Harvey Peeler

Gov. Nikki Haley won final approval Thursday for more recorded voting in the Legislature, sparking cheers from Tea Party organizers as she delivered on a central campaign theme.

“It’s about dang time,” Columbia Tea Party organizer Allen Olson said after a 110-0 vote as the House went along with Senate changes to the recorded voting legislation. After routine ratification next week, Haley will have her signature campaign issue on her desk to sign.

In a statement, Haley called it a huge win for the people of South Carolina. “But most of all I appreciate the people of this great state who stood with me and demanded accountability from their government these last three years. Now, by force of law, the people will have it,” Haley said.

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler said it’s a big win for Haley a little over two months after taking office.

“That was her signature issue, and she was very successful with it,” said Peeler, a Gaffney Republican. “She came with a mandate to get it passed and did it.”

The Legislature takes plenty of recorded votes already, but Haley argued voters are entitled to more. The bill heading her way means roll call votes will be taken on every bill on second reading, each section of the state budget as well as when the House and Senate approve compromise versions of legislation approved by House and Senate negotiators.

The House and Senate already included those changes in their operating rules. But Haley argued state law needed to be changed, too, to make sure legislators are held accountable to more than internal procedures.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, a Charleston Republican, said the change was needed.

“A state law putting every important vote on the record will give our citizens a powerful and permanent tool to hold government officials accountable for the decisions they make,” Harrell said in a statement. “A well informed public will produce a more restrained and responsible government.”

Olson said Haley and activists forced legislators to act.

“They’re now forced to vote the way their constituents want them to, and they can’t hide their votes,” Olson said. “We can keep track and hold them accountable.”

Article courtesy of The State

A top South Carolina Senate Republican won approval Tuesday for a bill that gives employers tax breaks to spur hiring of the state’s unemployed.

The Senate Finance Committee unanimously sent a bill to the Senate floor that would give employers tax credits of $1,200 a year for hiring someone drawing unemployment benefits.

South Carolina’s 10.2 percent unemployment rate in February tied with Mississippi and Oregon as the nation’s sixth highest. The proposal would cost the state $94 million in tax collections during the next two fiscal years. Employers would be able to take the $100-per-month credit for two years.

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler said the costs would be offset by the formerly unemployed paying income taxes and coming off the state’s unemployment rolls. “And the intangible thing is people having a job and accomplishing something. I think it makes good common sense taking people off the unemployment rolls and putting them on payrolls,” said Peeler, a Gaffney Republican.

Sen. Phil Leventis, a Sumter Democrat, said the legislation didn’t provide incentives for hiring people who aren’t drawing unemployment benefits and reducing tax collections while the state still has financial problems.

Regardless of that, Sen. Billy O’Dell, a Ware Shoals Republican, said legislators need to spur hiring.

“We certainly need to get these unemployed people working if it’s at all possible,” O’Dell said.

Peeler first proposed the bill in 2009 but it died in the House as legislators worried about costs as the state revenues fell in the midst of a slow recovery from the recession.

“I hope this time they’ll look on it favorably,” Peeler said. “I think there’ll be more than enough support in the Senate to get it through the Senate again.”

Courtesy of The Associated Press

A bill called the “jump-start plan” has been jump-started in the Senate this session. Senator Harvey Peeler reintroduced a measure that died in the House in the past session after it passed in the Senate. The measure sets up a tax break for businesses who hire people who are on unemployment:

AUDIO: Peeler explains the tax payout (:27)

The bill passed the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday and the senator from Cherokee says it is one way to help boost the economy. Opponents say it has a high economic impact up front by granting a tax break. Peeler says the measure will pay off in many ways:

AUDIO: Peeler says what he is calling the jumpstart bill can become one part of the state’s recovery (:21)

The key, says Peeler, “is getting people off the unemployment rolls and onto payrolls.”

Courtesy of the South Carolina Radio Network

Dwayne Goins said he thinks his chances of finding work in this bad economy only get better if the state starts kicking drug users off the unemployment benefit rolls.

If employers have to spend less money on unemployment benefit taxes, Goins of Walterboro reasons that they will have more money to hire people like him.

He’s been out of work for four months and is desperate to earn a paycheck to support his wife and 6-month-old daughter. Goins said he will take a drug test any day, any time.

South Carolina is one of more than 20 states where lawmakers are trying this year to make drug testing a condition for receiving public assistance, including unemployment benefits, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Bills have been introduced in Georgia and North Carolina to conduct random drug testing for certain public assistance programs. Meanwhile, similar legislation filed this year in other states such as Kentucky already has been defeated.

The question is whether such legislation is constitutional.

S.C. Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler drafted a bill that calls on companies to alert the state when an individual fails a drug test as part of the hiring process. As the bill is drafted now, individuals who fail a drug test or refuse to take one would lose their benefits.

Peeler said he thinks his plan gets around the constitutional concerns.

“If they’re not eligible to work, how can they be eligible to draw unemployment benefits? I think it’s goes hand-in-hand. If it’s illegal, it’s illegal,” said Peeler, R-Gaffney.

On Wednesday, a subcommittee sent the legislation to the full Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee for a vote next week.

Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, declined through a spokesman to take a position on the bill, but she said on the campaign trail that she liked the idea.

She said in October that people who apply for unemployment benefits in South Carolina should submit to a drug test as a way to make sure the system is more accountable to taxpayers and businesses.

Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, has successfully helped push back attempts for the state to pass similar legislation in past years.

“Is this like ‘Groundhog Day’? Don’t we have this conversation every year? It’s unconstitutional,” Hutto said.

First, Hutto said, the matter isn’t even an issue because people who are fired for using drugs can’t collect unemployment benefits. Second, he said, the concept of requiring those who receive benefits to take a drug test violates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which guards against unreasonable searches.

Hutto said for that reason, passing such a bill will only result in the state getting sued.

“It’s just people playing politics when they ought to be focused on the real issues,” Hutto said.

Sen. Kevin Bryant, R- Anderson, said the No. 1 goal of the bill is to discourage drug use. He has led the debate on the legislation and has tried to navigate around the constitutional land mines.

Any action will be under particular scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Labor, given the trend across the country to limit access to benefits.

Lawmakers still must work out some issues with the bill. For instance, employers would be required to report to the state Department of Employment and Workforce when individuals fail drug tests, but lawmakers haven’t sorted out how to enforce the requirement.

Bryant noted that it would be in the best interest of employers to notify the state. That’s because not paying for drug users to draw down benefits will go toward lowering the premiums businesses must pay per worker toward the unemployment benefits trust fund.

The trust fund, which has been insolvent in recent years, pays out the benefits.

Neil Whitman, president Dunhill Staffing Systems of Charleston, said he wants the state to go as far as it can in denying benefits to drug users. That will help businesses that are struggling to cope with a dramatic increase this year in the taxes paid per worker for the benefits, he said.

The increase in taxes this year for his company jumped from $86.80 per worker to $602.20.

Fixing the system starts with providing benefits only to people are deserve it, and that does not include drug users, he said.

“I am sorry; we need to cut them off,” Whitman said.

Courtesy of The Post and Courier

South Carolina legislators say the state should spend up to $94 million during the next two years on tax credits encouraging businesses to hire people collecting unemployment checks.

The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday approved a bill that would give employers up to $1,200 a year in tax credits for making such hires.

South Carolina’s 10.2 percent unemployment rate in February tied with Mississippi and Oregon as the nation’s sixth highest.

Senate Republican Leader Harvey Peeler of Gaffney said his bill is a good start at creating jobs.

The legislation reduces state tax collections by $31 million in the fiscal year that begins in July and $63 million in the following fiscal year.

Peeler first proposed the bill in 2009 but it died in the House.

Courtesy of The Associated Press

About four years ago, we passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that placed South Carolina at the forefront on tackling illegal immigration at the state level. Newspapers were even calling it “the toughest immigration law in the nation.” But, and this will surprise some people, there’s only so much we can do. The law was predicated on laws that were already on the federal books. Thanks to Nancy Pelosi and Washington Democrats, those laws came under attack and put our state — and nation — in the position they are now.

With Republicans now in control of the House, some progress can be made, but the damage is done. The federal government dropped the ball on illegal immigration. It has a constitutional responsibility to secure our borders. It’s the feds’ job to pretty much run the show on all immigration matters, from borders to naturalization and everything in between, including detaining illegals.

Believe it or not, the federal government is trying to pass off its foul-ups onto the states. It is trying to craft a solution on the backs of South Carolina taxpayers. Illegal immigrants detained by law enforcement should be placed in federal facilities, since it is a job of the federal government. That’s not happening. In South Carolina, it’s falling to our state prison system. Our revenues are stretched beyond capacity as it is — South Carolinians shouldn’t be footing the bill for what the feds should, but aren’t, doing.

We’re still doing what we can, though. It does our state no good to sit back and point fingers at Washington while letting the problem persist. That’s why I’m joining Sen. Larry Grooms and 19 other co-sponsors on a new immigration reform measure, one that’s on its way this week to getting a vote in the full Senate. The issue that led us here is that the federal government didn’t live up to its obligation to protect its citizens. Now states have to take action to protect their borders.

That bill, S. 20, takes new steps to give law enforcement the leeway to investigate the residency status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if the officer or agency has reasonable suspicion to do so. The bill also makes it illegal in this state for undocumented workers to ask for work or attempt to ask for work. The Democrats have been going about their usual activity of delaying common sense conservative reform, but I’m confident we’ll be moving it out of the Senate in due course.

Of course, before that happens, the entire Senate gets a chance to amend the bill on second reading. That got me to thinking about tinkering with what was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last month. Maybe there needs to be an amendment on there. One that gets the job done here in South Carolina and sends a message to the federal government that we aren’t going to take its lackadaisical immigration enforcement anymore.

Let’s allow law enforcement to go about enforcing the immigration laws, then bus detained illegals to Washington and drop them off on the Capitol steps.

Now that everyone’s had a good chuckle, I’m not intending on becoming the latest South Carolinian to appear in a late-night TV monologue. But I am serious about the problem of illegal immigration in our state and the feds’ lack of resolve to do anything about it. S. 20 is a good bill and should be passed. However, we cannot forget to keep the pressure up on the federal government to live up to its constitutional duty.

Gov. Haley praises Peeler, Martin and their colleagues for listening to the people of South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Nikki Haley today issued the following statement after South Carolina Senate passage of H. 3004 to put legislative votes on the record:

“This is an exciting day for South Carolina. We have long said rules protect legislators; laws protect the people. Senate passage of this bill was a huge step forward to change the face of how we conduct business in our state in the eyes of the country. By passing this bill, the House and Senate clarify that we believe the people, not elected officials, are in charge. I want to personally thank Sen. Harvey Peeler, Sen. Larry Martin, and the Senators who supported this bill for their courage, fight and humility.”

Below is an op-ed I recently wrote. Please let me know what you think about this issue by visiting my Facebook page and leaving a comment. Thank you!

Three years ago, we passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that placed South Carolina at the forefront on tackling illegal immigration at the state level. Newspapers were even calling it “the toughest immigration law in the nation.” But – and this will surprise some people – there’s only so much we can do. The law was predicated on laws that were already on the federal books. Thanks to Nancy Pelosi and Washington Democrats, those laws came under attack and put our state — and nation — in the position we are in now.

With Republicans now in control of the U.S. House of Representatives, some progress can be made, but the damage has been done. The federal government has a constitutional responsibility to secure our borders, and it’s ultimately the job of the feds to run the show on immigration matters. From protecting our borders to detaining illegal aliens and everything in between, the federal government has failed us.

Believe it or not, the federal government is trying to pass off its foul-ups onto the states. It is trying to craft a solution on the backs of South Carolina taxpayers. Illegal immigrants detained by law enforcement should be placed in federal facilities, since it is a responsibility of the federal government. That’s not happening. In South Carolina, the burden is placed on our state prison system. Our revenues are stretched beyond capacity as it is — South Carolinians shouldn’t be footing the bill for what the feds should, but aren’t, doing.

We’re still doing what we can, though. It does our state no good to sit back and point fingers at Washington while letting the problem persist. That’s why I’m joining Sen. Larry Grooms and 19 other co-sponsors on a new immigration reform measure, one that was passed by the Senate. The issue that led us here is that the federal government didn’t live up to its obligation to protect its citizens. Now states have to take action to protect their borders.

That bill, S. 20, takes new steps to give law enforcement the authority to verify the residency status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if the officer or agency has reasonable suspicion to do so. The bill also allows any agent of the state to take the necessary steps to verify the immigration status before determining eligibility for any public program, benefit or service provided by the federal, state or local government. Senate Democrats went about their usual activity of delaying conservative reform, but common sense eventually won out.

I am serious about the problem of illegal immigration in our state and the feds’ lack of resolve to do anything about it. Senate Bill 20 is a good bill and should be passed by the House. However, we cannot forget to keep the pressure on the federal government to live up to its constitutional duty to protect our borders.

South Carolina legislators have postponed a meeting to consider giving businesses a tax break to hire unemployed workers.

The proposal would allow businesses to take a tax credit for hiring a South Carolina resident who’s been out of work for at least a month. Businesses could claim up to $2,400 per worker over two years. It would break down to a $100 per worker for each month the worker remains in the job, for up to 24 months.

The state’s jobless rate was 10.5 percent in January.

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler’s bill was up for debate Tuesday by a Senate subcommittee, but the meeting was postponed as the full Senate continued debating roll call voting.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously last year and died in the House.

Courtesy of the Associated Press

The fight against the unfair point-of-sale tax is moving in the right direction with the introduction of a bill in the Senate to repeal the tax. The lead sponsor of the legislation is Sen. Paul Campbell, who is joined by Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler. It effectively eliminates point-of-sale and puts South Carolina back on the right track. In the House, Rep. Jim Merrill submitted a companion bill, H. 3713.

“Point-of-sale was a consequence of Act 388 that needed to be remedied,” Campbell said. “It’s been a hindrance to economic growth in this state and I’m looking do something about it.”

Point-of-sale is an increased levy on property sales that goes to municipal governments. In reality, taxes on one particular piece of property could be much higher than an identical piece of property depending entirely on when it is bought. These inflated taxes are causing some people and businesses to forgo buying a house or commercial property. Instead, those potential buyers and businesses are moving to other states.

“Not only is the tax inherently unfair, it’s an impediment to getting South Carolina’s real estate market back on good footing,” Peeler said. “We need to do everything we can to get that economic engine running again.”