Legislative Update March 1-5

Last week was a great success for the Conservation Community, many important pieces of legislation relating to our issues moved forward. Bills relating to land use, water, energy and recycling took center stage:

S.903 Conservation Bank
S. 903, introduced by Sen. McConnell (R-Charleston), was passed favorably out of Senate Environmental and Natural Resources Subcommittee last Wednesday with a unanimous cote and will be heard in the full Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee this Wednesday, March 10th. The Conservation Bank will also have a budget hearing this Thursday, March, 11th. S.903 eliminates the unfair "Death Clause" language and puts funding of the Conservation Bank in line with the other agencies in tough economic times. We would like to thank the Senators on the Subcommittee for voting in favor of this legislation and encourage continued support for this important conservation program in the State.

S.1075 Condemnation of Conservation Easements
S.1075, introduced by Sen. Vince Sheheen (D-Camden), passed unanimously our of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Wednesday. The bill would allow the holder of a conservation easement to get judicial review as to whether there are reasonable and prudent alternatives to condemning an eased property for a public purpose. CCL supports this bill because it protects easement holders and encourages conservation.

S.1096/H.4446 Utility Energy Efficiency Financing
S.1096, introduced by Sen. Glenn McConnell (R-Charleston), passed the full Senate on Feb. 25th and has been sent to the House. Last week the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee voted favorably to send the bill to the floor and we expect action on it this week. We would like to thank the members of both houses for supporting this legislation and look forward to final passage. We expect a final version of this legislation to be sent to the Governor later this month. CCL supports this bill because it will save money, save energy and create local jobs.

H.4093 E-Waste Recycling
On March 3rd the full House passed H.4904 by Rep. Loftis (R-Greenville) which will require manufacturers of computer equipment and larger televisions sold in South Carolina to establish recovery programs for the recycling of their products. We would like to thank the members of the House for their overwhelming support. It now goes to the Senate for consideration. CCL is supportive of this measure as it will keep hazardous metals out of the State's landfills.

This bill is a collaborative effort between industry and the Conservation Community to establish a framework by which all manufacturers of computer equipment and televisions with a viewable screen of nine inches or larger must establish a convenient program for the recovery of their product when a consumer wishes to dispose of them.

As one of the findings of the bills states: "Developing and implementing a system for recovering televisions, computing, and printing devices promotes resource conservation, public health, public safety and economic prosperity."

There are a number of provisions contained in the legislation dealing with how a manufacturer may meet this goal but the intent is that E-Waste should not into our landfills.

The bill does not cover telephone equipment, PDA's or cellphones.

If enacted, as of July 1, 2011, this bill would also prohibit any consumer from "knowingly placing any of these covered devices in a waste stream that is to be disposed of in a solid waste landfill." The bill also states that the owner or operator of a solid waste landfill cannot knowingly accept this material after this date.

S.1054 Mega Mall Tax Incentives
The full Senate voted 29-13 on Feb. 25th to place the highly controversial S.1054 by Sen. Clementa Pickney (D-Jasper) on the Special Order Calendar, with full Senate action and a possible filibuster as early as this Tuesday, March 9th. The bill offers up to $130 million in tax breaks to a single developer if certain hiring targets are met and is being opposed by CCL and others on environmental and fiscal policy grounds.