Below is recorded an approximate transcript of the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee meeting of 3/10/2009 dealing with s.424.
Senator Joel Lourie: I’m reading an article with Senator Bright on CNN. If this is about the Stimulus bill, lets do a Resolution about the Stimulus Bill
Senator Lee Bright: Lets divide this …I don’t mind taking up both…
Chairman Larry Martin: This bill stands alone. It concerns other rights and privileges. When you talk about overstepping…I remember the case of a gun law…I think it was Arizona. The Supreme Court said that the Commerce Clause did not stretch that far. There is a broad range of things that congress gets into…
Senator Robert Ford: I just think its directed at the Stimulus Package. If it is, why not say so? I am against the Stimulus, too. I read where one state is talking about enforcement… Is it about the Stimulus? I appreciate this - on the surface it makes good sense. Do you believe in Medicare? in Social Security?
Bright: It violates…
Ford: Federal highway system?
Bright: Yes, its not a Federal responsibility.
Bright: Its directed at the Federal Government. If you want to get into the Stimulus Package… I am sorry our grand children will have to suffer – The phrase I like is, “Who will bail out the bailers? We had a discussion about the Tea Party – They wanted the tea but they sent it back.
Ford: I’ve got to respect my Republican Colleagues – They know more about what they believe in than we do. They are sincere. But the media will say South Carolina is against the Stimulus. You should give us a chance to deal with the Stimulus… The Federal Government doesn’t understand the 10th amendment. If they understood the 10th amendment 720,000 people would not have died. The Feds didn’t understand it. If they did they never would have interfered with the states. Give me another example besides the Stimulus.
Someone: Drinking age
Bright: Yes we ought to have a say…and then…immigration –
Someone: What about Real ID? (applause)
Bright: Yes, lots of things…Education ought to be under the State.
Ford: That’s enough.
Bright: Want some more?
Ford: You made us pass the seat belt law.
Someone: We agreed with it.
Ford: Tell me something…You can’t have it both ways. At the threat of losing Federal dollars…Sometimes its all right…sometimes not.
Bright: Look at the Bill
Ford: You’re not going to be like the rest of the Senate. When the Federal government…Cause I don’t like them telling me what to do. If you are not going to buckle than I’m going to support you.
Bright: I'm not going to buckle.
Ford: I think you just don’t like the Stimulus
Bright: It’s like a house at the beach when there’s erosion getting worse. Sooner or later you look for your house and its just ocean.
Ford: But where do you stand? The folks in the audience say yeah. I want to hear it from you.
Bright: For me and mine…
Senator Shane Martin: I’m new here. I don’t think the Stimulus bill package came up yet when we introduced this bill. I’m going to vote for it.
Senator Brad Hutto: I believe in the 10th. The answer is, if you don’t like it, take it to court. Nobody is going to read this or change anything. If you don’t like it take it to court. The Constitution is decided by the Supreme Court. Joe Wilson wrote a bill just like this one and he got to Washington before it did. Just a way to get Democrats. I’m going to write a Minority Report.
Senator George Malloy: More or less reduces it to the Russ Limbaugh bill. (laughter)
Hutto: I withdrew that one. I introduced it in the spirit of goodnaturedness.
Bright: It’s on 31 agendas. South Carolina needs to take the lead.
Senator Shane Massey: I am embarrassed that we waited till now. We should have done it during the last administration. I don’t think of this as a partisan measure. They are screwing things up
Senator George Campsen: The Senator from Aiken is right – The last several decades there has been an expansion of Federal power. The first 10 amendments were passed by very skeptical states who had just fought against the most powerful nation...before they would cede any power.
This is very timely. Will it have any influence in Washington when bills get passed? It’s not political, its a civic issue. It’s not going to affect bills from Washington but is it not a good statement to say? It’s not partisan.
I remember one of the landmark decisions – With the Migratory Bird Rule the federal government claimed jurisdiction over wetlands all over the country, calling them Navigable Waters of the U.S., because hunting makes ducks affect interstate commerce. The U.S. Supreme Court struck it down, put the ball back into our court. This bill is not partisan. Its not even hostile to the federal government. It says please honor our rights.You know what they are going to do with it? They are going to treat it just like we do (pause)
Campbell: The counties? (laughter)
Campsen: the Governor’s budget – make it a doorstop.
Bright: Senator Malloy and Senator Hutto, please consider not writing a Minority Report.
Senator Michael Mulvney: My 9 year old daughter asked me, after seeing me kiss her mother goodbye one morning, “Why do you tell someone you love them when they already know it?” Sometimes at my church we put ashes on our forehead as part of a ritual. My wife and I have renewed our vows a couple of times...
Miles: Senator Malloy you are right about the Big Brother issues.
Bright: We must teach our children…
Miles: Senator Massey is right. We should have done this before.
Malloy: Senator Bright, you presumed I would put a Minority Report out – Your partisan skepticism may be a benign thing. But your presumption is wrong. I think there will be a Minority Report but it won’t be mine.
Bright: I apologize.
Larry Martin: I think some of the House language should be changed. Language about “state of emergency without state legislative approval.” I don’t know if you want to get into national disasters. Senator Bright’s resolution is good
Lourie: I have a few questions. Sounds good. Can somebody tell me why we are doing this? Our feelings as they relate to the 10th amendment…
Someone: Congress uses the commerce clause - stretches it as far as it can be stretched.
Martin: The resolution urges congress and the administration not to overstep in areas not specifically adhering to the confines of the constitution – and what we are about as a State. We do have an amendment to make this deal with all government agencies – not instead of or before South Carolina.
At this point one of the freshmen Senators asked for a roll-call vote. The Chairman asked for a vote of those calling for a roll call. Apparently it takes 1/10th of the Senate to call for one. When asked 6 or 7 raised their hands.
Senator Malloy voiced some impatience with this. He said that if the committee was going to vote on some items this way, than why not on all items. Senator Jake Knotts then gave the freshmen a lengthily piece of advice about the danger of demanding roll-call votes. They would learn, he told them, that this action would come back to bite them.
The Chairman asked for the vote a second time and the same men voted the same way so the committee vote was taken by the committee members one by one.
The resolution passed by a vote of 15/6.
Senators Hutto, Lourie, Malloy, Williams, Scott and Nicholson voted against sending the resolution to the full Senate for a vote.
There are omissions and some inaccuracies in the above transcript because the discussion took place faster than I could take it all down. If I have misreported any passage please let me know so that I can put it right.
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