THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA
The South Carolina House and Senate are on furlough this week.
H. 4717 (Farm Aid Bill) remains on the Senate calendar for second reading.
The full Senate Education Committee met on Wednesday and confirmed the appointment of Clemson Trustee, Dr. Louis Lynn (Clemson’70, M ’73) to the Commission on Higher Education. Dr. Lynn represents the Public Research Universities. The Committee also confirmed the appointments of Paul Batson (Clemson ’71) and Allison Dean Love to the Commission on Higher Education. These appointments now go to the full Senate.
The State Budget Process
The South Carolina House of Representatives completed their work on the state budget on Wednesday, March 23.
The House’s version of the budget includes the following specifically for Clemson University and Clemson PSA:
Clemson E&G
– $5 million in recurring funding for E&G General Operating funds
– $2 million in nonrecurring funding for Outdoor Laboratory Facilities Maintenance
Clemson PSA
– $1 million in recurring funding for Agriculture and Natural Resources Programming
– $750,000 in recurring funding for Animal Industry Infectious Disease Prevention
– $1 million in nonrecurring funding for Agriculture and Natural Resources Field Facilities
– $1 million in nonrecurring funding for the T. Ed Garrison Arena Education/Conference Center
The House included a 2% cost of living pay increase for state employees in their version of the budget.
The House’s version of the budget includes an increase in the cost of health insurance for state employees which will be paid by the state. The House budget also includes a 0.5% increase in state employees’ retirement contributions which will not be paid by the state.
The budget now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for deliberation. It is anticipated that the Senate Finance Committee will begin their work on the budget the week of April 12.
Detailed information on Clemson’s 2016 state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2016-17 may be found at these links:
Clemson Education and General (E&G) Priorities
Clemson Public Service and Agriculture (PSA) Priorities
BILLS OF INTEREST
The Clemson University Governmental Affairs office is monitoring several bills that have potential impact on Clemson. A complete listing of these bills may be found here. Click on the bill number for a description of the legislation, along with the bill’s current status.
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The Clemson Advocates website is constantly updated with news and information.