Opioid task force chairman has one last job before leaving SC State House

South Carolina’s fight against opioid addiction is losing its leading voice.

But not before he completes one last assignment.

State Rep. Eric Bedingfield, R-Greenville, announced Tuesday he plans to resign from the S.C. House of Representatives.

Back in April, Bedingfield was tapped to lead the S.C. House committee tasked with combating the growing and deadly problem of opioid abuse.

Bedingfield was a particularly compelling voice on the issue because he knows the effects of substance abuse. His 26-year-old son, Joshua, died last year of an overdose of fentanyl, a synthetically produced opioid 50 times stronger than heroin.

Bedingfield has sponsored bills on drug abuse since then, from proposals to tighten the restrictions on prescription drugs to a “Good Samaritan” law, giving limited legal immunity to anyone reporting an overdose.

Bedingfield is leaving the Legislature to take a job as director of government relations at Greenville Technical College, his alma mater. He starts work Tuesday, but Bedingfield will keep his seat until January so he can finish the committee’s work and bring a proposal back to the Legislature.

The subject of opioid abuse with get some statewide attention Wednesday and Thursday when Gov. Henry McMaster hosts the S.C. Governor’s Opioid Summit at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

The summit, sponsored by the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, will bring together health care professionals, state and local agencies, law enforcement officials and citizens to look for solutions.

“The opioid crisis ... is one of the most deadly health issues our state and country have faced in a generation,” McMaster said in a statement. “This tragic epidemic has already torn apart too many families, and I’m confident that South Carolina will come together, as it always has, to provide the support necessary to save lives.”

In 2015, there were 594 opioid-related overdose deaths in South Carolina, a 17 percent increase from 2014, the governor’s office said.

USC’s Armstrong out at RNC

A Gamecock graduate who held one of the top jobs at the Republican National Committee is reportedly on her way out.

Sara Armstrong, a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina, is leaving her post as the RNC’s chief of staff, Politico reported Thursday. Armstrong would be just one of several staffers to leave the committee in the past month.

Armstrong was named chief of staff earlier this year, after heading Donald Trump’s inaugural committee. She has worked at the RNC since 2009 and was deputy chief of staff from 2014.

The Washington Examiner reported Armstrong is expected to take a job at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Adding new Democratic voters – one at a time

Whoever wins the GOP primary for the 1st District congressional seat – incumbent Mark Sanford, a former S.C. governor, or challenger Katie Arrington, a first-term state representative from Dorchester County who announced on Wednesday – likely will face Democrat Joe Cunningham next November.

By then, Cunningham will have more backup. The Charleston lawyer has posted a unique campaign video on Facebook alongside his wife, Amanda, announcing a “new volunteer.”

“We’re going to be bringing on a new member to rattle things up a little bit,” Joe Cunningham said. “We feel like we need some more booties – or boots – on the ground.”

Amanda Cunningham ended the puns by announcing, “We’re having a baby,” complete with a tiny Joe Cunningham campaign shirt.

The Buzz has heard of politicians kissing babies to win votes, but this takes it to another level.

Coming up at the State House

▪ Tuesday, the joint House-Senate sentencing reform committee will meet at 10 a.m. at the State House.

▪ Thursday, a House panel on law enforcement and criminal justice will meet at 1 p.m. to review a report on the state Department of Natural Resources.

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Opioid task force chairman has one last job before leaving SC State House."