S.C. politics
Deal near on bill requiring public bodies to have agendas
House and Senate members are nearing a deal on a bill that would require government bodies in South Carolina to publish agendas before public meetings.
The solving of a problem, created by a state Supreme Court ruling last year, looks like it will be the only win this year for advocates of open records. Other bills — making autopsy reports public records, and clarifying how quickly governments must respond to public records requests and preventing them from charging excessive fees — appear to be stuck.
A conference committee discussing the agenda bill Wednesday agreed to require a two-thirds vote to alter an agenda within 24 hours of a meeting. City or county councils or other public bodies also would have to agree it was an emergency situation if the members could make a final decision on the agenda item.
One other small compromise requires any public body that maintains its own website to publish the agenda online.
The agreement would have to be approved by the entire House and Senate. Each chamber passed its own bill unanimously earlier in the session.
Two other bills concerning the Freedom of Information Act appear dead for the year.
The Senate passed a bill requiring a report including the cause of death to be a public record after an autopsy is performed. That proposal was in response to a different Supreme Court ruling that autopsies are private medical records.
A second bill that passed the House is stuck in the Senate. It would clarify how quickly governments must respond to public records requests and prevent them from charging excessive fees. It also would create an agency to hear disputes between public bodies and people requesting information. Currently, the only place to hear those disputes is a costly lawsuit.
Group pushing debate on security, foreign relations forms S.C. board
Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security — a policy group pushing for debate on national security and foreign relations issues in the 2016 presidential election — Wednesday named a S.C. advisory board that includes a Medal of Honor recipient and former member of Congress.
Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security was founded by Mike Rogers, a former Michigan congressman. Rogers’ group has established advisory panels in other 2016 early-primary states, Iowa and New Hampshire, and held forums with candidates, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Des Moines on Wednesday.
Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security expects to hold its first S.C. forum next month. The organization cannot endorse a candidate, Rogers said. But board members can back a candidate if they want, he said.
Jonathan Hoffman, former White House director of border security policy under President George W. Bush, will be the group’s S.C. executive director.
The organization’s S.C. board includes: Meka Childs, former deputy superintendent the S.C. Department of Education; state Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort; Ted Fienning, founder of Babiators; James Galyean, former chief counsel to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca; Van Hipp, former deputy assistant secretary to the Army; James Livingston, retired Marine general and Medal of Honor recipient; Leighton Lord, chairman of Santee Cooper; Glenn McCall, national committeeman to the Republican National Committee; Sue Myrick, former U.S. representative from North Carolina who now lives on Seabrook Island; Brent Nelsen, chairman of S.C. ETV; and Mick Zais, retired Army general and former S.C superintendent of education.
Associated Press, Andy Shain
This story was originally published May 20, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "S.C. politics."