Legislative Happenings: A message from Senator Gerald Malloy

S.C. Senator Gerald Malloy

S.C. Senator Gerald Malloy

A message from Senator Gerald Malloy
District 29- Darlington, Chesterfield, Lee and Marlboro Counties

Dear Friends and Constituents,

This week the Senate continued discussion on S.997, relating to the resettlement of refugees, giving the bill second and third readings. The bill, among other things, will require registration of refugees with the Department of Social Services within thirty days of arriving in the State, information and data to be maintained on the DSS database and SLED will be required to check that refugees are not a threat to public safety. The proposed legislation also increases the liability of sponsors of the refugees for any criminal activity. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives to be considered.

The Senate also passed H.3265, relating to comprehensive health education programs and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training (CPR). Under the new legislation, students must receive instruction in CPR and awareness in use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), at least once during the four years of grades nine through twelve. School Districts must implement the provisions of this Act before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. The Act is known as “Ronald Rouses’ Law”, named after Ronald Rouse from Hartsville.

Subcommittees and committees worked aggressive agendas this week. An important bill that I have sponsored is S.916, relating to the incarceration age for juvenile offenders. Most of South Carolina’s statutes consider a person an adult at the age of 18 or 21. However, for purposes of the criminal justice system, South Carolina law considers a person an adult at the age of 17. Scientific research clearly shows that a person does not typically develop into an adult until at least 18, and most likely much older. Also, studies show that 17 year olds who are housed with adult prisoners have a significant chance of being raped and committing suicide. As a result, 41 states have set the age of juvenile court jurisdiction at 17, meaning 17 year olds go through the family court system instead of the adult system. S. 916 would bring South Carolina in line with the vast majority of other states by considering a person a juvenile until the age of 17 and an adult at the age of 18.The bill should soon finish the subcommittee process, make it to the full committee and ultimately onto the Senate Calendar.

Next week, the Senate will meet in perfunctory session only and will convene in statewide session on April 5th. Information on legislation and meetings may be found on the state website at the following link: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/index.php

I want to wish all of you a blessed Holy week and happy Easter. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers as we move forward in the legislative year with many important issues to address for the benefit of our State. Please feel free to contact my office with any questions or concerns that you may have. Thank you for the opportunity to serve and I look forward to hearing from you.

Contact Information:

Senate Office of Gerald Malloy, PO Box 142, Columbia, SC 29202.
Email: geraldmalloy@scsenate.gov
Office Telephone: (803) 212- 6172

Author: Jana Pye

Share This Post On

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This
x
6
Posts Remaining