Remember the big Amazon dustup over whether to waive sales taxes on the retailer’s products in return for a huge shipping center and thousands of jobs? Gov. Haley opposed the plan, but allowed it to take effect anyway instead of facing a backlash from vetoing it. Now fellow tea party governor Rick Scott of Florida faces the same issue! Excuse me while I get my popcorn, because this could be good.
Now on to the headlines:
Savannah Smackdown: House unanimously votes to block DHEC’s port sellout – Who’d have thought Gov. Nikki Haley could so effectively bring Democrats and Republicans together? As Palmetto Public Record reported yesterday, the South Carolina General Assembly voted 111-0 in favor of a measure that would block the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s ability to issue a controversial dredging permit to the Georgia Ports Authority that goes against South Carolina’s best interests.
Senators to question DNR board about director’s ouster – A state Senate committee voted Wednesday to question the Department of Natural Resources board about deceptive practices surrounding the ouster of the wildlife agency’s popular director, Palmetto Public Record reported on Wednesday. A memo released Tuesday shows that DNR Board Chairwoman Caroline Rhodes, who was appointed by Haley after the governor cleaned house in early 2011, was lying when she told DNR Director John Frampton the entire board wanted him to retire.
Labor chief chosen to head DHEC – State labor chief Catherine Templeton has been appointed commissioner of DHEC, but needs confirmation from the state Senate as questions surfaced Wednesday about her background, according to The State’s Sammy Fretwell. Democratic state senators Joel Lourie, Brad Hutto and Phil Leventis said Templeton’s lack of experience as a health and environmental regulator and her record as director of South Carolina’s labor department must be addressed.
Election official disputes claim that deceased voted in S.C. – A top state election official disputes a recent claim that more than 950 people who voted in recent elections could actually be dead. Of the six names her office was allowed to examine, all were eligible to vote, according to the Free Times’ Corey Hutchins. But to hear some Republican officials tell it, you’d think that on Election Day in South Carolina, graveyards all across the state empty out and hordes of zombie voters lurch to the polls.
S.C. state revenues continue to grow – South Carolina’s tax revenues continue to grow, according to The State’s Adam Beam — so much so that an earlier estimate giving state lawmakers an extra $900 million to spend in next year’s budget is likely solid, according to the state Board of Economic Advisors.
