Uncategorized

Mar 29 2012

s. 1354 gets 2nd reading

s.1354 requires the SC Attorney General to post cease and desist notices involving securities brokers online. The bill was amendment to include the following requirement:

… in the same manner as a judgment of the court. A copy of a final order must be forwarded to the South Carolina Department of Revenue and the South Carolina Secretary of State’s Office.

If the Attorney General has reason to believe that a matter subject to an order issued pursuant to this section would constitute a violation of federal law, he may notify the appropriate federal agency with jurisdiction over the matter.

Several attorneys in the Senate (Martin L., Hutto, Malloy, & Rose) offered some guidance in this matter.

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 28 2012

s.1125 auto disq for fired employees passes unanimously 2nd reading

1125 Committee Amendment sponsors: Scott and Bryant
The Committee amendment strikes each instance of the word “cause” and inserts the word “misconduct”. The US DOL does not recognize the word “cause” but does recognize the word “misconduct”.
The amendment mandates that termination for misconduct results in a full disqualification, i.e. twenty weeks.
The amendment defines “misconduct” as does the US Department of Labor.
The amendment maintains the discretion of DEW to award benefits in the event of “extreme hardship, emergency, sickness, or other extraordinary circumstance”. It also directs that, “mere inefficiency, unsatisfactory conduct, failure in good performance as the result of inability or incapacity, inadvertencies, or ordinary negligence in isolated instances, or good-faith errors in judgment or discretion are not misconduct for the purposes of this item.”
Section 2 ensures that in the event that an employee is disqualified and then separated from future employment and eligible for benefits, those benefits will not be charged to the employer who fired the person.
Section 3 provides that if benefits are found to be fraudulent, then the employer will not be charged. Those charges previously were removed only if the money was recovered from the employee that committed fraud.

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 26 2012

not easy being green…but pink?

H. 4639 – I cannot in good conscience support a measure that surrenders SC’s home owners to any kind of international codes regardless of how good or bad they may be.

This bill improves standards for increased energy efficiency in home constructions. What’s wrong with that? It is not governments role to tell you how much shredded newspaper or fiberglass you put in your attic! It’s yours remember?

Here is a perfect example of how the legislature takes a very good idea (I’m all for saving money on your gas and electric bill) and forces this decision on the citizenry.

It slaps the owner of property in her/his face in the name of “green”. I’m getting sick of all these “green” initiatives.

It is not, nor never should be the role of government to tell you how to live your own life in your own house.

I apologize for my rant, but I voted against this bill on 2nd reading and asked for a role call vote on 3rd reading (not required) so I could vote NAY twice on this bill.

Ayes: Alexander, Campsen, Courson, Hutto, Land, Lourie, Matthews, Peeler, Reese, Setzler, Anderson, Cleary, Elliott, Jackson, Leatherman, Malloy, McGill, Pinckney, Ryberg, Sheheen, Campbell, Coleman, Hayes, Knotts, Leventis, Martin (Larry), Nicholson, Rankin, Scott, Williams

Nays: Bright, Davis, Grooms, Rose, Bryant, Fair, Martin (Shane), Shoopman, Cromer, Gregory, Massey, Verdin

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 23 2012

sugar plums dancing?

Thursday, March 22 the BEA met to report on the FY 2011-12 collections and estimate for FY 2012-13. For the year, revenues are $207.1 (3.4%) million over last year’s collections. The BEA took no action on the November estimate for FY 2012-1.

If I remember correctly, this “new money” is discovered while the budget travels from the House to the Senate every year.

I can see the trough dwellers’ dreams of new spending like visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads. Or, can we try to repair the damage to future generations by paying on the $ 32 billion debt they will inherit?

Do you think the Senate will take this money for tax cuts or debt payment? One can only hope.

I’ll be the blue guy…

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 22 2012

ABC Investigation meeting Monday 03.26.2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sen. Kevin Bryant 864-202-8394, Rep. Joshua Putnam 864-238-9431
Sen. Bryant, Rep. Putnam, and U.S. and S.C. Law Enforcement Agencies
Atlantic Bullion and Coin meeting
Monday, March 26, 2012 7pm
Powdersville Campus, Tri-County Technical College
1774 Powdersville Road, Easley South Carolina

Columbia SC – Sen. Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) and Rep. Joshua Putnam (R-Anderson) will host an information gathering session with constituents affected by the recent investigation of Atlantic Bullion and Coin. The U. S. Secret Service is the agency of authority in this investigation. The Secret Service will be represented at this meeting. Also in attendance will be representation from the S. C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Office of S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson, and the Office of Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper.

Also, Sen. Bryant and Rep. Putnam will make brief remarks about recently submitted legislation require public notices of cease and desist orders for investment brokers.

The meeting will be at the Powdersville Campus of Tri-County Technical College,

Please remember that investigative agencies will not be able to provide critical details, however, input from affected parties will help expedite this process.

All media outlets are invited, however, we ask that constituents identities not be disclosed without their consent.

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 22 2012

I goofed

S.1356 was a Senate Resolution to encourage Congress to extend Ex-Im. Ex-Im, as it is known, is a federal program that gives politically appointed executives power to lend mainly to foreign companies that buy American products and services. Started decades ago with a lending cap of $5 million, like all federal programs its grown over time and now has a taxpayer subsidized $100 billion cap. Senate Democrats want to further expand it by 40% to $140 billion. Ex-Im also has specific mandates to subsidize politically-popular causes like green energy.

As I posted earlier, I applaud Sen. Jim Demint’s efforts in killing the Ex-Im extention.

During Session on Wednesday, I was in a conversation with Attorney General Staff concerning the ABC investigation. There was a roll call vote for S.1356 I misunderstood that the vote was for something else and voted “aye”.

Senate Resolutions are only suggestions to Congress, so I hope y’all will give me a mulligan.

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 22 2012

DEW director Turner “I am totally behind S. 1125″

S. 1125 disqaulifies employees from unemployment benefits that have been terminated for misconduct. Many thanks to General Turner for his endorsement of S. 1125.

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 21 2012

Anderson Quick Jobs Development Center groundbreaking

Funded by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission through the S.C. Department of Commerce and by Tri-County Technical College, the new 5,720 square-foot QuickJobs Development Center will include three classrooms, offices, and a lab/shop area. Training will be designed through the College’s Corporate and Community Education Division and include a wide variety of QuickJobs programs to provide individuals with the skills necessary to be competitive in the job market or advance in the workplace. In addition, the Center will offer customized training for area businesses and industries.

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 21 2012

jMint: importing cronyism

Export competitiveness, import cronyism: The case against Ex-Im By Jim DeMint

There are two kinds of companies who receive corporate welfare from Washington: successful businesses that don’t need it, and unsuccessful companies that don’t deserve it.

Everything else you hear from politicians when corporate welfare comes up – rhetoric about public-private partnerships, about matching Europe’s subsidies of foreign competitors – is a big shiny ball waved around to distract you from the truth that they are mortgaging our children’s and grandchildren’s future to subsidize the politically-connected.

This was the case with Solyndra, the infamously bankrupt solar-panel manufacturer who turned close political ties to the Obama Administration into more than $500 million in sweetheart loan guarantees.

It was the case with the auto bailouts, in which President Obama repaid the massive contributions union bosses made to his 2008 campaign by bailing out and then handing over to them two free car companies.

It has also been the case with taxpayer subsidies to Enron, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, General Motors and Chrysler, Wall Street — and even Greece! Washington bailouts and subsidies don’t make industries stronger. They pick winners and losers, create unintended consequences for American workers, and often end in expensive failures.

The push to reauthorize and increase the Export/Import Bank is the latest example.

Ex-Im, as it is known, is a federal program that gives politically appointed executives power to lend mainly to foreign companies that buy American products and services. Started decades ago with a lending cap of $5 million, like all federal programs its grown over time and now has a taxpayer subsidized $100 billion cap. Senate Democrats want to further expand it by 40% to $140 billion. Ex-Im also has specific mandates to subsidize politically-popular causes like green energy.

What’s wrong with this? In principle, it’s wrong because all companies – foreign and domestic – should compete on a level playing field, so that success goes to those companies who offer the best products and services at the lowest prices.

In free market finance, we all benefit as businesses compete for investment that follows those with the best innovations, highest quality, at a price buyers are willing to pay.

Not so with government-run finance where funding decisions are made more often based on politics instead of economics. That’s why corporate welfare is so inefficient.

It was just this kind of political mischief that spurred banks to make subprime mortgage loans and led General Motors to make an unpopular, expensive, flammable electric car – all the while putting taxpayers on the hook for the losses.

It also explains why Ex-Im has financed over $10 million in loans benefitting Solyndra before it went bankrupt and even financed over $600 million in loans to Enron projects before Ken Lay went to prison. In 2010, General Electric made $150 billion in profit, paid no corporate taxes but was helped by over $1 billion in Ex-Im loans that same year. Ex-Im even made loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a solar company to sell solar panels — to itself.

But more importantly, this is why corporate welfare is so unfair. For every company that benefits, there are a dozen competitors who suddenly find themselves at a disadvantage in the marketplace.

It’s no surprise then that Ex-Im’s loans have come under increased scrutiny for hurting thousands of jobs in the American airline industry. In fact, Ex-Im is required by Congress to conduct reviews on how their loans to foreign companies could endanger American jobs, but in over 90% of the loans, these reviews are never performed.

And what’s worse, Washington sends competitors the signal that the easiest way to get ahead isn’t to make better companies, but to lobby Congress for special taxpayer benefits.

And so a vicious cycle emerges. Washington’s attempt to centrally manage the economy not only transfers wealth from taxpayers to corporations, it takes those corporations’ eye off the ball, dulling our economy’s competitive edge and slowly making America less and less competitive in the increasingly competitive global market.

Is it fair that foreign countries subsidize their companies? No. But, America didn’t become the world’s strongest economy by trying to out-socialize Europe, and we won’t win the future by picking winners and losers with taxpayer dollars. The American way to address subsidized foreign companies is to beat them in the free market.

If foreign competitors can’t get by without subsidies, it means they can’t compete with our best. And if we’ve reached the point where America admits that our best can’t beat theirs, all the subsidies in the world won’t save us.

Congress should stop the corporate welfare gimmicks and get serious about our real problems. America now has an unsustainable $15 trillion debt and soon the developed world’s highest corporate tax rate, economic anchors dragging our economy down that cannot be remedied by taxpayer subsidies for a few industries. If the President and Democrats in Congress really want to help American companies to compete globally, they’ll help Republicans reform the tax code, reduce burdensome regulations, and repeal Obamacare that is crippling businesses and will bankrupt our nation.

In a free market, all businesses are equal, and everybody wins. In a crony capitalist market, some businesses are more equal than others, and before long, everyone loses.

Jim DeMint is a Republican U.S. Senator from South Carolina.

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •

Mar 17 2012

legislation proposal: investor’s cease & desist orders should be public

I’m sure you’ve read recently of an investigation of investments fraud. Even though no formal charges or arrests have been made, It’s not pre-mature to consider the fact that there is no requirement for cease and desist orders to be made public. In this particular case, a cease and desist order was made back in 1996 to stop representing investors, however, the public was not informed.

The General Assembly needs to consider legislation requiring the Attorney General to make any cease and desist orders that have been given to anyone selling investment products to be a public broadcast. Also, related agencies (Department of Revenue, Consumer Affairs, US Securities Exchange Commission, etc.) should be notified. This will give our citizens the information they need when considering who they will trust with their money.

Also, Representative Joshua Putnam (R-Anderson) is introducing a companion bill in the South Carolina House. We are working over the weekend with House and Senate Attorneys and Attorney General Wilson’s Office for appropriate language.

Affected customers may contact my office at (803.212.6024), Putnam’s (803.212.6931) or Sandra Matthews at the Attorney General’s office (803.734.9916).

By Kevin Bryant • Uncategorized •