reptomyoung.com or at the www.scstatehouse.gov website.
Facebook: I have a Facebook page for Representative Tom Young. Please “like” the page to receive updates during the week from me on Facebook.
Tom Young’s Website: My updated website can be reached at www.reptomyoung.com. There are links to a variety of constituent services; the status of sponsored bills; and roll call votes. Please add my web site as a bookmark on your computer.
State House Tours: Tours are available for the S.C. State House by calling (803) 734-2430. If you schedule your tour on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between now and mid June, please let me know so I can make every effort to see you.
Email Updates: If you know of people in or around District 81 who do not receive my updates but they would like to, please email their names and email addresses to me.
Road Issues: If you see a road problem, call the SCDOT at 641-7665 or Aiken County at 642-1532 to report the problem. If you do not get a prompt response, please let me know at TomYoung@schouse.gov or call me. Generally, most paved roads in the County are maintained by SCDOT and are identified on the road sign poles by a small black and white sign listing the road number, such as S-2-1669. Most unpaved roads in the County are maintained by the County.
Thank you for the opportunity and the honor to represent you. Please let me know if I can help you in any way or if you have questions about these or other issues. Your feedback is meaningful and appreciated.
Sincerely,
Tom Young
649-0000 (o)
215-3631 (cell)
P.S. Please visit www.reptomyoung.com for more posts, news, video updates, and, if you have Twitter, please click here to start following me!
I want to begin by thanking you for your service to your district. I have been very happy with the teamwork between you and Rep Bill Taylor in advancing legislation that is vital for our state.
I would like to see a change in the state law in regards to the counties and the way they collect property taxes. In the past I have struggled at times to make the lump sum payment of my property taxes. When I inquired years ago about breaking my payments down to make it easier, I was told that state law will not allow that. I think it would be a convenience to many taxpayers to be able to break their property tax payments down to where they can still pay other bills and meet expenses. At the same time I think it would benefit the counties by getting more money into their county treasurer’s offices by allowing taxpayers to break down their property tax payments. The state could still require the same deadlines as now as far as having the property taxes paid off.
With insurance premiums increasing with Obamacare and prices on everything from gas to groceries going up this would help out a little, and every little bit helps in today’s times.
Thank you again for your service.
Sincerely,
Anthony Fulmer