Haley Holds Town Hall Meeting in Spartanburg

Gov. Nikki Haley held a town hall meeting at Spartanburg Community College on Monday, using the opportunity to outline goals for the state and also field a few questions from the audience.

Haley released the 2011 Legislative Report Card during the event, which gives grades to each member of the South Carolina General Assembly based on how they voted on specific issues, such as a a bill that requires on-the-record voting and another on tort reform, as well as how many of the governor's budgetary vetoes they sustained.

Most lawmakers in Greenville County received strong grades in the report, though Senators Ralph Anderson and Mike Fair received an 'F' and 'C' respectively. In the House of Representatives, Greenville area lawmakers Karl Allen and Chandra Dillard received a 'D' and an 'F' respectively.

Haley said in her remarks that the report was not an attempt to shame any lawmaker, but to be the topic of dialogue between the legislators and their constituents when it comes to key issues.

Haley briefly outlined several of her goals during the stop, which included phasing out the corporate income tax, instituting a Department of Administration and salvaging the state's retirement system, which has some $17 billion in unfunded liabilities.

Haley said that in order to ensure retirement for state employees, South Carolina should raise the requirement from 28 years of service to 30, and begin providing cost-of-living adjustments only when the state can afford them, instead of them being automatic.

“If we do it right now, we will never get into this situation again," Haley said.

Watch more of Haley's visit to Spartanburg in Patch's video coverage.