Morning Buzz: Hillary Clinton returns to S.C., roads plan hits dead end, domestic violence bill nears finish line

Hillary Clinton visits Columbia

Hillary Clinton’s Wednesday visit to South Carolina will end a long absence after her bruising presidential primary loss in 2008 to then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.

Clinton will be back in South Carolina, giving the keynote speech at the 2015 Day in Blue, an annual Columbia gathering of the S.C. Democratic Women’s Council and the S.C. House Democratic Women’s Caucus. The speech, which is open only to Day in Blue attendees, starts at 1:45 p.m. at the Columbia Marriott.

Clinton also will meet privately with minority business leaders and the S.C. House and Senate Democratic caucuses.

The Republicans are ready to counter Clinton. GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, will meet reporters Wednesday in front of the same downtown Columbia hotel where the former Secretary of State will speak.

S.C. roads plan hitting dead end

S.C. lawmakers likely will drive home a week from Thursday without passing a plan to fix South Carolina’s crumbling roads and bridges.

With five days left to pass a road-repair plan, one senator has taken over the state Senate, arguing a $85 million proposal to spend money from a state savings account proposal should include money for roads.

State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, along with a handful of the Senate’s most anti-tax lawmakers, also want an anticipated $400 million in additional state revenues to go to pay for road repairs, likely wrecking any plan to increase the state’s 16.75 cent-a-gallon gas tax.

Republican Gov. Nikki Haley Tuesday endorsed spending the onetime surplus money on roads, adding she also would support using the money to cut income taxes or pay down the state’s debt.

Domestic violence bill nears passage

Could Wednesday be the day the Legislature wraps up its domestic violence bill?

The Senate approved the House’s version on the bill that toughens the state’s domestic violence laws on Tuesday but took out a requirement for risk assessments of accused batterers.

The House is expected Wednesday to take up the bill that includes a lifetime ban on possessing guns for some convicted abusers and double the potential prison time to as long as 20 years.

This story was originally published May 27, 2015 at 6:29 AM with the headline "Morning Buzz: Hillary Clinton returns to S.C., roads plan hits dead end, domestic violence bill nears finish line."