SC House Passes Bill to Shorten Legislative Session

Is the 10th time the charm?

Once again the South Carolina House of Represntatives has passed legislation that would shorten its work session.

The question is, will it finally get the two-thirds majority it needs to pass in the Senate? Based on a Twitter fight that occurred between GOP House and Senate shortly after the measure was passed, that doesn't seem likely. Should it finally happen, the measure would then be put to the voters in November 2014.

If approved the legislation would cause the General Assembly to end on the first Thursday in May rather than the first Thursday in June. It would also keep the General Assembly from meeting in statewide session during the month of January, while still allowing legislative committees to meet during that time.

The House claims that shortening the session would save taxpayers as much as $400,000.

“It is no secret that we have one of the longest legislative sessions in the country, and it is extraordinarily long given the size of our state,” said House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville). “As it has nine times before, this goes to the state Senate, where we hope it will be approved quickly.”

Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement following the vote, which went 91-9 in favor:

"The House has long believed that we can accomplish the people's work in less time, and by doing so, save taxpayers more than $400,000 a year. We have seen time and time again at the State House that the work fills the time. Much as a student who waits until right before test day to cram for midterms, so does the General Assembly cram much of its work into the last part of the session.  We will be able to do the same amount of work, just in less time and with less taxpayer money. 

"In South Carolina, we have a part-time citizen Legislature. However, lasting nearly half a year, many citizens who would like to serve our state are deterred from running for office because of our long session calendar. By shortening the session we will better empower a true citizen-led Legislature, save taxpayers money and allow lawmakers to spend more time in the communities they represent."

Keep up with all of Patch's coverage of South Carolina politics by following us on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.