Rep. Brian White pictured with Coastal Carolina trustees Bill Biggs and Larry Lyles, along with university President David DeCenzo.

Brian White, who represents Anderson County’s District 6 in the S.C. House of Representatives, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Coastal Carolina University.

White received the honorary degree Doctor of Public Service. He was selected by a group of faculty and staff, and approved by the university’s board of trustees. According to university leaders, White was chosen because of his diligent public service as a representative in the South Carolina General Assembly, as chairman of Ways and Means, and for his leadership on the State Budget and Control Board.

The degree was presented at the university’s fall commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 15, where White participated with 385 graduating students. The ceremony was the first held at CCU’s new HTC Student Recreation and Convocation Center, located on its campus in Conway, S.C.

Rep. White serves as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the state budgeting process in the S.C. House. He is a native of Anderson County and has represented District 6 in the House since 2001.

 (Columbia, SC) – Today, South Carolina House of Representatives Ways and Means Chairman, Brian White (R – Anderson) announced the creation of a bipartisan K-16 building need and utilization study committee.  South Carolina has 85 public school districts and 33 institutions of higher education (including technical colleges) each exhausting significant resources on capital/building projects.  Over a two year period for which most recent data is available (FY 10 and FY 11), K-16 education incurred $2.4 billion in costs associated with building projects.  That represents $256 per resident per year in South Carolina.

Chairman White said today, “Regardless of how creative our schools get with financing their projects, the bottom line is they are all public institutions and ultimately tax payers are left holding the bill.  Through the creation of this committee I am not suggesting we place a state-wide, unconditional moratorium on all K-16 building projects, but I do think we need a better understanding on what we are doing as a state with regard to educational buildings.  One of our most important jobs as legislators is to make sure our students have access to a quality education that is affordable to parents and students at every level.”

The committee will be chaired by Chairman White and includes four Republicans and two Democrats.  The other members of the committee are – Rep. Kenny Bingham, Rep. Chip Limehouse, Rep. Roland Smith, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, and Rep. Jackie Hayes.  Chairman White expects the committee to hold its first meeting by the middle of January.  Among the items that the committee will be asked to review are debt levels, building utilization, deferred maintenance and future need.

Chairman White was recently elected to his first full term as Ways and Means Chair.  He had previously been elected in May 2011 to serve a one year term following the resignation of Dan Cooper.  The South Carolina House of Representatives will convene the  for a new two year session on Tuesday January 8, 2013.

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As Ways & Means chairman, White also will serve on the state’s Budget and Control Board, which oversees the state’s finances and other administrative functions.

“It is a huge honor to be elected to chair the budget-writing committee for our state,” White said. “My goals are to ensure our state continues to live within its means, to bring financial integrity to our state at all levels, and to help create an economic climate that will spur job creation.”

White is from Anderson and has represented District 6 in the House since 2001. He previously served as first vice-chairman of the House Ways & Means committee and chaired the health care subcommittee and the legislative, executive and local government subcommittee. In addition, he chaired the House Rules Committee, which acts as a legislative gatekeeper and helps determine which bills are debated on the House floor.

For more information about Rep. Brian White, visit BrianWhiteSC.com.

Starting tomorrow, Friday, November 2, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp will offer South Carolina businesses that have filed a tax return since 1998 a CreditAlert product that will alert customers to changes taking place in their business credit file. Even something as simple as a change to a business address or a company officer change would set off an alert to the business owner. The cost will be waived for business filing tax returns since 1998. Business owners can visit http://www.dandb.com/sc/ or they can call customer service toll free at this dedicated phone number 1-800-279-9881.

In addition, Experian is offering those impacted South Carolina businesses Business Credit AdvantageSM – a self-monitoring service that allows unlimited access to a company’s business credit report and score. Beginning Thursday, South Carolina businesses can sign up for Business Credit AdvantageSM at http://www.smartbusinessreports.com/SouthCarolina.

To protect taxpayers, the state will provide those affected with one year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection. Officials emphasized that no public funds were accessed or put at risk.

“On October 10, the S.C. Division of Information Technology informed the S.C. Department of Revenue of a potential cyber attack involving the personal information of taxpayers,” said DOR Director James Etter. “We worked with them throughout that day to determine what may have happened and what steps to take to address the situation. We also immediately began consultations with state and federal law enforcement agencies and briefed the governor’s office.”

Upon the recommendation of law enforcement officials, DOR contracted Mandiant, one of the world’s top information security companies, to assist in the investigation, help secure the system, install new equipment and software and institute tighter controls on access.

On October 16, investigators uncovered two attempts to probe the system in early September, and later learned that a previous attempt was made in late August. In mid-September, two other intrusions occurred, and to the best of the department’s knowledge, the hacker obtained data for the first time. No other intrusions have been uncovered at this time. On October 20, the vulnerability in the system was closed and, to the best of the department’s knowledge, secured.

“The number of records breached requires an unprecedented, large-scale response by the Department of Revenue, the State of South Carolina and all our citizens,” said Governor Nikki Haley. “We are taking immediate steps to protect the taxpayers of South Carolina, including providing one year of credit monitoring and identity protection to those affected.”

Anyone who has filed a South Carolina tax return since 1998 is urged to visit protectmyid.com/scdor or call 1- 866-578-5422 to determine if their information is affected. If so, the taxpayer can immediately enroll in one year of identity protection service provided by Experian.

Experian’s ProtectMyID™ Alert is designed to detect, protect and resolve potential identity theft, and includes daily monitoring of all three credit bureaus. The alerts and daily monitoring services are provided for one year, and consumers will continue to have access to fraud resolution agents and services beyond the first year.

In addition to the Experian service, state officials urged individuals to consider additional steps to protect their identity and financial information, including:

Regularly review credit reports;

Place fraud alerts with the three credit bureaus;

Place a security freeze on financial and credit information with the three credit bureaus.

If credit card information is compromised, the best protection is to have the bank reissue the card. Anyone who has used a credit card in a transaction with the Department of Revenue should check bank accounts regularly to see if any unauthorized charges have occurred. If so, the cardholder should contact the credit card issuer immediately by calling the toll-free number located on the back of the card or on a monthly statement, tell them what you have seen, and ask them to cancel and reissue the card. Consumers should also change any credit card web account passwords immediately when unauthorized charges are detected.

“From the first moment we learned of this, our top priority has been to protect the taxpayers and the citizens of South Carolina, and every action we’ve taken has been consistent with that priority,” Etter said. “We have an obligation to protect the personal information entrusted to us, and we are redoubling our efforts to meet that obligation.”

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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.

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.

“Public education remains of paramount importance in South Carolina,” explained Rep. Brian White, who chairs the House Ways & Means Committee, responsible for drafting the state budget. “In the legislature, we have chosen to prioritize school funding, parent and student choice, and education accountability this year.”

K-12 funding

The new state budget, passed by the House, provides more than $200 million to education with $153 million directed towards the Base Student Cost. This funding increase follows more than $105 million new dollars directed to education in last year’s state budget. Although funding is still below 2008 levels because of the recession, the General Assembly is directing a large portion of the dollars available for appropriation to K-12 education.

Expanded educational opportunities/school choice

House bill H.4894, introduced recently, would help all parents in South Carolina have access to the schools that best meet their children’s needs.

The bill is designed to help parents and students in several ways. First, it would allow parents who send their children to independent schools to take a tax deduction of up to $4,000 for tuition paid. In addition, parents who home school their children would be eligible for deduction up to $2,000 and parents who choose to enroll their children in a district outside of their resident school district would be eligible for a deduction up to $1,000.

The bill also would allow scholarship granting organizations to be created to provide scholarships for children who are eligible for free or reduced lunch for who have exceptional needs as defined in the bill. Any institution receiving scholarships would submit to a compliance audit each year. Also, to ensure academic accountability, the schools would have to offer a curriculum that includes courses set forth in the state’s diploma requirements and students there would have to take national and state standardized tests.

To ensure independent schools meet the criteria outlined in the bill, the S.C. Education Oversight Committee (EOC), a committee established by the legislature to hold our state’s schools accountable, would establish an advisory committee to establish and oversee regulations. In addition, the EOC would publish test scores and reports on independent schools on its website.

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.

“I’m proud of my committee and staff and all of their hard work throughout this process,” said House Ways and Means Chairman Brian White. “One of the most important bill the House debates each year is the budget – legislation that spends your hard-earned tax dollars. The House was able to live within its means while still fully funding our reserve funds ahead of schedule, providing substantial tax relief, and giving our classroom teachers a well-deserved pay raise.

“As the budget moves to the Senate, it is imperative that Republicans across the state continue to push for the essentials of a conservative budget: a budget that is balanced – limiting growth to stay below both the House and the governor’s proposed spending caps – a budget that funds core functions of government, and that continues to build upon the more than $20 billion in tax relief the Republican-controlled House has passed since 1996,” Chairman White added.

The highlight of the budget is an increase of the “base student cost” to $2,012 in 2012, sending more money down to our state’s classrooms. That increase is designated to give teachers their first pay raise in four years. The budget also sets aside $180 million to dredge the Port of Charleston to assist with economic expansion. It also includes funding for 50 new state law enforcement officers and fully funds the reserve fund requirements approved by voters in 2008.

“This is a budget that funds teacher salaries, state reserves, the Port of Charleston, and tax relief,” said House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham. “We funded the priorities that our constituents told us they wanted, and we funded the priorities that will improve the economy, education, and our state’s fiscal position. Now our focus turns to passing our tax reform package that will create systemic change for the future.”

Other budget items of note:

• The total General Fund budget (recurring and non-recurring) is $6.5 billion.
• The total budget from all funds (general fund, federal, and “other”) is $23.3 billion.
• There is $549 million in the budget for property tax relief for homeowners.
• The budget includes $77 million in unemployment tax relief for businesses.
• Funded Medicaid at current levels.
• Budget growth falls nearly 1% below the spending cap approved by the House last year.
• More than 50 agencies are funded at or below last year’s levels.
• Since the GOP took control of the House in 1994, we have cut the number of funded state employee positions by 15%.