State house Report #4 -  Shannon Erickson - House District 124 Highlights of the First 12 Weeks!

First of all, I apologize that my "March Narrative" is a bit tardy and lengthy. It's been quite a busy month and April is about the same way. So, here I am with my informal personal narrative summary of what I've been up to, where I've been, etc. It's been a busy thirteen weeks now and, since many of you ask, yes...I am enjoying myself! The other truth is that the time is flying so quickly it is scary. There is so much left to be done in a short time frame. I pledged that I would hit the ground running and I continue to maintain my work ethic and focus. March definitely came in like a lion...the budget time for the SC House. The 7 billion dollar budget was quite an undertaking and I was proud of the House in fully funding our public schools, adding 30 new Highway Patrol troopers, and keeping our promise to replace our school bus fleet. We also voted to give state employees a 2% cost of living pay increase, fund our successful college scholarship programs and our healthcare responsibilities. I co-sponsored an amendment that held harmless our public schools due to the antiquated education funding formulas as well. Unfortunately, we now see that the budget projections are worse than anticipated and that Senate finance committee does not have the same priorities as the SC House. The full Senate will take up its version this week, so I urge you to let your voices be heard! In regards to legislation, the House passed measures to give voters a chance to decide whether the Secretary of State and Superintendent of Education should be elected or appointed by future governors. You will be able to decide during this November’s general election, if the bill is approved by the Senate. You will also have a chance to determine if the lieutenant governor should run on a ticket with the governor – like the president and vice president do. These are important steps to restructuring our state government and my hopes are that the Senate will move them forward. On a more personal note, "Lauren's Law" H.4758 - a bill to provide that a high school student who is the victim of physical abuse, harassment, or stalking by a classmate who gets a restraining order against the classmate by a competent jurisdiction & transfers with school district approval will not lose interscholastic sports eligibility will be heard by the K-12 Education Sub-Committee on Tuesday (4-15). This sounds like common sense judgment, but, in fact, The High School League (a self-regulating group that oversees our public school sports) deemed Lauren ineligible to play softball, but allowed her former classmate to continue to participate in his sports. I am proud to support this legislation & honored that Lauren will come testify on Tuesday. Also, on the calendar this week is H.4523. This bill tightens penalties for child molesters. The bill makes this a "serious" crime- putting it into the 3-strikes category and makes it "non-parolable" so that folks convicted will serve a minimum of 80% of their sentence instead of the 20% they now serve. This bill will be heard in the Criminal Laws Judiciary Sub-Committee on Wednesday, April 15. I must mention all my visitors, phone calls and emails. You all energize and inspire me with your enthusiasm, convictions, and passions! Some of my visitors to Columbia this month were Constance Goodwine-Lewis from Broad River Elementary, Cher Milner & Tom Wilson of Beaufort Marine Institute, Jane Upshaw & crew from USC-Beaufort, Ann McNutt & crew from TCL, and the Beckert Family who used their children's spring break to introduce them to our state government in action. Thanks to so many of you who email me and call also. I appreciate your input and opinions. I also appreciate you sharing your personal experiences about how government could work better for you. I am thankful that I live in a community where we all join hands and work for a better world. Please remember, I am SO honored that you have trusted me to be your Beaufort voice in Columbia and I am keeping my promise to be noisy...and heard. I have attended our Beaufort County Council Legislative meetings, SC Bankers reception, SC Governor's School reception, Coastal Caucus meetings, Christian Women's Connection luncheon, SC HVAC meeting, and was the "celebrity mixologist" at 17.19 Habersham. Sadly, our community said farewell to Hugh Farrell and Chuck Norris, both wonderful Beaufortonians. I pray that their families find solace in that they will be lovingly remembered by all who knew them. All of these times, happy and sad, show our steadfast commitment to one another. Beaufort is such a special place and I am so honored that you allow me to be your Beaufort voice in Columbia. Come see me, drop me an email, or give me a call! I am here if you need me...anytime, anywhere! Shannon Representative Shannon Erickson 129 S. Hermitage Road Beaufort, SC 29902 843.525.1439 (home) 843.986.1090 (work) 843.263.1867 (cell) 803.734.3261 (Columbia office) shannonerickson@schouse.org (Columbia email) 306 - A Blatt Building Columbia, SC 29211 (Columbia office) www.electshannon.com