I don’t know what happened, but the comments to this post were deleted. I apologize for this. Dr. Rex did respond on this blog and I appreciate his participation. If I can find his response, I’ll surely post it.

Dear Mr. Superintendent,
Thank you so much for your service to this state as our Superintendent of Education. I trust this correspondence finds you well.
The administration of the PACT test draws near again this year, and I hear everyday from teachers, parents and other concerned citizens in my district of the overwhelming anxiety that often accompanies the PACT test. I write you today asking you to end this burden upon our mutual constituents.

Section 59-18-310 of the South Carolina Code states that, “the State Board of Education, through the Department of Education, is required to develop or adopt a statewide assessment program to promote student learning and to measure student performance on state standards….” The department you administer holds the responsibility for the PACT test and might have as early as January 2007, begun the elimination of the PACT, but instead decided to extend the PACT for another year (2008). I remain frustratedas to this series of decisions.

The Senate will possibly consider H. 4662 in the near future. This legislation does indeed discontinue the PACT, but for the sake of our teachers, students, and parents I ask you at this point to stop the PACT. You can do this with a simple pronouncement, today, that the PACT will not be administered in 2009. I trust you will make the right decisions.

With warmest personal regards, I remain,

Kevin L. Bryant
SC Senate District 3

As a healthcare provider, I witness daily the health problems caused by smoking. Cigarette smoking costs the taxpayers millions of dollars a year and I feel that this extra cost is unfair the non-smoking taxpayer.

The Senate passed H. 3567 which places $5 million in smoking cessation programs and the rest going to Healthcare. These funds are split between premium assistance in the form of a tax credit and Medicaid funding. Unfortunately, as revenues decline as expected, we will face Medicaid shortfalls in the future which would result in either additional tax increases or lowering the number of qualifying recipients.

H. 3567 essentially supplements the Medicaid system with an additional $300 million in a budget shortfall year with across the board agency cuts. I am a registered pharmacist and am part owner in a pharmacy/HME business. This increase will have a personal financial impact, therefore, ethically, I found it necessary to recuse myself from voting on H. 3567. Also, I refrained from voting on amendments relating to Medicaid during the debate on H. 3567.

Say what you want about the Rick Driver Show, but the one thing you can’t say is that it’s boring. As the host of the morning call in show, Driver has built a loyal following in Anderson County with many unwavering views of the audience. I was on the show Monday morning (05.05.08) to talk mainly about the smelly immigration bill passed by the Senate last Wednesday (04.30.08).  As a regular hot-seat guest, the sometimes blistering calls are always straightforward making Bill O’Reilly sound like a spin-doctor. “That’s why we call it an open forum” is said many times. It is just that, an open forum for any and all comments. Rick can be found on the am dial at 1230 or online at www.1230waim.com. The call in line is 864.225.1230.

I knocked on a few doors Monday morning and ran into this dog. This almost waist-high Great Dane evidently is a Republican since after a few sniffs greeted me with a lick on the hand. Good for me, because this guy could have eaten me if he wanted to. I think I introduce ya’ll to the k9’s I meet on the shoe leather trail.
                          
It is very interesting to meet people at their home. So far, support for re-election seems to be strong. I’m hearing agreement with our positive message of reform, yet many folks are frustrated with the Republican Party as a whole. It’s not our platform, it’s the inability for elected Republicans to stick to the platform.
                        
It is very simple. When you run for office, do what you say you’ll do after elected. Some may not agree with some of my votes or positions on issues, but no one has accused me of not keeping the promises made. I’ll continue to serve as a “straight-shooter” with my constituents.

                      
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