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 Gov. Sanford Calls for Passage of 'First 30 Days' Agenda web posted January 29, 2008 COLUMBIA – Gov. Mark Sanford visited four cities across the state Monday to call for passage within the first 30 days of the legislative session of three key reforms - a bill making it easier for small businesses to provide healthcare to their employees, a bill to strengthen our state's DUI laws, and a bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration in South Carolina. Governor Sanford also unveiled a video (that can be found at http://www.youtube.com/governorsanford), which highlights the tragedy that comes with having weak DUI laws in the state. The governor is encouraging South Carolinians to make their voices heard on these important reforms, and is asking the legislature to send all three bills to his desk by mid-February. "Whether it's improving our business soil conditions or our quality of life here in South Carolina, all of these reforms tie back into the notion of making our state more competitive in the 21st Century," Gov. Sanford said. "In talking to folks around South Carolina, these are reforms that make a whole lot of sense to a whole lot of people, and I'd give credit to many in the legislature for all the work that has been done so far on these bills. We would ask that work to continue, and to get these reforms to my desk as quickly as possible." The three bills are: S.588: Small Business Access to Health Care - The bill would allow small businesses to band together in order to purchase health insurance for their employees. Small businesses are currently saddled with over 30 mandates that, while well intentioned, make the health care they can offer less affordable. The bill has passed the Senate, and is expected to be debated in the House this week. H.3496: DUI Reform - The legislation would stiffen penalties for repeat offenders and would remove some of the administrative roadblocks and loopholes that currently impede police in their efforts to enforce the state's DUI laws. In part due to the difficulty in getting DUI convictions, plea bargaining in DUI cases is rampant - 40 percent of repeat DUI offenders in South Carolina plead guilty to lesser offenses. The bill has cleared the House, and is currently being reviewed by a Senate panel. S.392: Immigration Reform - This bill would require all South Carolina employers doing business with the state to be able to verify the citizenship of their workers, and would deny business expense deductions to employers of illegal workers. In addition, the bills would create a state felony for harboring or transporting illegal aliens, would create additional penalties for ID fraud in connection with illegal immigration, and would direct SLED to execute a memorandum of understanding with the federal government to serve as an auxiliary immigration enforcement agency. The bill has passed the Senate, while the House is working on its own version of similar legislation, H.4400. ©
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