Maintaining the Integrity of our Elections
This week, I voted in favor of legislation (H.3444) regarding our state’s election laws. This legislation has two goals: one, to maintain the integrity of each and every vote cast, and two, to ensure elections are run consistently across the state. After the elections of 2020, it became clear that there were discrepancies in the way each county handled votes. Simply put, we learned that counties were employing inconsistent processes, which is unacceptable. Upon ratification, this legislation would task the State Election Commission with ensuring there is a uniformity to guarantee free and fair elections. I supported this bill and it passed by a vote of 84-36.
Protecting the Right to Worship When Needed the Most
The Religious Freedom Act is legislation that reinforces our First Amendment Right to worship, even during a State of Emergency. It deems religious services essential and protects our ability to worship in times of crisis when we need it most. I voted in favor of this bill, which passed second reading by a vote of 86-29.
COVID-19 Updates: One Million South Carolinians Vaccinated
This week, our state began the transition into Phase 1B, which makes a new group of individuals eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination. This group includes people 55 and older, teachers, law enforcement personnel, store clerks, and other at-risk individuals. Visit https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccine-allocation for more information about how to qualify. You can visit https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-testing-locations to find a testing location and schedule an appointment near you.
***As of March 11th, 1,244,565 doses of the vaccine are in South Carolinian arms. For more COVID-19 statistics, visit https://scdhec.gov/covid19/covid-19-vaccination-dashboard.***
Other Legislative News
Barbershop on Wheels: This week, the House passed a law that allows mobile barbershops to operate upon acquisition of a permit. This opens a new avenue of business, which is important considering the hardships faced by the personal services industry during shutdowns. This passed by a vote of 85-29.
Homeschooled Children Can Participate in Interscholastic Sports: This bill, proposed by Rep. Allison as a joint resolution allows for more homeschool students to be eligible to participate in public school interscholastic activities, such as sports. I voted in favor of this bill, which then passed by a vote of 104-1.
Unclaimed Money Might Be Waiting For You
Millions of dollars are transferred to the Unclaimed Property Program each year by companies who cannot find the rightful owners. This week, The SC Treasurer’s Office announced that there are more than 600,000 new properties that have been reported to the Unclaimed Property Program. This includes things like money in dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, and forgotten deposits. Search for unclaimed property on the State Treasurer’s website to see if you have money waiting on you: https://treasurer.sc.gov/what-we-do/for-citizens/unclaimed-property-program/.
– Find a vaccine location near you here: https://vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov
– Information about qualifying for SBA loans: https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources
– Mental health/substance abuse services related to COVID-19: 1-844-724-6737
– For other COVID-19 resources, visit the Accelerate SC website: https://accelerate.sc.gov
– To see if you may qualify for unemployment, visit: https://dew.sc.gov
– For updates from the Governor, visit https://governor.sc.gov
To follow committees, members, meetings, bills, get notifications, access calendars and journals, and live stream videos download the SC State Legislature Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.
Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the South Carolina House of Representatives and please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected] or my 24-hour phone line at 803-331-8468.
Maintaining the Integrity of our Elections This week, I voted in favor of legislation (H.3444) regarding our state’s election laws. This legislation has two goals: one, to maintain the integrity of each and every vote cast, and two, to ensure elections are run consistently across the state. After the electionsContinue Reading
Councilmember Bill Danielson from the Town of Irmo was graduated from the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government. Graduates received their certificates during the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s virtual Hometown Legislative Action Week. Established in 1986, the institute is a program of the Municipal Association of South Carolina thatContinue Reading
Columbia City Ballet will be performing Cinderella at the Koger Center March 26 and 27. The 2019-2020 season was cut short because of the initial COVID-19 lockdown measures, days before Columbia City Ballet was scheduled to perform Cinderella at the Koger Center in Columbia. This upcoming will be the firstContinue Reading
The town of Irmo has been allocated 4.66 million dollars from the American Rescue Plan. The plan laid out by the Biden administration grants the state of South Carolina 3.8 billion dollars. This money is dispersed through the state to counties, towns and municipalities. 350 billion dollars in direct federalContinue Reading
A Lexington-Richland School District Five teacher has been selected as the Lexington Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8738 Teacher of the Year. Dutch Fork High School teacher Kelly Eckstrom was nominated for the prestigious award by her peers for promoting citizenship education in her classroom and school. The groupContinue Reading
A Lexington-Richland School District Five veteran educator has been named the President-Elect of the South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA). Colleen Marcou is the orchestra director at Irmo High School International School for the Arts and the district orchestra coordinator, with a 24 year career in School District Five. SheContinue Reading
Emily and Lucy Harling received their black belts in Tae Kwon Do from Legacy Martial Arts on Saturday, March 13. The girls have been in training for the last five years going through all the stages of ‘belts’ to earn this prestigious award. Continue Reading
By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Active and retired Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) deputies and others gathered at the RCSD Region 3 headquarters and RCSD training facility – the cafeteria-auditorium of the former Denny Terrace Elementary School – for the 23rd annual RCSD Retirees Luncheon, Mon. Mar. 8. Sheriff LeonContinue Reading
POWERPLANTSC tree planting event to aid in far reaching effort By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Trees are a critically important, life-sustaining component of our global environment. Trees provide oxygen. They absorb carbon. They stabilize the soil. They provide nesting for birds and animals, as well as fruit and other nourishmentContinue Reading
A review of artist Dawn Buskard Faber’s “Love Lifted Me” By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Art is a journey. Sounds vague, even cliché. But it’s true. And like music and poetry, visual physical hand-formed works of art are also subjective in terms of their sensory appeal. Though the clearly masterfulContinue Reading
By Al Dozier The expected vote at Tuesday’s council meeting to authorize a feasibility study on a plan to have the town of Irmo take over sewer services now provided by Blue Granite Water Co. was deferred as the town considered a possible new source of funding the $30,000 plan.Continue Reading