Government Efficiency & Legislative Oversight - Subcommittee Meetings:

If you've kept up with prior newsletters, by now you know I serve on this Committee of the SC House. This summer, we have had three Healthcare and Regulatory Subcommittee meetings so far. We have been closely examining the processes, finances, and results of the SC Department of Insurance. For many people, this would probably be tedious work. For me, as a 40-year veteran of the Financial Services Industry and a Certified Financial Planning Practitioner™, I have found it very enlightening. According to our Chairman at the last meeting two weeks ago, it will likely take at least two more meetings to complete the review. Then we will meet to discuss our findings and make recommendations for improving efficiency with the agency. My concern has been the same one I had when our full committee conducted an overview of seven agencies. As Representatives, we are supposed to ask questions and discern whatever we can from the information; however, in the case of this series of subcommittee meetings, members often seem unprepared and ask so many questions at every turn that it is likely doubling the time it takes to complete the process. Every time we go to Columbia, taxpayers have to pay for commuter miles and per diem, which works out to about $460, slightly less for members who live closer. There are five members. While this might not seem like a lot, remember that there are many other subcommittees. I cannot speak for each one, but based on the full committee meeting, it would not surprise me if the same thing happens in those subcommittee meetings. Putting it bluntly, we are paid to take as long as possible to finish this process. To me, this is not "Government Efficiency" at all; rather, it is business as usual in a bloated bureaucracy. I called our Chairman, Rep. John McCravy after the last meeting and politely asked if there is any way he could make an announcement at the beginning of our next hearing that while we are more than welcome to ask questions as needed, if they go beyond two or three, to please jot them down and ask a member of the agency after the hearing. Most of the Department of Insurance staff have stayed around for several minutes following these meetings, and are also happy to provide their direct contact information. We should not be costing taxpayers extra money by taking as long as possible to complete something that I believe could have been done in two or three hearings.

Elected Officials Behaving Badly:

This summer has been very disheartening, and for many of us, shocking in terms of behavior by some elected officials. None of us is perfect, and we all make mistakes, but what we have witnessed has been terribly troubling. Anyone who is in the public eye should try to be especially mindful that their actions and words can very well end up coming under scrutiny by the public at large. This is true for well-known corporate leaders and celebrities as well. Unfortunately, when it is a person that you or others in our state elected to represent them, it is especially painful because we feel so disillusioned, so disappointed, and possibly, so embarrassed. From having a State Representative currently in jail during an investigation for alleged child pornography activity, to a highly publicized affair, to another elected official verbally publicly attacking a constituent with disgusting obscenities in the District I serve just for asking a simple question, and then proudly posting the video on social media including the offensive language, it has been a trying time for many. Again, none of us is perfect, but I pledge to you to do my best to continue to represent you and work to solve problems, keeping the drama to a minimum if at all. You did not elect reality TV actors; you elect representatives at all levels and leaders in many of the positions, and it is our responsibility to do our job, not cause major distractions for everyone due to inappropriate or downright illegal behavior.

Around the District and the Lowcountry:



For a number of years now, Mount Pleasant Waterfront Park has been the site of a wonderful tradition, the Annual Sweetgrass Festival. You may have heard about this, or even attended it, but you may not realize that for the last four years, on Friday night the Festival kicks off with "A Taste of Sweetgrass," which is a dinner highlighting the culture of the Gullah Geechee in the Lowcountry and the East Cooper communities. Currently, this event is focusing on raising funds to finish the renovation and reopening of the 1904 Longpoint Schoolhouse as an educational, cultural and historic facility for the public to enjoy, and especially the children in the surrounding area. This building, located in the Snowden Community, is the oldest surviving African American schoolhouse in South Carolina, predating the Rosenwald schools throughout the state that you may have heard about. News Anchor Raphael James was this year's Master of Ceremonies, and we heard from a number of members of the local settlement communities in regard to the history of sweetgrass baskets, songs and traditions, and delicious Gullah Geechee cuisine. Buckshot Restaurant of Awendaw, owned by Mayor Miriam Green, catered the dinner. After hearing one of the stories about how women used to carry a wide, shallow sweetgrass basket on their heads, Raphael James had to try it out for himself! Joe and I have participated every year in the event, inviting friends and family, sponsoring a table, and this year, serving as an event sponsor.  We were seated with Councilman Gary Santos and his fiancée, Darlene. The current President of the African American Settlement Communities Historic Commission, Freddie Jenkins, called me the week after the dinner and asked for my assistance in possibly finding a major keynote speaker and a larger venue for next year. Everyone in Mount Pleasant, whether native born or newcomer, can benefit from learning more about the history and enjoying some of the cultural specialties of this unique community in which we live. One of the best ways I can think of to bring people together is to gain an appreciation of their circumstances, and sharing cultural differences is a great way to grow stronger.