South Carolina lawmakers have the day off for Confederate Memorial Day (in case you were wondering, the South still lost), so there’s not much going on today at the State House. Perhaps the holiday will give Sen. Mike Rose a chance to see how his dead Confederate ancestors would vote on the ballot controversy?
Now on to the headlines:
Knotts helps kill SC ballot fix: “I’m in the catbird seat” - South Carolina senators voted Wednesday evening to table a legislative solution to the ballot controversy, effectively killing the measure for good, Palmetto Public Record reported yesterday. Sen. Jake Knotts, one of several lawmakers whose primary opposition was disqualified by last week’s State Supreme Court ruling, was instrumental in preventing the measure from passing.
Senate kills bill to reinstate 180 ousted primary candidates - When they go to the polls June 12, voters will likely not see the names of 180 candidates ousted from the S.C. primary ballot because of a state Supreme Court ruling, according to The State’s Andy Shain. Senators spent more than three hours Wednesday debating their versions of the most fair way to return candidates to the ballot before voting to table proposals.
Judge holding hearing over SC ballot controversy - A federal judge has scheduled a hearing to discuss a lawsuit over a South Carolina Supreme Court decision that removed nearly 200 candidates from ballots for the state’s June 12 primary, according to the Associated Press’ Meg Kinnard. The attorney for one of the candidates told the AP he would ask the judge to delay the primary.
Questions remain after House clears Haley of illegal lobbying - Republican Gov. Nikki Haley’s defense against an ethics probe into whether she’d illegally lobbied as a lawmaker could be summed up succinctly: Clear me or I’ll throw you all under the bus, according to the Free Times’ Corey Hutchins. According to a copy of Haley’s defense, the governor’s lawyer wrote to the chairman of the House Ethics Committee that Haley’s “business activities and conduct are commonplace in the Legislature.”
‘School choice’ bill alive, on shaky ground - A bill that would give tax deductions to parents of private and home school students made it out of a Senate subcommittee Wednesday, but the panel did not recommend its passage, according to The State’s Adam Beam. Critics say the bill amounts to spending public money to support private and home schools, and point to a state Board of Economic Advisors estimate that the bill would cut state revenue by $36.7 million next year.
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