“Great Day” Answer Challenge

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) –Two South Carolina legislators say state employees shouldn’t have to answer the phone with Gov. Nikki Haley’s mandated cheery greeting unless it’s truly a great day in South Carolina. Democratic Reps. John Richard King and Wendell Gilliard have filed legislation saying no state agency can force its employees to answer the phone with, “It’s a great day in South Carolina” as long as state unemployment is 5 percent or higher. Their bill also would outlaw the greeting as long as all South Carolinians don’t have health insurance. At a September meeting, Haley ordered her Cabinet agencies to embrace the greeting, saying it could help change the mood of state government. A Haley spokesman says the governor stands by the greeting. State lawmakers return to Columbia next month.