Governor flip-flops on cancer prevention, trades women’s health for political gain - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took a page from the Michele Bachmann Book of Ill-Informed Health Policy on Tuesday by vetoing a bill that would offer an optional HPV vaccine to seventh-graders, Palmetto Public Record reported yesterday. In vetoing the bill, Gov. Haley called Sellers’ plan “a precursor to another taxpayer-funded health care mandate” — even though the vaccine does not rely on taxpayer funding and is not mandatory.
State workers’, teachers’ raises could be in jeopardy - An extra $1.4 billion in money for teacher and state worker pay raises, special education programs and Medicaid expansion could be delayed because lawmakers are deadlocked on a proposed $64 million tax cut, according to The State’s Adam Beam. With neither S.C. House nor state Senate budget negotiators giving ground Tuesday, House lawmakers began preparing to keep state government running should budget negotiations fail by July 1, when the state starts its new fiscal year.
Stealth group takes advantage of secret cash loophole in S.C. Senate race - Tony Barwick is getting a personal lesson in South Carolina’s free-for-all politics, according to the Free Times’ Corey Hutchins. A stealth group calling itself the SC Conservative Reform Council has popped up in his race in support of his opponent, Wade Kolb, though the Kolb campaign says it doesn’t know anything about it.
House overrides Haley veto on wildfire equipment - The South Carolina House on Tuesday overrode Gov. Nikki Haley’s veto of a bill that would provide an agency with new, safer equipment to fight wildfires. Meanwhile, the House upheld her veto of a measure meant to help former convicts secure jobs, according to the Associated Press’ Seanna Adcox. The House voted 108-2 to override her opposition to providing the Forestry Commission with an estimated $15 million over four years by designating 2.25 percent of insurance premium taxes for equipment.
Talk starts for tougher ethics law - One of the hottest words around Columbia these days is “ethics” in the wake of an ongoing investigation of the governor and continuing concern over relationships between lobbyists and legislative power brokers., according to the Free Times’ Bill Davis. Political observers say the State Ethics Commission is underfunded, understaffed and beholden to two political chambers, the House and the Senate, for its funding.
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