Veto Recap and Charleston Port — Weekly Legislative Update from Rep. Tom Young – July 17, 2012 to July 23, 2012

The House of Representatives returns this Tuesday to consider the Governor’s Vetoes in the State Budget.  I hope that you find this update helpful and informative:

Last Week’s Legislative SessionGeneral Budget Veto Comments: Governor Haley vetoed 81 line items and provisos in the final version of the budget passed in late June by the General Assembly.  The House and the Senate met last week to consider whether to sustain or to override the Governor’s vetoes.  The House of Representatives voted to sustain 30 of the 81 vetoes.  The Senate voted to sustain 3 more for a total of 33 vetoes being sustained. I voted to sustain 64 of the 81 vetoes based on the best information available to me at the time.  If you have a particular veto for which you want to know more about, please let me know.

Clarification – Sustaining versus Overriding Budget Vetoes:  When a budget veto is sustained, that means the vetoed appropriation is not part of the final budget.  When a budget veto is overridden, that means the vetoed appropriation is part of the final budget despite the Governor’s veto.  At least a two thirds vote in both the House and the Senate is needed for an override. All the budget veto votes start in the House.  If the House sustains a veto, then the Senate does not vote on that vetoed appropriation.

Governor Haley’s Budget Vetoes — Sustained:  The House sustained 30 of Governor Haley’s 81 vetoes.  I voted to sustain 64 of the 81.  The Senate sustained 3 of the 51 vetoes which the House overrode.  Those that were sustained included money for an Irmo park; for a public safety building in Andrews; for the North Myrtle Beach museum; for Tri-City Outreach in Berkeley County; for Women in Unity in Edgefield; for Marion County Habitat for Humanity; for University Center of Greenville Technology Upgrade; and for Power Grid Research at Clemson.  I voted to sustain these vetoes in addition to 56 others.

Governor Haley’s Budget Vetoes – Overrides:  The House overrode 51 of Governor Haley’s 81 vetoes.  I voted to override 17.   Those that were overridden included funding for public school teacher salary increases; for the SC Department of Commerce Closing Fund; for Rape Crisis Centers; for the Governor’s School for Science and Math; for the SC Vocational Rehabilitation program; for hemophilia and sickle cell health programs; and for technology improvements in the SC court system.  I voted to override these vetoes.

Veto of Portion of Money for Public School Teacher Salary Increase – Overridden:  Governor Haley vetoed $10 Million of the $48 Million which the General Assembly appropriated for a salary increase for public school teachers.  The Governor’s reason for her veto is that the $10 Million is a non-recurring source of revenue meaning that it will not be there next year unless the General Assembly appropriates that money.  State Superintendent Mick Zais sent all members of the General Assembly a letter in which he asked members to sustain 7 education-related vetoes but to override this one veto as to the teacher salary increase.  He wrote that “Teachers and the salary increase mandated by the state budget should not be a casualty of the budget writing process.”  To see the Zais letter, go here.   I voted to override because state law requires that teachers get the increase this year, and I do not think that the State should mandate the increase for the teachers and then not provide the funding for the increase.

Arts Vetoes – Overridden:  Governor Haley vetoed $1.9 Million in state funds for the Arts Commission agency and $500,000 in one time additional state funds for arts programs.  I voted to override as to the agency funds and to sustain as to the one time additional money for programs.  Both vetoes were overridden.  I received numerous telephone calls and emails from people in District 81 asking me to override both vetoes.  I voted to sustain the second one because I do not think that we should be putting more money into arts programs just because the state had more tax revenue than was originally projected.

State Budget – Debt Repayment and Reserves:  This year’s General Funds budget which passed last month includes the following appropriated for debt repayment and reserves:

• $77 Million for unemployment debt/loan repayment;
• $98.2 Million to increase General Reserve Fund balance to $281.66 million;
• $112.657 Million for the Capital Reserve Fund;
• $187.229 Million to fully fund general obligation bond payments;
• $229 Million returned to communities to aid local governments NOT including library support, school district appropriations, and local health department;
• $300 Million in reserves for the Port of Charleston Harbor Deepening Reserve Account.

Senate Campaign UpdateSenate Campaign:  We turned in our petition campaign signatures to the State Elections Commission.  The Commission says that we will know no later than August 15 as to whether we qualify to be on the November 6 ballot as a petition candidate for Senate District 24.  As of right now, I will still be on the ballot as the Republican nominee for Senate District 24.

THANK YOU!:  Thank you to everyone who helped in my campaign’s petition drive to remain on the ballot for the November 6 election for State Senate.

Other Topics of InterestCharleston Port:  Good news last week!  The White House announced plans to expedite expansion and modernization of the Port of Charleston. To see how the Port impacts us here in Aiken County, go here.

End of Session Town Meetings:  Like the past three years, I plan to hold end of session town meetings around the district.   Based on constituent requests, I will hold those after the summer vacation season ends.  The dates, times, and locations will be provided in future updates.

Pre-Engineering Opportunity:  There is a pre-engineering opportunity for high school students through Aiken Technical College.  Go here to learn more.

Constituent InformationSpeaking with Groups Around the District: Several local groups have invited me to attend one of their meetings to provide a legislative update.  If you have a group that would like for me to come to a meeting, please let me know.

Report Waste, Fraud and Abuse in State Government:  To report waste, fraud and abuse in state government, you can call: 1-855-SC-FRAUD.

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 website can be reached at www.tomyoungforsenate.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 set a tour between January and June and it is on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, please let me know so I can do my best 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 get them, 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 tom@tomyoungforsenate.com 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