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Covering everything from preventive medicine for school athletes to early voting, local lawmakers have filed numerous bills for consideration in 2009.
No fewer than 16 bills and resolutions were pre-filed during December by local lawmakers. Among these, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, has entered the lion’s share with nine bills.
Cobb-Hunter says one new bill was filed in response to the death of a 15-year-old Calhoun Academy student in October 2007.
It requires that a student who participates on a school-sponsored athletic team be administered an electrocardiogram during the student’s pre-participation physical. It also requires the physician administering the test to clear the student for participation before he or she is eligible to play.
“A North woman, the grandmother of the girl who died while jogging, called me in August,” Cobb-Hunter said. “She said that an EKG would have discovered the cardiac arrhythmia that led to the girl’s death. I was amazed because I had already gotten e-mails from in and out of state that related similar stories.”
“I did my research before creating the bill. I recognize the cost associated with this and, for some families, it’s already a struggle to come up with the money for the physical,” she said.
“But this is too important. I was so moved by this woman’s grief and her feeling this could be prevented. I believe we can work with the South Carolina Medical Association and the South Carolina School Boards Association and come up with a way to do this so it’s not an undue burden to anyone.”
Cobb-Hunter said another bill she plans to file is designed to use technology to reduce metal thefts, especially the theft of copper.
“We also need to focus on regulation for these little recycling places that are more prone to accepting hot merchandise,” she said. “There is currently nothing in the law that would preclude anyone with a few acres of land to start a recycling business. Regulating these kinds of operations that function on the edge will address health, safety and environmental concerns.”
Any bills left over at the conclusion of a two-year session must be refiled in order to be considered during the new session. Seven bills prefiled by Cobb-Hunter fall into this category.
They include a bill that would require a roll call vote on budgetary and other spending measures, while another would allow for an additional $300 million to be issued in school facilities bonds over a five-year period, starting with the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
House Minority Leader Harry Ott, D-St. Matthews, and Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, are co-sponsors of a bill that calls for the enactment of the South Carolina Voter Accessibility Act. It would establish early voting centers that would allow a registered voter to vote outside his or her precinct.
“After the general election, I heard from many of my constituents that they didn’t want to wait in long lines to vote,” Ott said. “It makes sense to me to have centralized voter registration offices where those who are registered can cast their ballots two weeks prior to the election day. The state Election Commission also supports this idea. The more people that are casting ballots, the better the process works.
“I don’t see this costing any additional money. The idea is to use existing county voter registration offices that are already staffed.”
Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Denmark, is co-sponsor of a joint resolution that seeks to amend the state constitution so the state is required to provide a high-quality education for all children in all public schools. Sen. John Matthews, D-Bowman, has co-sponsored similar legislation in the Senate.
“We need to add that wording to the constitution because it’s essential to moving forward and improving public education in South Carolina,” Sellers said.
Other pre-filed legislation includes Govan’s bill that would allow school districts to operate on a four-day week and a bill by Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, that would amend state energy policy to encourage the use of clean and renewable energy resources.
T&D Staff Writer Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at psarata@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.