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Dear McCormick,
Last week , the House continued to be on furlough but the Senate resumed regular session and debated multiple environmental issues:
H.3083/Conservation Bank Reauthorization Act – ACTION ALERT!
We expect the Senate to vote on this critical legislation as soon as tomorrow, April 17th, and we need your help! H. 3083, introduced by Rep. Mike Pitts (R-Laurens) with broad support in the House and Senate, extends the sunset date of the Conservation Bank from 2013 to 2018. This legislation will keep the Conservation Bank doors open and continue protection of the natural areas vital to our state’s economy, outdoor traditions, and quality of life. Last week, a single senator proposed an amendment to H. 3083 that would stop State funding of the Conservation Bank. This would cut off its only major source of funding, and the Bank would cease to exist. CLICK HERE TO HELP!
S. 1375 /Bicycle Access Bill
S.1375, by Senator Chip Campsen (R-Charleston), would give local municipalities discretion to grant bicyclists and pedestrians permission to use controlled-access roadways when no other reasonable or safe alternative exists. The bill unanimously passed out of the Senate Transportation Subcommittee last week, and the bill will be heard this week in the full Senate Transportation Committee. We would like to thank Sen. Chip Campsen (R-Charleston), Sen. Yancey McGill (D-Williamsburg), Sen. Ray Cleary (R-Georgetown), Sen. Gerald Malloy (D-Darlington), Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D-Kershaw), Sen. Paul Campbell (R-Berkeley) and Sen. LeeBright (R-Spartanburg) for supporting this legislation. SC Coastal Conservation League supports the bill because access to safe, reasonable routes for bicyclists and pedestrians encourages healthy lifestyles and promotes greater transportation choice.
H. 3346 /Solar Tax Credit
H. 3346 , introduced by Representative Dwight Loftis (R-Greenville), was unanimously voted out of the Senate subcommittee on Sales and Income Tax last Thursday with perfecting amendments. We expect the legislation to be heard by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, April 24th. This bill would allow a thirty five percent state tax credit for the installation of solar energy equipment for both residential and commercial purposes placed in service in taxable years after 2011. We would like to thank the Subcommittee Chairman William O’Dell (R-Abbeville), Sen. Glenn Reese (D-Spartanburg), Sen. Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee), Sen. Dick Elliott (D-Horry) and Sen. Mike Fair (R-Greenville) for supporting this important legislation. CCL supports the legislation because it promotes renewable energy, creates jobs, and enhances the future competitiveness of South Carolina with regard to neighboring Georgia and North Carolina which are aggressively pursuing solar development.
S. 1220/Surface Water Withdrawal Permitting
S. 1220, by Senators Paul Campbell (R-Berkeley) and Wes Hayes (R-York), passed the SC Senate last week and will eliminate a provision of the Surface Water Withdrawal, Use and Reporting Act that sunsets the fees for the program automatically in 2013. This sunset would eliminate all funding for the implementation of the surface water withdrawal program. We would like to thank Senators Campbell and Hayes for working on this bill and making sure the Surface Water Withdrawal Permitting program at DHEC is adequately funded.
Mark Your Calendars! 9thAnnual Conservation Lobby Day
Join us in Columbia for the 9th Annual Conservation Lobby Day on Tuesday, May 1st. Hundreds of conservation community members from around the state will travel to the State House to meet, greet and encourage elected leaders to support the Common Agenda priorities. This daylong, free event is truly a highlight of our year in Columbia because it is the one day where the conservation community speaks with one voice at the State House about pertinent environmental issues with lawmakers.
For more information or to RSVP email Van...@thesoutherngreenie.com
Help spread the word – forward this message. Many thanks for your interest and support!!
Until next week, Your CCL legislative team, Patrick, Merrill and Ryan We Tweet! The conservation lobby team has created a twitter feed so you can have the most up to date information on what’s happening with environmental issues straight from the lobby floor. Follow us at http://twitter.com/#!/sccommongrounds
For more information about anything in this e-mail, please contact Merrill McGregor at merr...@scccl.org
CCL Legislative Office:Patrick Moore, 803.771.7102 ext. 21 patr...@scccl.org
Merrill McGregor, 803.771.7102 ext. 26 merr...@scccl.org
Ryan Black, 803.771.7102 ext. 22 ry...@scccl.org
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