Legislators who spoke at the First Friday Luncheon were, from the left: Tom Corbin, Lee Bright, Tommy Stringer, Donna Smith was the moderator, Dan Hamilton, Rita Allison and Phyllis Hernderson.
The audience was briefed on their agendas and what they believed to be the key issues facing the legislature when it begins its session Tuesday in Columbia.
Below is a review of what they see the most important items on the agenda. Links to each legislatator is provided.
District 36, Greenville and Spartanburg counties
“Healthcare will be at the top of the agenda. Healthcare will see $253 million new dollars recurring with $190 million committed to Medicaid. There won’t be a lot of new money in the coming year to distribute. Republicans will reject/oppose the Healthcare Act. The state of South Carolina will not be able to afford what it cost. Election reform, the ethics law needs to be updated, we need real tax reform, which includes education reform. Sixty percent of traffic coming into South Carolina use (interstates) 85, 95 and 26. Our secondary roads need improving.
Sen. Lee Bright
District 12, Greenville and Spartanburg counties
“The ballot debacle of last year, I’m confident, will be fixed. “I’m proud of our delegation voting against the (fiscal) cliff. One-sixth of the economy is healthcare. It’s time to make a stand . . . it’s now, or there will be nothing left to stand for.”
Sen. Tom Corbin
District 5, Greenville and Spartanburg counties
“We have a few changes in the legislature this year. No longer will one senator be able to lock the whole place down. We have cut down on the filibuster time. The Affordable Healthcare Act and funding will be a big issue. I have introduced a bill that if you’re caught driving without insurance, your vehicle will be impounded.”
District 20, Greenville County
“I like to look at this region as a corridor for travel. One thing we need to work on is road infrastructure. Infrastructure funding is priority number one. Small businesses need capital. I refer to the Bill Wylie Entrepreneurship Act helping small business. The banks and family are tapped out. The state needs to promote Angel investors. Small business men and women say they need access to capital.”
District 21, Greenville County
“Ethics reform is a priority. The election reform bill will come up early and will pass through. Tax reform will take longer. The Republican caucus is unified against expansion of Medicaid. There’s a lot of federal money out there and we will have to pay for that. If we accept expansion we’re looking at about one-third of the population on Medicaid. I don’t know about you but that’s not the community I want to have.”
Rep. Tommy Stringer
District 18, Greenville County
“If we’re going to be opposed to Obamacare we need to understand why we will be opposed. I visited Serenity Place and Phoenix Center and those are types of programs that need help. The problem with the (Obamacare) bill is that they have no idea what is in the bill and how we will pay for it. I don’t want to buy into what they are doing. I think we need to visit school curriculum. We also need to reduce small business exemptions.”