Suspects tested for HIV, under House bill

House lawmakers have approved a bill, allowing victims who are exposed to blood, semen or other bodily fluids during a sexual assault or other crime to ask a judge to test a charged offender for Hepatitis B and HIV. The bill now heads to the Senate.

Bill would bar strip mined coal in S.C.

Environmental advocates have introduced a bill to bar state power providers from purchasing strip mined coal to power their plants.

During strip, or mountaintop, mining, explosives are used to more easily reach veins of coal. Opponents say the practice is harmful to the environment and other techniques are available.

Among those supporting the bill were residents of Harlan County, Kentucky, where three million tons of coal are sold to S.C. power companies.

"We're old mountain people that lived our lives in the mountains," said Carl "Buck" Shoupe, a Benham, Kentucky resident who has fought strip mining near his home. "They're like our souls."

Healthy school lunch bill passes House

House lawmakers want to make school kids eat more nutritious food. Thursday, a bill sponsored by Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Bamberg, passed the House that:  * Bans sugary sodas and fatty snack foods in elementary, middle and high school cafeterias and vending machines and replaces them with water, fruit juices, milk, granola bars and other more nutritious snacks.  * Pegs the state’s nutritional standards for school meals to federal guidelines, and in some cases, exceed those standards. That means greasy pizza, french fries and other high-fat foods would be eliminated from lunches.  * Requires vendors, including fast-food franchises, that sell food within schools to offer only selections that meet the new nutritional standards.   The new guidelines would also be in effect during the school day. That means less-healthful snacks could still be sold during bake sells, sporting events and other after school activities. The bill now heads to the Senate.

House wants May 21 adjournment

House lawmakers are hoping they can wrap up this year's legislative session by May 21. House lawmakers approved a measure Wednesday, saying they'll wrap up by that date and, if necessary, return for up to three days after June 16 to deal with the governor's vetoes and issues related to a $700 million pot of federal stimulus money.

House turns back bill giving Sanford contol of ESC

Some House lawmakers are sore over Gov. Mark Sanford's refusal to accept $700 million in stimulus money -- and they're letting him know by thumbing their nose at legislation the governor favors.

Wednesday, in a close 56 to 54 vote, House members turned back a bill to put the governor in charge of the Employment Security Commission. Government restructuring has long been a goal of the governor who has criticized the Employment Security Commission.

Under the bill, the ESC's three commissioners would have been relegated to roles as hearing officers. A director would have been appointed by the governor to head the agency. The governor, with approval from the Senate, could fire the director.

DeMint: Republican Party realigning

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, in an appearance on Fox News Channel, sounded an optimistic note about the future of the Republican Party, saying the defection of Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter will help the party in the long run.

"We're having some re-alignment in the Republican Party" DeMint said. "If we stick to our core principals, we should be back in the majority shortly."

DeMint said Republicans must deliver on promises to reduce spending and taxation. He said the April 15 Tea Party demonstrations across the country showed voters are concerned about the growth of government, and Republicans are well positioned to ride that momentum back to majority status.

Washington re-elected to S.C. State board

The General Assembly re-elected Charleston's Maurice Washington to the S.C. State University board of trustees on a1 82-76 vote Wednesday.  

Washington, for years the power center on S.C. State’s board, had become a lightening rod for criticism after leading the dismissal of former S.C. State president Andrew Hugine, who has since sued the school.

Washington defeated Patricia Lott, executive director for the school’s national alumni association, who had gotten the support of many of the S.C. State alums in the General Assembly.

Senate panel passes school-choice bill

A bill that would give parents who send their children to private school or who homeschool their children tax breaks of up to $2,400 a year has passed a Senate education panel.

The bill will head to the full Senate Education Committee next, and if it passes there would go before the full Senate.

For more than five years, school-choice advocates have been fighting for the state to provide some assistance to private school parents. And some private schools say the assistance will help them, as parents in a down economy would be able to better afford tuition.

But state Education Superintendent Jim Rex says the bill would hurt public education. He says it would cost the state $150 million a year to provide tax credits to parents who have already chosen public schools at time when the state is struggling to prevent teacher layoffs.

Left off tax study panel, Dems vote to oppose bill

House Democrats voted Tuesday to oppose an amended Senate bill to study the state's tax system.

The Democrats' caucus voted to unanimously oppose the legislation, expected to come up for House debate on Wednesday, unless the House of Representatives agrees to restore Democrats in both chambers with the ability to make appointments to the study commission.

House Democrats also want the legislation to include a comprehensive review of the state's taxation system, including all income taxes, property and sales taxes.

Both minority party representation on the study committee and the review of all taxes were stripped from the Senate-passed bill, leaving only the House speaker, Senate president and governor -- all Republicans -- with appointive powers to the commission.

The amended bill now includes only a study of the state's sales taxes.

"Democrats want to have a non-political director (of the study commission)," said House Minority leader Harry Ott, D-Calhoun. "Otherwise, it injects politics right back into it."

The state is reeling from revenue losses during the current recession. Democrats blame, in part, recently passed tax reform that changed the basis of educational funding from property taxes to sales taxes, which have decreased sharply due to the recession.

House idle for former member's funeral

House lawmakers will not take up any controversial bills today so that members can attend funeral services for the father of state Rep. Dan Cooper, R-Anderson, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Cooper's father, M.J. "Dolly" Cooper, 88, died Saturday.

The senior Cooper was a former house member. He was first elected to the House in 1974 and served for 16 years.

On Wednesday and Thursday, House lawmakers will tackle contentious bills, including one to create a three-day window for early voting and another reforming the state's Employment Security Commission.