Reaction to State of State

‘Applaud the governor for calling the Senate out on’ ethics

“We enjoy working with the governor, and I’m glad she’s working with us on these issues. Ethics has been a priority with us for a very long time now. We’ve had ethics bills in the Senate now for almost a year, and they haven’t received a hearing. They didn’t debate it. I applaud the governor for calling the Senate out on that.”

— S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington

‘Looked like a childhood trick’

“Her message of trying to bring people together was interesting. But, then, when you follow that up with asking the Senate to stand (on whether they supported ethics reform) — without telling everybody in advance that you’re going to do that; without giving them the benefit of a roll-call vote even before you do it — (that) was a bit disingenuous and looked like a childhood trick.”

— S.C. House Minority Leader state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland

Praise for focus on education

“She touched on a lot of the findings that the (House education) task force came up with when we delved down. Those were the things that bubbled up – facilities, leadership, development, good-quality teachers, all of those things play in to really bringing those plaintiff districts (that sued the state) forward.”

— State Rep. Rita Allison, R-Spartanburg

‘Look forward to working with Gov. Haley’

“I firmly believe we accomplish the most when we work together. As we begin this new year, the Senate is doing the vital work necessary to fix our state’s crumbling infrastructure, educate our young people, promote business growth and move our state forward. We look forward to working with Gov. Haley to make sure we fulfill those goals and do all we can for the people of South Carolina.”

— State Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Reaction to State of State."