(News release from S.C. Department of Commerce)

COLUMBIA, S.C. – April 10, 2012 – Michelin North America, Inc. today announced that the company will expand its Earthmover tire production in South Carolina with a $750 million investment expected to generate 500 new jobs.

“There is unprecedented demand for Michelin Earthmover tires throughout the world,” said Michelin Chairman and President Pete Selleck. “It’s a tribute to the productivity of our employees and the pro-business environment in South Carolina that the company is expanding its Earthmover capacity in the state where we first began manufacturing in the United States.”

When added to the $200 million announced last May in Lexington, this announcement brings the total Michelin investment in South Carolina to almost $1 billion in the last year.

“Michelin has been part of the economic and social fabric of South Carolina since the first tire rolled off the line in 1975 and has been one of our finest corporate citizens,” said South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. “It really is a great day in South Carolina when our largest manufacturer reaffirms its commitment to the state.”

“It’s always rewarding when new companies locate in South Carolina, but it’s even better when companies like Michelin that have been here for decades decide to expand and grow,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “It is a tribute to Michelin and its 8,000 employees in the state that the company has decided to grow their presence here.”

“We are pleased to recognize the achievements of Michelin North America. The recent expansion of Lexington plants US#5 and US#7 greatly strengthened the economic activity in our area and helped to foster the growth that we are currently experiencing. Today we are excited about the two announcements and delighted to be able to celebrate this milestone achievement by Michelin North America. We are pleased that they are a part of our community and wish them continued success,” said Lexington County Chairman Bill Banning.

“We are extremely proud to continue and strengthen the long running relationship between Michelin, the SC Department of Commerce and Anderson County,” said Tommy Dunn, Anderson County councilman, District 5. “I’m grateful for the hard work and dedication of Burriss Nelson and his economic development team in their efforts to cultivate relationships that can benefit from Anderson County’s unique mix of a skilled and willing workforce, the support of Tri-County Technical College and our area’s outstanding quality of life. This is another great day in Anderson County.”

Central SC Alliance Chairman Jim B. Apple said, “Michelin’s announcement today of continued expansion in Lexington County, S.C. reaffirms the pro-business environment, quality workforce and strategic location of Lexington County and Central South Carolina. We congratulate Michelin Corporation on their continued success and we congratulate Lexington County on the continued growth of this great corporate citizen.”

“Michelin’s increased investment in the Upstate speaks volumes to their belief in the South Carolina workforce and its business climate. We are grateful for their contributions to our region and for the jobs they bring to our citizens,” said Upstate SC Alliance President and CEO Hal Johnson.

“Michelin is currently one of the Port of Charleston’s largest customers, and I am very pleased to learn of their plans to expand their manufacturing footprint in South Carolina. Michelin has been a consistent partner and ardent supporter of the deepening of the Charleston Harbor to accommodate the new, larger cargo vessels.  This announcement today solidifies the company’s relationship with our port and our state,” said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority.

State and local incentives were approved for Michelin’s expansion.

About Michelin North America, Inc.
Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 22,200 and operates 18 major manufacturing plants in 16 locations.

H 4894 offers several options for parents and students to have expanded educational opportunities in the state.

Deductions:

The bill provides for tax deductions as follows: parents sending their children to an independent school may take a deduction not to exceed $4,000 for tuition paid, parents who home school their children may take a deduction not to exceed $2,000 and parents choosing to enroll their children in a school outside of their resident school district may take a deduction not to exceed $1,000.

Scholarship Granting Organizations:

Further, the bill allows for the creation of scholarship granting organizations that may provide scholarships as follows: $5,000 or 75% of the cost of tuition for children who are eligible for free or reduced lunch and $10,000 or 75% of the cost of tuition for children who have exceptional needs as defined in the bill. Any institution receiving scholarships must at a minimum submit to a compliance audit each year. To ensure the academic accountability the schools must offer a curriculum which includes courses set forth in the states diploma requirements and where the students attending are administered national achievement or state standardized tests, or both at progressive grade levels.

Accountability:

To further ensure that the system is working as intended the Education Oversight Committee will establish an advisory committee to suggest regulations and then promulgate regulations, ensure participating schools meet the criteria outlined in the bill and will publish a list of the schools, publish the test scores by school on its website and will provide triennial reports on the program.

K-12 Funding:

Public education remains of paramount importance in South Carolina. While the state is continuing to recover economically and funding is still below 2008 levels, the General Assembly provided more than $105 M new dollars to education in the last budget. In the budget just passed by the House and of the $500 M new dollars available for appropriation, education received more than $200 M dollars with $153 M directed towards the Base Student Cost.

Rep. Brian White and 10th Circuit Solicitor Chrissy Adams are among the eight local “celebrities” to participate in the Sixth Annual Dancing for Our Heroes event to be at 7 p.m. April 13 at the Civic Center of Anderson.

Produced by the Rotary Club of Greater Anderson, the event is modeled after the popular ABC TV show “Dancing With the Stars.” It is being held to raise money for eight local charities and the PolioPlus initiative of the Rotary Foundation.

Rep. White will dance with Mary Ann McBride for Anderson Interfaith Ministries. Solicitor Adams will dance with Wayne Conover for the Cancer Association of Anderson. Other contestants are Dr. Stuart Barnes, to dance with Lisa Burns for the Anderson Free Clinic; Chad McBride, public information office for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, to dance with Yvonne Conover for Foothills Alliance; Christie Dove, RN, to dance with Dennis Adams for Hospice of the Upstate; Elisha Price, a National Guard soldier on active duty in Anderson, to dance with Craig Smith for the S.C. Military Family Care Association; Mary Gay Drake, RN, and Scott Drake, to dance for United Way of Anderson County; and Shirley Davis and mortician Marcus Brown, to dance for the Westside Community Center.

The theme this year is “On Broadway,” and a theatrical decor is planned. A full dinner will be provided by Cromer Food Services and the admission price covers soft drinks, tea, wine and beer. In addition, there will be opportunities for attendees to dance to deejay Ben Phillips’ music after the competition ends. An array of items and services will be auctioned off during the evening.

A ticket costs $40 and a table for eight may be purchased for $320. Individual tickets are available at the Main Street office of Park Sterling Bank (formerly Capital Bank). Tables may be purchased by contacting Amelia Nelson at 864-934-9000.

Dancers will compete before judges Randy Spearman, a two-time winner of Dancing for Our Heroes; Rotary District Governor Gary Goforth; and ballroom dancer Dave Thomas.

In addition to the Judge’s Choice award, dancers are selling votes for a dollar apiece to win a People’s Choice Award. All the money they raise will go to their individual charities and the profit from the evening will be divided among the charities with a smaller donation going to Polio Plus.

Check out Dancing for Our Heroes on Facebook for photos of the couples rehearsing and for photos from the 2011 competition.

For more information, call Kathryn Smith at 864-202-7093.

Office of Immigrant Worker Compliance
Post Office Box 11329
Columbia, SC 29211-1329
(803) 896-2606
E-mail – immigrantinfo@llr.sc.gov

NOTICE TO ALL SOUTH CAROLINA EMPLOYERS:
You Must Verify All New Hires through E-Verify Effective January 1, 2012

Amendments to the “South Carolina Illegal Immigration and Reform Act” were signed into law by Governor Nikki Haley on June 27, 2011. The amended law requires all employers to enroll in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system beginning January 1, 2012 and to verify the legal status of all new employees through E-Verify within three business days. Failure to enroll in and use E-Verify to verify new hires will result in probation for the employer or suspension/revocation of the employer’s business licenses.

Verification Requirements
In addition to completing and maintaining the federal employment eligibility verification form, more commonly known as the Form I-9, all South Carolina employers must within three business days after employing a new employee:

1. Verify the employee’s work authorization through the E-Verify federal work authorization program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
2. Employers may no longer confirm a new employee’s employment authorization with a driver’s license or state identification card.

E-Verify
E-Verify is a free Internet-based system maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. E-Verify compares the information an employee provides on Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, against millions of government records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. The database generally provides results in three to five seconds. If the information matches, the employee is eligible to work in the United States. If there’s a mismatch, E-Verify will alert the employer and the employee will be allowed to work while he or she resolves the problem. To enroll in E-Verify, go to www.dhs.gov/e-verify.

License
Under the law, all private employers in South Carolina are imputed a South Carolina employment license which permits a private employer to employ a person in the state. A private employer may not employ a person unless the private employer’s South Carolina employment license and any other applicable licenses as defined in Section 41-8-10 are in effect and are not suspended or revoked. Under Section 41-8-10, a “license” means an agency permit, certificate, approval, registration, charter, or similar form of authorization that is required by law and that is issued by any agency political subdivision of the state for the purpose of operating a business in the state. Professional licenses are excluded, but “license” includes employment licenses, articles of organization, articles of incorporation, a certificate of partnership, a partnership registration, a certificate to transact business, or similar forms of authorization issued by the South Carolina Secretary of State, and any transaction privilege tax license.

Employment of Unauthorized Alien Prohibited
Section 41-8-30 provides that a private employer who knowingly or intentionally employs an unauthorized alien violates the private employer’s licenses.

Enforcement
The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) is charged with investigating complaints and conducting random audits of private employers to assure compliance. The agency must: (1) notify the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of suspected unauthorized aliens employed by a private employer; and (2) notify state and local law enforcement agencies responsible for enforcing state immigration laws.

Failure to Comply
For a first occurrence by a private employer, prior to July 1, 2012, of failure to verify a new hire through the E-Verify federal work authorization program within three business days, an employer must swear or affirm in writing to the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation that the employer has complied with the provisions of the federal law covering employment of unauthorized aliens (8 U.S.C. Section 1324a) from January 1, 2012 until notification by LLR of a violation, and comply with the state law on verification of new hires within three business days.

For a first occurrence by a private employer, after July 1, 2012, of failure to verify a new hire through the E-Verify federal work authorization program within three business days, the Department of LLR must place the employer on probation for a period of one year, during which time the private employer must submit quarterly reports to the agency demonstrating compliance with the law. A subsequent violation within three years of the law’s verification requirements must result in the suspension of the private employer’s licenses for at least 10 days but not more than 30 days.

A private employer who knowingly or intentionally employs an unauthorized alien must have his licenses suspended by the Department of LLR on a first occurrence for at least 10 days but not more than 30 days. During the period of suspension, the private employer may not engage in business, open to the public, employ an employee, or otherwise operate. The private employer’s licenses are reinstated when the employer demonstrates that the unauthorized alien has been terminated, and pays a reinstatement fee equal to the cost of investigating and enforcing the matter, not to exceed $1,000. For a second occurrence, the employer’s licenses must be suspended for at least 30 days but not more than 60 days. Following a third occurrence, the private employer’s licenses are revoked.

For More Information
To read the law and to learn about upcoming training programs across the state, go to: www.llronline.com/immigration.

The Children’s Hospital Development Council of Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center has presented the GHS Legislative Advocacy Award to S.C. Rep. Brian White.

White, an Anderson Republican, is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and serves on the S.C. Budget and Control Board. He was recognized for his efforts to strengthen families and education in the state.

For more information, call (864) 797-7558.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Children’s Hospital Development Council of Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center (GHS) presented the GHS Legislative Advocacy Award to S.C. Rep. Brian White (District 6 – Anderson County) in recognition of his efforts to strengthen families and education in the state.

Rep. White chairs the House Ways & Means Committee and serves on the S.C. Budget Control Board. He and his wife Courtney have three children and live in Anderson County.

“Rep. White is committed to protecting and preserving the health and well-being of our children, and we are honored to present him with this award,” said GHS Vice President of Community and Governmental Affairs Howell Clyborne.

The Children’s Hospital Development Council of Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center is a group of community leaders who serve as advocates for fund raising, public awareness, injury prevention, grassroots government relations activities, and volunteer recruitment and employee recognition activities for Children’s Hospital of Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center.

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