South Carolina Senate delays debate on DHEC leader

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The state Senate has postponed further discussion on whether to confirm Catherine Templeton as head of South Carolina’s public health and environmental control agency.

Sen. Phil Leventis briefly returned to the podium Thursday to continue his filibuster of the vote, a day after the Sumter Democrat spoke for about four hours.

Lacking enough votes to force Leventis to sit down, senators delayed the issue until Tuesday.

The Senate must decide whether to confirm Templeton. She was chosen by the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s board, with Gov. Nikki Haley’s blessing.

Templeton now leads the much smaller Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. A Senate committee approved her move to DHEC 13-0, praising her leadership at LLR.

Leventis argues the labor lawyer lacks the proper experience to run DHEC.