Lawmakers Reflect on Achievements as Regular Session Ends
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- As the regular session comes to an end Thursday, lawmakers say they are proud of every thing they were able to accomplish but there is still so much more that needs to be done.
“To finally be able to have a roads bill is quite an accomplishment but other than that, it’s a shortened session. We really haven’t done that much,” said House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford.
Reactions are mixed about the shortened session. Some lawmakers feel the shorter sessions should continue.
“I think we’ve been very productive this year,” began Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey. “In fact, this is probably one of the more productive years that I can remember. I think it’s possible that the shortened session put some additional pressure on people in order to move things a little quicker. The reality is no matter how the session is, we’re going to put off the most important things until the end anyway,” said Massey.
Part two of this legislative session will begin in January of 2018 but lawmakers are already looking ahead to the biggest challenge they hope to take on next.
“We still have to deal with what I consider to be a educational crisis. When we look at what happened with our buses this year in terms of the fires that took place, we’re just fortunate that we didn’t have a loss of life and I think those are issues that we’ve got to tackle, we’ve got to tackle them head on. Hopefully, we’ll have enough time to get that done,” said Williamsburg County senator Ronnie Sabb.
Though the regular session ended on May 11th, senators will come back for special session on May 23rd when they plan to take up some last minute items
