The Senate is in session for 2013. I hope that you find this update helpful and informative. If I can help you with an issue, please let me know.
Ethics Reform Recommendations Released: Yesterday, the South Carolina Commission on Ethics Reform recommended strengthening state ethics, election, campaign finance and public records laws in its final report. To see the report, go here.
Restructuring – Elimination of Budget and Control and Board: Senate Judiciary Committee passed 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 bill will be on the Senate floor today at noon.
Elections – Ballot Upheaval Fix: The full Senate gave final approval to legislation (S.2) to correct the election issues which we saw across the state last year. The fix includes changes so that incumbents and non-incumbents have the same filing requirements. The bill now goes to the House.
Business Groups Release Plan for Improving Roads: Last week, South Carolina’s business community released a plan for the General Assembly to begin addressing funding needs for the state’s infrastructure. Fourteen associations support the plan which addresses three major improvement areas: Interstate Expansion ($2.8 billion), Bridges ($2 billion) and Resurfacing ($1.2 billion). To see the plan, go here.
Chukker Creek School Traffic: The Aiken County School District, SCDOT, and the Aiken County Transportation Committee jointly developed a plan to address traffic congestion. The proposal is to lengthen the car pick up and drop off line. The 1,800-foot-long extension to the existing car line allows for two more lanes as well as 40 additional parking spaces. The City of Aiken City Council approved the plan last night.
Save for College – Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan: South Carolina’s 529 College Savings Plan Future Scholar offers special tax benefits for South Carolina residents including:
- Tax –deductible contributions from your state income tax return;
- Tax-deferred growth potential year after year;
- Tax-free withdrawals provided that funds are used for qualified higher education expenses.
To learn more or to enroll, go to www.FutureScholar.com/parents. More than 5,000 South Carolina families signed up for the program in 2012. Currently, there are 63,481 South Carolinians enrolled and more than $1 billion invested by SC residents.
Aiken County Legislative Delegation Meeting: The Aiken County Legislative Delegation meets Monday, February 4 at 5:00 pm at the Aiken County Council Chambers. To learn more, call Jeannie at 642-1694.
Important Cyber Attack Information
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 about 100,000 letters are being sent every day to affected taxpayers. 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.
Request a Flag: If you would like to request a state or U.S. flag flown over the State Capitol in Columbia, please let me know at tom@senatortomyoung.com. Flags vary in cost according to their size and their material from which they are made.
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.
Also, South Carolina has been elected runner-up in the 2012 State of the Year competition. Read the full article here.
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