The final bill passed the Senate late Wednesday night. I voted against this bill yet its passage sends it to the House which may improve the legislation. The Democrats filibustering the bill accepted this compromise. That alone tells me there’s a skunk in the woodshed. Here’s what stinks about the current bill: THIS ONLY APPLIES TO NEW HIRES!
Here’s the summary:
All employers (public & private) will be required to follow verification methods:
1-E-Verify
2-SC-Verify
-a new enforceable state verification system – enforceable by LLR
-a paper version of e-verify
-LLR must conduct random audits of employment records & audits upon the filing of a written complain
3-SC drivers license
Penalties
-felony and civil fines for “knowingly  and intentionally hiring an illegal”
-withholding penalties of 7% until valid verification
-denies business tax deductions on wages and benefits paid
-Federal penalties will be added on top of the state penalties
-additional state penalties from a technical violation starting at $100 to a third occurrence starting at $3,000 for each illegal hired

                               
                                 
On Wednesday, April 30, 2008, the spending caps bill (S. 718) has been amended by finance committee to:“When the balance in the Budget Stabilization Fund is greater than 15% of the prior year’s actual general fund revenue collection, 50% of the overage must be used for debt retirement and 50% must be used for capital improvement projects.”

In my opinion adding to capital improvement projects would be adding to a slush fund, which in turn, spending is not capped at all.

I agree with the Budget Stabilization Fund. It keeps us from the current roller coaster ride of up and down years. But with this committee amendment, the ride keeps going up at a sharp incline.

Greenville’s channel 4, covered this public meeting about government transparency!
                 
Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom called me this weekend with the unfortunate news of a death in his family. He will be attending a funeral Monday morning so he will be absent at our meeting on Monday at the Bagel Shop at noon. The Comptroller’s Chief of Staff, Nathan Kaminski, Jr., Esq. will be in Anderson at the Bagel Shop, however. As you may know already, the Comptroller’s office has offered to assist any local government with online reporting should my transparency proviso survive the SC House and the Budget Conference Committee.

          
Today, Sen. Jim Ritchie placed an objection on the whole calendar until another attempt is made at meaningful immigration reform. This means that the Senate will not take up any legislation until this matter is debated once again. We’ve found a new “vehicle” House bill H. 3032. Since this bill has passed the SC House already, we have the chance to beef up a piece of legislation, send it to the House. H. 3032 cannot amend this bill, only vote to “concur” or “non-concur”.
               
Sen. Ritchie has drafted a “strike-and-insert” amendment that inserts strict definitions of legal status of workers. I am also a sponsor of this amendment which will require all employers, whether State contract or not, to use either the e-verify or a SC drivers license to determine employees status. This is a great step in the direction of true immigration reform. A document called the “i9” is currently being used to verify status. This “i9” is virtually a joke (explained here), since the requirements to obtain an i9 are so lenient.

A pdf stands for portable document format. This format is commonly used when sending documents created in programs such as Word or Excel. If you send the original document, the recipient may not see the information as intended. Screen settings, printer settings, and other issues cause these differences. pdf’s can be created from any program, such as Quickbooks, Microsoft Money, or any professional book keeping software. It is very simple to create a pdf and post it on the web. primo pdf maker is a free download. pdf maker installs as if it were a printer. You simply click on “print” and select “primo” as your printer and boom you have a pdf.

If you have been following the recent debate, I’ve sponsored bills and provisos to require government agencies to post their expenditures online. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom has verified this is being done already with over 70 agencies at not cost. I don’t know if the Comptroller’s office is using primo pdf maker or not, but I thought ya’ll would like the information.