South Carolina legislative action for the week of Feb. 6

COLUMBIA -- The fifth week of the legislative session:

Pension reform: Public workers would have to work two years longer, but they won't have to turn 62 to retire with full benefits under tweaks made to a House panel's draft for shoring up the state's pension system. The panel agreed Wednesday to remove the age threshold from the plan. The draft would require employees to work 30 years, up from 28. But retirement would not be tied to age. The extra two-year requirement would apply only to new hires. They also settled on a way to give retirees cost-of-living increases. An increase would kick in automatically only if the pension portfolio's rate of return averaged above 7.5 percent over five years. Employees would have to contribute an additional percent of their pay toward their retirement. The panel's work will likely be introduced as a bill later this month.

DHEC director: The leader of South Carolina's labor agency took a step closer Thursday to taking the helm of the state's public health and environmental control agency, as senators dismissed concerns about her lack of experience in those fields. The Senate Medical Affairs Committee voted 13-0 to advance the confirmation of Catherine Templeton to the Senate floor. Three senators abstained. The vote followed two meetings in which senators grilled the labor lawyer about her background, her refusal to live full-time in Columbia, and layoffs at the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation in her year there. Templeton told senators the Department of Health and Environmental Control needs a skilled manager, not a health or environmental specialist, who can coordinate the experts who work for the agency. She said she will be in Columbia whenever needed but will not uproot her three young children from their home in Mount Pleasant.

Job training: South Carolina is entering a partnership with a company known for its college admission test in hopes of better matching unemployed workers with the businesses who need them, Gov. Nikki Haley announced Thursday. South Carolina is among four states where ACT is launching its Certified Work Ready Communities Academy this month. ACT is developing the pilot program over the next year. Details of how it will work are not yet known. South Carolina already uses ACT's work readiness system, with dozens of contracts costing about $900,000. The new yearlong initiative will cost no additional money. The goal is to coordinate efforts statewide among state and county agencies, high schools and technical schools. The idea is to assess high school graduates' and workers' skills on a county level, and then offer training to fill the gaps.

Voter registration: Advocates for the poor and minorities said Wednesday a proposal to put new requirements on groups that register voters represents a bid to suppress voting among those most likely to vote for Democrats. But the bill's sponsor, Rep. Alan Clemmons, contends it's about holding third-party groups accountable for properly handling a person's right to vote, and applies to all groups spanning the political spectrum. The House measure requires any group that conducts voter registration drives to register with the state Elections Commission and promptly turn in voters' forms. Fines for not turning them in range from $50 to $1,000. Anyone participating in voter drives must sign a statement swearing they will uphold election laws. Opponents who gathered at the Statehouse said the burdensome measure will hamper community-based voter registration drives. Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said his agency does occasionally find that forms aren't turned over. He said it's "not uncommon" to get complaints from residents who signed up during a drive but were turned away at the polls.

Government restructuring: The South Carolina Senate voted Tuesday to eliminate the agency that handles much of the state's bureaucracy and put much of its duties under the governor's control. The 36-2 vote represented progress on an issue that has consumed the Senate since the legislative session started last month, plus much of last year. The approved amendment could mark an end to the powerful, five-member board that oversees the 1,000-employee Budget and Control Board. The measure puts day-to-day operations in a Cabinet-level Department of Administration, to handle duties such as property and fleet management, janitorial services and computer technology. Debate on the bill continues. Remaining questions include oversight of the state's retirement system.

S.C. judiciary: South Carolina's top jurist told state lawmakers on Wednesday that she needs nine new judges to run the state's court system more effectively - and that she'll use a new electronic filing system to fund them. In her annual State of the Judiciary address, Chief Justice Jean Toal told a joint session of the Legislature that she can pay for three new circuit court judges and six new family court judges by implementing a new system for attorneys around the state to file court documents electronically. The Judicial Department can handle the system in house, Toal said, meaning that the court system will reap any fees generated by the program, instead of paying them to an outside vendor.

Port expansion: Gov. Nikki Haley's spokesman says she plans to veto a measure opposing her board's decision to allow Georgia to dredge the Savannah River and expand its port. The measure viewed as a rebuke of the Republican governor is on its way to her desk following yet another unanimous vote. The House voted 105-0 on Tuesday to approve a tweak the Senate made to the bill. The same chamber voted 111-0 two weeks ago. The proposal is designed to help undo the Department of Health and Environmental Control's decision allowing Georgia to dredge the shared river. The Senate approved it 37-0 last week after inserting a clause specifying the retroactive suspension on dredging decisions applies to the Savannah port project only.

Harbor deepening: A $20 million study of deepening the Charleston Harbor shipping channel will continue now that the work has been included on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' work plan and $2.5 million in federal money made available. State Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome told legislators Wednesday the deepening project is expected to be completed by 2024. He said the authority and corps are working to shorten every step of the process. By the time the Panama Canal is widened in 2014, there will be 1,200 mega-size ships worldwide bigger than what can currently fit through it. The Charleston port can handle them currently within a two-hour window at high tide. Georgia also received $2.5 million to dredge the Savannah River. The Savannah port project is on target for completion by 2016.

Unemployment-drug tests: A measure suspending the unemployment benefits of anyone who fails a drug test as part of a job application is heading to the House floor. State law already disqualifies workers fired for drug use from collecting unemployment benefits. The bill advanced Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee addresses those already receiving benefits. They would be suspended if a job seeker tests positive for illegal drugs while applying for a new job, and the employer reports the failure to the state.

Anti-union S.C.: The South Carolina House has approved a bill Republicans say further strengthens the state's already tough anti-union law. Democrats argued Wednesday the measure is unnecessary duplication in a state that already ranks among the least unionized. The bill approved by an 86-25 vote in the House would require unions to submit detailed financial data to the state's labor agency. They already must report the information to the federal Department of Labor. The measure would also increase penalties for unions that break the state's right-to-work law and require employers to post that law.

House GOP: House Republicans say they will focus this year on tax reform, shoring up the state pension system, and maintaining the state's first-in-the-South status for presidential primaries. GOP leaders who control the chamber said Wednesday a bill will be introduced later this month that would eliminate most sales tax breaks, while lowering the overall state sales tax and reduce taxes on businesses. They also want to put into law South Carolina's unique primary status that brings the state money and national attention.

DOT reform: A bill to eliminate the board that oversees South Carolina's Department of Transportation and give the governor full oversight of the agency was advanced Tuesday to the House floor. A 2007 law restructuring the agency put it in the governor's Cabinet but gave oversight to a seven-member commission. Six commissioners are elected by legislators from each congressional district, and the seventh is appointed by the governor. Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge thus reports to both Gov. Nikki Haley and the commission. While the bill eliminates the commission, it creates a 17-member advisory board to provide input without authority.

Carolina Day: The University of South Carolina baseball team was recognized Wednesday during the annual Carolina Day at the Statehouse. Gov. Nikki Haley presented baseball coach Ray Tanner with the framed Gamecock flag that flew over the Statehouse last year after his team captured its second straight College World Series. Haley also presented coaches and players with the "Back to Back National Champions Day" proclamation from last July. The baseball team was then recognized in the House. The recognitions came as university alumni lobbied for their alma mater.