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 Sen. Massey connects with citizens at town hall meeting web posted February 19, 2008  MERRIWETHER – State
Senator Shane Massey
held one of his Town Hall meetings Monday night at the Merriwether
Middle School. The meeting is one of over eighteen he has planned
across the 25th Senate District through the end of March. Sen. Massey
said the purpose to the meetings is to explain what is currently going
on in the state legislature and to get feedback from citizens. “One of
the things that’s most important to me is being assessable,” Sen.
Massey said adding that he cannot properly represent constituents if he
is not communicating with them.Sen. Massey said there are three major issues currently being discussed in the Senate, “and the new DUI bill is one of them.” Sen. Massey said South Carolina has probably one of the weakest DUI laws in the country and that the state actually has two laws on the books for DUI. The “old” DUI law which set the blood alcohol content (BAC) at .10 to be considered intoxicated. The newer law lowered the BAC to .08, “but it has so many loopholes and technicalities that solicitors use the old law for prosecution,” Sen. Massey said. “When I read in the paper about someone being arrested for their sixth DUI I think, something has to be done.” Sen. Massey said the new DUI Bill being debated at this time increases penalties for repeat offenders and provides for “tiered penalties” for first time offenders as well. Someone arrested with a BAC of .16, twice the legal limit, will face increased penalties than someone arrested with a BAC of .08. The second issue currently being discussed is Payday lending. “Some want it banned,” Massey said, “others want it regulated. I’m in favor of regulation.” One of the proposals currently being considered is to limit the amount of money people can borrow on short-term loans to 25% of their income over the life of the loan, or $500 whichever is less, and interest rates would be capped at 15% for the life of the loan. Also considered is a database of those making the loans so that people could not go to several lenders to increase the amount of money they can borrow. Sen. Massey said often times people get one loan, get another loan from a different lender to pay off the first, then a third to pay off the second, and each time the amount increases. With the database lenders would check to see if the borrower is getting in too deep and will have to refuse the loan. As a remedy the borrower would be allowed to enter into an agreement with the payday loan company to payoff the loan over a 60-day period at the same 15% interest rate for the life of the loan. The third topic Sen. Massey addressed was illegal immigration. The original bill has been reworked because initially it only encompassed employers doing business with the state having to verify that all workers are citizens or eligible to work in the US. However, due to advancements in the Homeland Securities E-Verify system the newer version encompasses all businesses. The newer bill also makes it illegal to harbor or transport illegal aliens and makes it illegal for illegal aliens to possess or purchase firearms. The new law, if passed and signed by the Governor, would be phased in over a period of time. It would also affect only new hires and would not be retroactive to those already hired by companies or businesses. “I think we’ve made real progress,” Sen. Massey said on the immigration issue although he reiterated that the real issue on immigration has to be addressed by the US Congress. One of the concerns raised by many in the business arena is that passing strict immigration laws in the state would force the illegals to flee and cause an economic downturn. Sen. Massey said that South Carolina has unemployment figures that shows there are people available to fill the jobs. Another concern was that those in the agricultural business would suffer. Sen. Massey said that those he has spoken with, such as peach growers, are using the “guest worker” program already, “and I don’t think they would be affected under the (proposed) law. Around fifty people attended the meeting and Sen. Massey took questions from the audience throughout the meeting and afterwards. Among those present were County Councilmen Willie Bright and Everett Kitchens and Edgefield County School Board member Scott Chitty. ©
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