Harvey Peeler

I-85, Exit 92 to honor Lance Cpl Christopher Fowlkes

Columbia, SC – February 7, 2012 – Senator Harvey Peeler today announced that the state Senate has passed S.1000, a concurrent resolution to memorialize a local hero.

Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Fowlkes, a United States Marine, was killed in action on September 10, 2009 in Afghanistan.

S.1000 notes that Lance Cpl. Fowlkes was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He served two tours, the first in Iraq and the second in Afghanistan. It also notes there being “no greater or more courageous sacrifice a man can make than to lay down his life for a noble cause, as Lance Corporal Christopher S. Fowlkes has done.”

Once S.1000 is agreed to by the House, Exit 92 on I-85 in Cherokee County will be named “The Lance Corporal Christopher S. Fowlkes Memorial Interchange.”

“In all my life, never have I seen so much pride and sorrow expressed at one time,” Senator Harvey Peeler said. “While we can never come close to repaying his sacrifice, this bill is one small way we can honor his courage and the courage of many other brave South Carolinians like him.”

S.C. Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler discusses Gov. Haley’s State of the State address.

We live in a great nation, one that divides the power between the states and the federal government. Our founding fathers believed that by sharing the governing power, liberties of each individual would best be protected.

Over two centuries later, the federal government has grown well beyond the size and scope that was originally envisioned. With the federal government ever growing and increasing in its bureaucratic complexity, more and more important issues are not adequately being resolved.

These issues are falling through the cracks in federal government even though citizens are demanding action. Lacking anywhere else to turn, state legislatures across the country have been left with the burden to pass laws and try to handle issues that are clearly the federal government’s responsibility.

This problem is clearly demonstrated in the illegal immigration debate. States across the nation have been forced by the inaction in Washington to actually do something about this growing problem.

All state leaders agree: immigration laws and reform would clearly be best handled at a national level. That way a unified policy can help to secure our nation’s borders instead of a patchwork of laws across the nation.

However, if those in Washington aren’t going to secure our national borders, states have the right and responsibility to their citizens to set immigration policy within their own borders. While by no means perfect, it is clearly the only option left.

That is why it is so frustrating to see the U.S. Justice Department attack South Carolina’s response to the federal government’s inaction. By trying to stop South Carolina’s immigration law from taking effect, the Justice department is only adding to the problem.

Instead of attacking South Carolina, they should be devoting their energies to developing a nationwide solution to this national problem. Once they have adequately addressed this problem on a national scale, there will be no need for state-by-state immigration policies.

The fact of the matter is that immigration is an important issue to our state and our country. We are a nation founded by immigrants looking for ways to better themselves and their families. By not addressing the illegal immigration problem, we are lowering the value of legal immigration for all immigrants.

The citizens of South Carolina and many other states around the country have demanded action. Without any leadership from Washington, citizens have turned to their state governments. Until those in D.C. decide to move on this issue, they must support the states in taking an active role in solving this national problem.

We expect the federal government to be slow. They are slow to react to crisis situations and sometimes wait to the last second to “fix” our nation’s most pressing problems, many of which were caused by their previous last-minute actions in the first place.

One needs to look no further than the recent debt ceiling fiasco back in August for an example at how inept our federal government can be. While they knew for months that we would reach the debt ceiling, they waited and sat on their hands until the last minute to fix the problem.

Unfortunately, this slow reaction speed doesn’t seem to be limited to Washington, DC. Here in South Carolina, our Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) did not react fast enough to ban dangerous drugs sitting on store shelves, available to anyone.

Over a month ago, I asked DHEC to issue emergency regulations to ban both bath salts (synthetic cocaine) and spice (synthetic marijuana). Both of these substances can be found in many stores across the state and can mimic the effects of illegal drugs except with much harsher and more dangerous side effects. Users often experience agitation, paranoia, hallucinations, chest pain, and even suicidal thoughts and actions, forcing many to seek medical attention after just one use.

Both bath salts and spice are relatively new on the drug market. Doctors currently do not have a way to test to see if a person has taken them and must rely on a person’s honesty. Without the truth, doctors can misdiagnose the symptoms and the user can suffer side effects long after they have stopped taking the drug.

DHEC took no official action for over a month following my request. With no statewide guidance, many cities and counties were forced to move quickly to ban the dangerous substances within their limited jurisdictions. Surprisingly, even the federal government moved forward and enacted a nationwide ban within this time period. However, no statewide policy was set until Monday of this past week.

Sadly, all of the bans have either been too small in geographical scope or have come too late. Earlier this month, a 19-year-old Anderson University student died after using synthetic marijuana. Many other people who used these two substances had horrible reactions to them including episodes of severe paranoia that caused them to put themselves and others in physical danger.

I am under no illusions that a ban by a government agency will end drug use. However, a ban does reduce the availability of these harmful substances and clearly communicates the physical and legal consequences that result from their use.

The great thing about our country is that states can react quickly to issues affecting their populace and don’t have to wait for national rulings from the federal government. With this issue, our state failed and did not take advantage of this benefit. In the future, our state agencies must act faster to successfully address crises that face our state in order to protect our citizens and ultimately save lives.

Tomorrow I’m giving a flag to Bethany Elementary School for their prestigious honor of becoming the highest achieving Distinguished Title 1 School. This isn’t the first time that Bethany has been noticed for its outstanding academics. Last year, the school won the state’s Closing the Achievement Gap award.

Bethany will now compete against other states at the National Title I Conference for the top award in the nation.

Can’t wait to meet with the teacher and students tomorrow. Bethany Elementary, you make York County proud!

I had a great night at our first community workshop!

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the most heinous attack perpetrated against innocent Americans on our soil. These attacks in New York and D.C. set into motion a chain of events that altered the course of our country. We’ll never be the same as a nation, and we should always take time to remember the sacrifices made on that day.

September 11 made everyday Americans stand up and take action. This bravery started with the actions of the men and women on United Flight 93, who stopped the hijackers from killing any more innocent Americans on the ground. This bravery has continued with our soldiers and law enforcement officers fighting around the world to protect our home.

Today, please take the time to remember all the sacrifices that occurred on that early Tuesday morning in September. Please remember all the sacrifices that families have made in the ten years since that day. Most importantly, please remember that Americans are still making sacrifices today and will continue to do so in the future.

With each year’s passing, we must never forget. Please join me today in remembering and offering thanks to the brave men and women who protected us on September 11 and who protect us today.

Sincerely,

Harvey Peeler

The South Carolina State Legislature has finally adjourned, ending the first of a two-year session. A lot was accomplished over the past eight months, as the Senate Republican Caucus was able to successfully work with Governor Nikki Haley to pass many needed conservative reforms. Together, we passed legislation that helps make South Carolina a more conservative and business friendly place to live, limiting the role of state government in your life while President Obama and his Washington allies continue to grow government at the federal level.

With the conclusion of the 2010 census, state legislatures were tasked to redraw congressional lines to represent shifts in population growth. This year, South Carolina gained a congressional seat meaning a whole new district would have to be created from parts of previous districts. The House and Senate were able to work together to pass a compromise congressional redistricting plan that places a new conservative 7th district in the Pee Dee region of the state. After watching the debt ceiling fight in Washington this week, I am more proud than ever that my friend Mick Mulvaney will remain our Congressman.

Transparency has been a major issue on both a state and national level and we’ve heard your loud demands. To give you the ability to know how we vote, we passed a new law mandating a roll call vote on every bill. This was Governor Haley’s signature piece of legislation and I was proud to be the lead sponsor. During her State of the State address, Governor Haley asked the South Carolina Senate to quickly approve her cabinet appointments. We did exactly as she asked; we promptly interviewed, researched and approved a full slate of strong agency directors. She promised to reform government and we’re going to help her accomplish her mission.

One of our top priorities this year was tort reform, and I’m happy to announce the passage of the “South Carolina Fairness in Civil Justice Act of 2011”. This was the main priority of South Carolina’s business organizations and I was the main sponsor in the Senate. With its signing into law, South Carolina has taken another step towards creating a healthier business climate by protecting companies from runaway lawsuit awards. By cutting from twenty-six to twenty weeks of unemployment benefits and using excess state revenue to responsibly pay down our debt to the federal government, we were also able to give South Carolina businesses a much-needed tax cut of 24% on their unemployment tax bills.

In the next election cycle, voters will have to bring a valid form of identification to the polls. The Senate and the House were able to pass a version that requires voters to present a valid form of ID to vote while leaving current absentee voting laws unchanged. With its passage, South Carolina has taken a needed step to secure elections from voter fraud.

With the federal government immobile on the issue of true immigration reform, it has been left to the states to individually address this national issue. Senate Republicans took the lead by offering a bill similar to the recent Arizona law that authorizes state or local law enforcement officers to determine the citizenship of anyone who has been legally stopped, detained, or arrested. Issues like these are truly a distraction to state legislatures who should be able to devote their time to removing roadblocks that hinder the state’s economic growth and success, but often times we have to clean up Washington’s mess.

Helping property sales was also a priority in the Senate. By passing a point-of-sale bill, the legislature discounted the taxable value of a property by 25% of the sale price. A 2006 law placed the taxable value of a property at the price at which it was sold, a practice that many in the real estate community believed was hurting home sales. While the new law applies only to properties such as retail, apartments and second homes, this discount was put into place to ease the burden on those who saw no relief from the changes made in 2006.

In the past year, Amazon announced that it was considering building a fulfillment center in South Carolina. To give Amazon an incentive to bring jobs to the area, the South Carolina legislature passed a compromise that exempted Amazon from collecting taxes until January 1, 2016, at which point the exemption would expire. South Carolina residents are still required to report sales tax on items purchased from Amazon, even if the company does not collect them. In the legislation, Amazon is required to send an email, notifying South Carolina purchasers of this fact.

There is still a lot of work to be done once the South Carolina General Assembly reconvenes next year. Both chambers will need to focus on capping government spending growth and restructuring government to be more efficient. Two areas already being looked at to accomplish this are the phasing out of the Budget & Control Board and combining the Governor and Lieutenant Governor onto one campaign ticket.

As we move forward into the next year, we cannot forget the successes of this past session and how they were achieved. The House, Senate, and Governor were able to work together to pass many conservative reforms that will help jumpstart economic recovery. From tort reform to redistricting, many issues were debated, with solidly conservative and business friendly solutions being reached. Our fight is far from over and I look forward to tackling more conservative reforms in January.