Columbia SC – Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test was pronounced dead today in the chamber of the South Carolina Senate. PACT was 10 years old and resided at 1429 Senate Street in Columbia. PACT’s life was in jeopardy since 2006 as Superintendent of Education Jim Rex issued a death threat upon election. Dr. Rex backed down from this threat, yet several members of the Legislature took up the assassination task. Sen. Greg Ryberg, an avid enemy of PACT wasn’t willing to cooperate until he was convinced that PACT would never be replaced with an even greater bully of our teachers and kids. Sen. Ryberg chose to kill EMSAP, another proposed test, at the same time. With a double barrel shotgun over his shoulder, Sen. Ryberg said “…Replacing PACT with EMSAP is like swapping Capone for Dillinger…I chose to kill them both”. The body will be prepared at Conference Committee Mortuary and then buried in the Sanford Cemetery in the Lower Level of the Statehouse. Details of the funeral will be published as they develop.

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
THE SENATE

For Immediate Release
May 15, 2008

Bryant Comments on Signing of Ultrasound Bill

Columbia, SC – Senator Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) offered the following comments today concerning the Governor’s recent signing of the “Ultrasound Bill” (H.3355).

“By the Governor signing this bill the state has taken a giant step in the right direction in recognizing the sanctity of human life. This bill will allow women to make a more informed choice about decisions related to their pregnancy.”

Senator Bryant was the first to introduce legislation similar to the bill Governor Sanford signed, which establishes a sixty-minute waiting period after an ultrasound is performed before an abortion can take place. The bill also requires that patients be informed of their right to view the ultrasound. Under the Informed Consent Law a woman has the right to view the ultrasound while it is being performed as well as any time during the newly established sixty-minute waiting period.  

The bill took effect upon the Governor’s signature. ###

                        

For Immediate Release Contact: Kara Borie, SCDOC, 803-737-1998 Cross Country Home Services to Locate Customer Care Facility in Anderson$3 Million Investment to Bring 350 Jobs to Anderson County COLUMBIA, S.C. – May 13, 2008 – The South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Anderson County Office of Economic Development announced today that Cross Country Home Services (CCHS) will locate a new customer care facility in Anderson, South Carolina.  CCHS will invest approximately $3 million and expects to create 350 new jobs.   “After an extensive national search, CCHS is pleased to have found a community such as Anderson that provides access to a pool of high-quality prospective employees, an existing facility that meets our needs and a supportive state and local government,” said Sandra Finn, President, CCHS.  “At CCHS, we realize that our most important asset is our people. We believe that our friendly, family-oriented culture that develops the skills of its employees will attract the best and the brightest from the community.  Our goal is to become an employer of choice for the residents of Anderson and its surrounding communities.” “As we work to compete in the global marketplace, our state’s ability to attract new investment and jobs is increasingly important.  Today’s announcement of Cross Country Home Services’ decision to create 350 jobs here certainly speaks to our success in that regard, as well as to our efforts to enhance the economic soil conditions to encourage business growth.  We remain committed to continuing these efforts to keep growing the state’s economy and creating opportunity throughout South Carolina,” said Gov. Mark Sanford. “Cross Country Home Services is a leading provider of home warranties, service plans, and assistance programs with nearly 30 years of experience and major national and regional clients.  Their decision to locate in Anderson County is another sign that our state’s business-friendly climate is working to attract investment that will positively impact the state and local economy with new jobs.  Thanks to the team efforts of state and local officials, Anderson County will benefit from this investment,” said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce.  Heather Jones, Anderson County Director of Economic Development, remarked, “I want to congratulate Cross Country Home Services on the decision to locate its customer care center in Anderson County at the Windsor Place Shopping Center.  I’m delighted at the addition of such a highly successful company and its ability to provide quality new jobs to residents of our county.”  Dallas based consulting firm, Site Selection Group, Inc. was hired by CCHS to conduct a national site selection search to identify the community most compatible with the company’s operating requirements in the areas of labor availability, real estate and economic incentives.  “This announcement ends a two year national site selection search for our client.  Our search results and analysis identified Anderson, S.C. as offering our client the best strategic location, favorable business climate, ample skilled workforce with low competitive saturation and an equitable incentive package.  Placing this $3 million investment and these 350 jobs in Anderson, South Carolina is a win-win for all parties,” said Christine Sullivan, V.P. Site Selection Group, Inc. Cross Country Home Services Inc. is the leader in helping companies drive revenue and customer loyalty through a comprehensive set of home warranties, home service plans, and homeowner emergency assistance programs.  For nearly 30 years, CCHS has provided highly flexible, co-branded and private label service programs for major national and regional clients in the financial services, insurance, real estate and utility industries, as well as affinity groups.  The company is focused on operational excellence — from client support, service network management and marketing, to customer service operations and brand stewardship – to ensure that its clients’ programs run smoothly and deliver results.  Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, CCHS is a member of the Cross Country Group, one of the largest privately-held providers of customer service programs in the United States.  For more information, visit www.crosscountry-home.com.   -###-

For the fourth time, the Senate has debated illegal immigration reform. Recently, we acted on H. 3032, an amended bill with a requirement for e-verify for all employers in South Carolina. The Senate could not amend H. 3032, since it was back from the House a second time. Our only option was to “concur” (agree with the House) or “non-concur” (not accept the House’s version). I voted to concur, simply because the last immigration bill sent to conference never survived. If the bill was concurred to, it would have gone to the Governor immediately. The roll call vote to concur lost 20-26. The bill now goes to a conference committee. A conference committee is made up of 3 Senate members and 3 House members.

We now have the possibility of the conference committee passing H. 3032. There is another vehicle on the calendar, H. 4400 that has the chances of passing, yet it would go back to the House, then back to the Senate.

I will continue to fight for any available avenue for true immigration reform.

Immigration is on the front burner again for the 4th time this session. Here’s what we have before us. H. 3032 was improved by the SC House last week to call for e-verify for all employers in the state. E-verify is the best verification we have at this time. E-verify is an online federal verification system with an accuracy of over 90%. The House also took out the new concept of SC-Verify, which I had my doubts about when the Senate created this system. I voted against the stinky version of H. 3032 previously when it was in the Senate because of SC-Verify and its limited application to new hires. H. 3032 still only applies to new hires, so it still has flaws. Additionally, there are some defects with the enforcement in the House’s amended version of H. 3032.

This bill cannot be amended by the Senate. We only have one vote; to concur. There are some defects with enforcement, however, if we succeed in the vote to concur, the bill is on the fast-track straight downstairs for the Governor’s signature. I understand there may be a motion to re-commit the bill to committee. This is a farce because why would anyone want to send a bill to committee that can’t be amended? A vote to re-commit is a sneaky way to kill immigration reform.

It looks like we’ll face another filibuster. Here’s the box we’re in. I think we have the votes to concur, yet garnering the votes to end a filibuster will be tough.

My commitment is that I will only vote to concur and will vote against any motion to adjourn. It may be a long time…