The Senate started the 2013 session last Tuesday. I hope that you find this update helpful and informative.
S.C. Senate Convenes for 2013 Session: The S.C. Senate convened last Tuesday at noon. This is the first half of a two year session. The Senate is expected to meet for 3 days each week between now and early June except for the week before and after Easter. If an issue is important to you, please let me know. Thank you again to the people of District 24 for the honor to serve our District.
Taxpayer Hero Award: Last week, the S.C. Club for Growth listed me as one of only 5 out of 124 House members to receive the Club’s Taxpayer Hero Award based on my two year voting record during the 2011-2012 legislative session.
Bills Filed by Sen. Tom Young: Last week, I filed several bills including the following:
S. 158 – No drive until turn 18 if drop out of school early
S. 159 – School district must have minimum of 2,500 students to receive state funds
S. 167 – Governor to appoint Sec. of State
S. 170 – Governor to appoint Commissioner of Agriculture
S. 175 – Governor to appoint Superintendent of Education
S. 177 – Shorten legislative session by one month
S. 178 – No unemployment if refuse to take or fail drug test offered by prospective employer
Restructuring – Elimination of Budget and Control and Board: Last week, I served on a Senate Judiciary sub-committee considering the bill (S.22) to eliminate the Budget and Control Board. This is the same bill which died in the last hour of session last June. The sub-committee meets again on the bill this coming Thursday.
Elections Mess Fix: Last Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation (S.2) so that incumbents and non-incumbents have the same filing requirements. The bill is now going to the full Senate.
Video Gambling Prohibitions: Also, last Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation (S.3) closing a loophole that allows a new form of video poker to operate in South Carolina. The “sweepstakes” video games will be illegal under the proposal. The bill now goes to the Senate floor where a filibuster is expected. It is very important that this pass this year.
USC Aiken Lady Pacers Basketball: This team is currently undefeated and ranked 4th in the nation. They play a huge game against undefeated and 3rd ranked Clayton State this Wednesday, January 16 at 5:30 pm at the USCA Convocation Center. I encourage you to attend if you can.
Latest on Cyber Attack
Experian Credit Monitoring Deadline Extended: Taxpayers now have until March 31, 2013 to sign up for protection and unlimited fraud resolution.
Notification Letters: The Governor’s office says that as of January 11, 2013, nearly 1.5 million resident letters have been mailed. About 100,000 letters are being sent every day. Approximately 3.8 million letters will be sent (includes both in-state and out-of-state affected taxpayers) by late January. Some letters are being sent by email if a taxpayer has already enrolled in identity theft protection services (ProtectMyID) and provided an email address to Experian. The deadline to enroll in ProtectMyID was extended to March 31, 2013. The deadline to enroll minor dependents, whose social security numbers may have been compromised, in Experian’s Family Secure plan is May 31, 2013. To see a sample notification letter, go here.
Consumer Affairs Recommendations: To see the SC Department of Consumer Affairs’ recommendations for what to do when there is a security breach impacting your personal identity information, go here.
Frequently Asked Questions: The Governor’s office has prepared several groups of questions and answers as indicated below by category:
- Experian Family Secure – To see those, go here.
- Cyber Attack – To see those, go here and here.
- Senior Citizens — To see those, go here.
- How to Place a Security Freeze: To see how to place a security freeze, go here.
Constituent Information
Legislative Email Updates: Locally, three members of the House of Representatives, who represent portions of Aiken County within Senate District 24, send regular email updates. Their respective contact information to get on their email lists to receive their email updates are as follows:
- Rep. Bill Hixon (Dist. 83): bill@billhixon.com
- Rep. Bill Taylor (Dist. 86): bill@taylorschouse.com
- Rep. Don Wells (Dist. 81): dwells29801@gmail.com
Speaking with Groups Around the District: If you are involved with a local group that would like for me to attend a meeting to provide a legislative update, 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 Senator 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.senatortomyoung.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.
Small Business Help – SC Dept. of Commerce: The South Carolina Department of Commerce has helpful information for small business owners and employees. To learn more, go to http://sccommerce.com/sc-business-network.
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.
Thoroughbred Country– South Carolina Regional Tourism Organization: To learn more about tourism in the four county region of Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, and Barnwell, visit www.tbredcountry.org.
Email Updates: If you know of people in or around District 24 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@senatortomyoung.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.
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