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The Senate amendments to the following Bill were taken up for consideration.

H. 4566 -- Reps. Jennings, Askins, Baxley, Fulmer, P. Harris, Harrison, Hines, McAbee, Shissias, Snow, Spearman, Tucker, J. Wilder, Harwell, G. Brown, Neilson, Kinon, Beatty, Cobb-Hunter, Richardson, Keyserling, H. Brown, A. Young, Waldrop, Huff, T.C. Alexander, Stuart, Sturkie, R. Smith, Chamblee, Moody-Lawrence, Corning, Harrell, Thomas, Inabinett, Wilkins and Boan: A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 24 OF TITLE 34, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA BANK HOLDING COMPANY ACT, SO AS TO REVISE AND FURTHER PROVIDE FOR DEFINITIONS AND REGULATORY PROVISIONS AND PROCEDURES IN ORDER TO PERMIT AFTER A SPECIFIED DATE AN OUT-OF-STATE BANK HOLDING COMPANY TO OPERATE AND MAKE ACQUISITIONS IN THIS STATE IN THE SAME MANNER THAT A SOUTHERN REGION BANK HOLDING COMPANY IS PERMITTED TO OPERATE AND MAKE ACQUISITIONS.

Rep. JENNINGS explained the Senate amendment.

The Senate amendments were agreed to, and the Bill, having received three readings in both Houses, it was ordered that the title be changed to that of an Act, and that it be enrolled for ratification.

The Senate amendments to the following Bill were taken up for consideration.

H. 4475 -- Reps. Snow and Law: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 57-5-135 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION MUST NOTIFY IN WRITING EACH MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN WHOSE HOUSE OR SENATORIAL DISTRICT A HIGHWAY PROJECT IS OR IS TO BE LOCATED WHEN A PUBLIC HEARING OR PUBLIC MEETING CONCERNING THE PROJECT IS TO BE CONDUCTED AT LEAST TEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE HEARING OR MEETING.

Rep. FELDER made the Point of Order that the Senate amendments were improperly before the House for consideration since printed copies of the Senate amendments have not been upon the desks of the members for one day.

The SPEAKER sustained the Point of Order.

The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 2, 1994
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the House to S. 436:
S. 436 -- Senator Richter: A BILL TO AMEND ARTICLE 5, CHAPTER 5, TITLE 56, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING A NEW SECTION 56-5-765, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN A MOTOR VEHICLE OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IS INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC COLLISION, THE INVESTIGATION OF THE COLLISION MUST BE PERFORMED BY AN INDEPENDENT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY, EITHER THE STATE HIGHWAY PATROL OR THE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT.
and has ordered the Bill Enrolled for Ratification.

Very respectfully,
President

Received as information.

The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 2, 1994
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the House to S. 782:
S. 782 -- Senators Rose and Giese: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTIONS 43-7-60, 43-7-70, 43-7-80, AND 43-7-90 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CRIMES OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER FRAUD AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE RECIPIENT FRAUD AND TO PROVIDE CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL FOR A PROVIDER OF MEDICAL

Very respectfully,
President

Received as information.

The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 2, 1994
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the House to S. 1432:
S. 1432 -- Senator Mescher: A BILL TO AMEND ACT 1093 OF 1966, AS LAST AMENDED BY ACT 437 OF 1973, RELATING TO THE GOOSE CREEK PARK AND PLAYGROUND COMMISSION, SO AS TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE COMMISSION TO THE GOOSE CREEK RECREATION COMMISSION.
and has ordered the Bill Enrolled for Ratification.

Very respectfully,
President

Received as information.

The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 2, 1994
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the House to S. 1421:
S. 1421 -- Senators Moore and Ryberg: A BILL TO AMEND ACT 268 OF 1989 TO CHANGE THE TAX MILLAGE FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF AIKEN COUNTY FOR THE YEAR 1994 AND THEREAFTER.
and has ordered the Bill Enrolled for Ratification.

Very respectfully,
President

Received as information.

The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 2, 1994
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it concurs in the amendments proposed by the House to S. 1230:
S. 1230 -- Senator Martin: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 40-57-155 OF THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS, SO AS TO EXEMPT LICENSED BROKERS OR SALES AGENTS WHO ARE ALSO ACTIVE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS PROVISION.
and has ordered the Bill Enrolled for Ratification.

Very respectfully,
President

Received as information.

Rep. GONZALES moved to adjourn debate upon the following Bill, which was adopted.

H. 4431 -- Rep. Gonzales: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 27-40-740, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO A

The following House Resolution was taken up.

H. 5258 -- Reps. Kelley, A. Young, Keegan, Simrill, Shissias, Fulmer, Kennedy, Thomas, Sharpe, Witherspoon, Littlejohn, Harrison, Riser, Corning, Wells, Baxley, McAbee, Carnell, McKay, G. Bailey, Stille, Barber, Worley, Richardson, Walker, Stone, J. Harris, Stuart, Delleney, Lanford, Meacham, D. Smith, Huff and Fair: A HOUSE RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO REFRAIN FROM INCLUDING EMPLOYER MANDATES AS PART OF ANY HEALTH CARE REFORM LEGISLATION.

Whereas, under President Clinton's health care reform proposal, all employers would be required to provide health care coverage to their employees; and

Whereas, Title I of the Health Security Act would require employers to pay for eighty percent of a comprehensive set of health care benefits for all employees, including Medicare recipients, and prorated payments for part-time and seasonal workers; and

Whereas, such employer mandates would result in job loss, a reduction in profits and productivity for American business in general, and small business in particular, and result in higher prices for consumers and lower wages for workers; and

Whereas, small business owners justifiably fear these employer mandates will be utilized to fund an entitlement created, managed, and regulated by the federal government, no different from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or Unemployment Insurance; and

Whereas, such employer mandates have every characteristic of the kind of mandatory payment that is most damaging to small business and the jobs it creates: it is, in fact, a payroll tax; and

Whereas, almost all employers would be required to fulfill this obligation by paying a specific percentage of payroll to a regional health alliance; these mandatory payroll-based premiums constitute a huge, new payroll tax to pay for sixty percent of the proposed new health care system; and

Whereas, a national health board would have the unchecked power to increase at any time the percentage of payroll required to be paid by employers to the regional health alliance; and

Whereas, payroll taxes assessed to pay for mandatory benefits also impose upon small business owners a new cost over which they have no control, thus limiting their ability to provide the best possible compensation package for each individual business's survival and its employees; and

Whereas, employer mandates would also impose upon employers a wave of paperwork to be submitted to regional alliances to prove compliance with the law and to calculate payments; such massive amounts of paperwork and the cost associated with it would, in essence, be a hidden tax on employers; and

Whereas, because most small businesses are labor intensive, particularly in the retail and service sector, small firms are disproportionately damaged by a payroll-based tax; a payroll tax also acts as a disincentive for maintaining existing employees; and

Whereas, while small business in general would be adversely affected by employer mandates, small businesses owned by minorities and women would be affected to an even greater extent because these firms tend to be the smallest of our businesses; and

Whereas, based on data from the Census Bureau, the Congressional Budget Office, and other reliable sources, sixty percent of employers in the United States have fewer than five employees, accounting for three million of our employers; of this group, seventy-four percent do not provide health care insurance for their employees; and

Whereas, employer mandates preclude a health care reform approach that makes it possible for these small businesses to respond to a reformed health care insurance market; instead, it immediately and disproportionately raises the payroll costs of these businesses by 3.5 percent to 7.9 percent of payroll, and ultimately makes them responsible for eighty percent of a very rich standard health care standard benefits package; and

Whereas, there exists near unanimity of opinion among the American people, congressional leaders, economists, and even proponents in the White House that employer mandates would result in job loss and prove damaging to small business; and

Whereas, sixty-four percent of Americans are concerned that the Health Security Act will cause employers to eliminate jobs, and seventy-three

Whereas, the Council of Economic Advisors has acknowledged that six hundred thousand jobs could be lost under the President's plan; the small business subsidy plan is in and of itself an acknowledgement of the burden that would be placed on small firms by employer mandates; and

Whereas, a one thousand member survey of the American Economics Association in June, 1993, indicated that eighty percent of the economists interviewed projected a decrease in employment among all employees as the result of requiring employers to provide health care benefits to low-wage employees; and

Whereas, another study conducted by the Employment Policies Institute in March, 1994, concluded that requiring employers to pay for workers' health care insurance expenses would increase labor costs, leading to the loss of 2.1 million jobs; and

Whereas, a Consad Research Corporation study found that three leading health care reform plans requiring employer mandates would affect 7.5 million to 18 million jobs in terms of reduced wages, reduction of other benefits, and potential cuts in hours worked; job loss estimates ranged from four hundred thousand to over one million. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That this body memorializes the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to refrain from including employer mandates as part of any health care reform legislation.

Be it further resolved, that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that any federal health care reform enacted into law shall:

(1) preserve the right of all Americans to choose to maintain their existing health insurance policy;

(2) preserve the right of all Americans to choose their own doctors and medical service providers;

(3) preserve the right of all Americans to finance their choice of doctors and medical service providers through private health insurance by making participation in an alliance, cooperative, collective, or any other purchasing entity strictly voluntary; and

(4) guarantee nondiscriminatory tax treatment for the purchase of private health insurance no different than the tax treatment which might be provided to those who purchase health insurance through a government-controlled alliance, cooperative, collective, or any other arrangement.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of

The Resolution was adopted.

The following Concurrent Resolution was taken up.

H. 4986 -- Reps. Townsend, Stille and Allison: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH A JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE GOVERNANCE, STRUCTURE, AND OPERATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE DUE NO LATER THAN JANUARY 1, 1996, SHALL BE COMPILED AND SUBMITTED WHICH SHALL INCLUDE REGIONAL PUBLIC HEARINGS.

Rep. TOWNSEND moved to adjourn debate upon the Concurrent Resolution, which was adopted.

The following Concurrent Resolution was taken up.

S. 1414 -- Senators Passailaigue, McConnell, Richter, Greg Smith, McGill, Ford, Rose and Washington: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO URGE THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO APPROVE H. R. 4311 WHICH WOULD DELAY THE 1995 MILITARY BASE CLOSURES UNTIL 1997 AND TO URGE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO DIRECT REMEDIAL EFFORTS TO THE COMMUNITIES NOW STRUGGLING TO RECOVER FROM BASE CLOSURES IN 1988, 1991, AND 1993.

Whereas, the cost of closing bases in terms of both actual costs and associated direct economic impact on the affected communities is estimated to be over $100 billion and far exceeds the potential savings of an estimated $3 billion; and

Whereas, the negative annual economic impact to Charleston, alone, exceeds $2 billion; and

Whereas, extensive planning and effort is necessary to solve the problems of adjustment which have and will affect the communities that have had the military as their core industrial base; and

Whereas, the existing plan to close bases has not been implemented with sufficient forethought or contemplation of the actual impact; and

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the United States Congress and the President of the United States are urged to approve H. R. 4311 and implement remedial actions immediately which would help the communities negatively affected by base closures.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to
the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to each of the eight members of the South Carolina Congressional Delegation.

The Concurrent Resolution was adopted and ordered returned to the Senate.

The following Concurrent Resolution was taken up.

H. 5227 -- Reps. Govan, Inabinett, Neilson, McElveen, Hutson, J. Brown, Wofford, Neal, Shissias and Wells: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO REQUEST THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO CONTINUE TO EXAMINE THE FAIRNESS OF THE CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO THE SPECIFIC CATEGORIES WHICH MAKE UP THE CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES AMOUNT AND TO REPORT ITS FINDINGS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUDICIARY COMMITTEE AND THE SENATE GENERAL COMMITTEE BY NOVEMBER 1, 1994, FOR CONSIDERATION FOR POSSIBLE SUBMITTAL AS PROPOSED REGULATIONS.

Whereas, over eighty-six million dollars in child support obligations were collected by the South Carolina Department of Social Services in 1993; and

Whereas, over one hundred fifty-four million dollars is owed to the children of this State in delinquent child support; and

Whereas, in May 1990, the Department of Social Services promulgated regulations which required that child support guidelines, based on the

Whereas, federal law requires that these guidelines be reviewed at least every four years to ensure that the guidelines are kept up-to-date and continue to reflect the state's cost of living; and

Whereas, regulations updating the 1990 Guidelines will become effective upon publication in the State Register, May 27, 1994. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the General Assembly requests the South Carolina Department of Social Services to continue to examine the fairness of the child support guidelines, particularly with respect to the specific categories which make up the child support guidelines amount and to report its findings to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and the Senate General Committee by November 1, 1994, for consideration for possible submittal as proposed regulations.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be published in the next issue of the State Register.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Social Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement.

The Concurrent Resolution was adopted and ordered sent to the Senate.

The following Concurrent Resolution was taken up.

S. 1418 -- Senators Lander, Setzler and Matthews: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DISABILITY COALITION OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND RECOGNIZE AND ENCOURAGE ITS ROLE TO ADVOCATE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES TO ASSURE EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY, FULL PARTICIPATION, INDEPENDENT LIVING, AND ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND TO FURTHER ENSURE THAT THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA PLAY AN ONGOING ROLE IN ENFORCING THE SPIRIT AND STANDARDS OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT IN THE CRITICAL AREAS OF TRANSPORTATION, COMMUNICATION, PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS, EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, RECREATION, HEALTH SERVICES, VOTING, AND ACCESS TO

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