Senators Vote Against Special Order to Prioritize Road Bill

Special Order Vote Fails With a Vote of 23-18

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- The 2017 road bill’s path to the Senate floor will continue to wait as senators voted 23 to 18 against a special order that would have prioritized the legislation. Some senators who voted no say their vote does not mean they do not want road funding.

“We are not going to support a straight up tax increase,” began Edgefield Republican Shane Massey. “We are committed to passing something this year, we are not trying to kill this bill. We want it to pass, we want to fix our roads, but there is going to have to be a few more things in there to get the folks here to jump on board,” Massey said.

Other  senators who voted no say the bill needs to be more economically sound to get a yes from them. “We have to take the opportunity to make sure our economy is as strong as possible and we do that by engaging in some tax reform so they can accomplish all those things. Those are the conversations that to-date have not been had or have not been had with a wide-enough circle to make some movement in that direction,” said Dorchester Republican Sean Bennett.

Senators who voted to move the bill up argue the Senate needs to vote on the bill early before budget deliberations, saying the bill can modified while it is being discussed. “I realize some people may not be happy with the bill that the house sent us. I realize there is a lot of unreadiness but there is a way to deal with that, we have amendments,” said Charleston Democrat Marlon Kimpson.

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce issued a statement saying in-part: “The people of South Carolina deserve better and expect more – they want the Senate do its job, follow the House’s lead and make a long term investment in our decaying roads.”