Body to vote on bankrolling S.C. 31

Posted on March 3, 2008 
Filed Under News

A bill aimed at easing the tangle of red tape needed to register a boat that has been inactive or is of uncertain ownership will be up for a hearing Tuesday by a subcommittee of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

State Rep. Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway, sponsored the bill. He said it has been in the works for five years to solve situations such as the inheritance of a boat. It’s hard to get new titles for them, he said.

The proposal requires people to publish a legal ad seeking comment on the boat, and if there is none, it can receive a new title, Witherspoon said.

He said a possible side effect could be cleanup of the state’s waterways littered with abandoned boats. No one wants them because it would be impossible to get the title, he said.

Under the proposal, a boat that still has life in it could be claimed by anyone who wants it.

The bill includes other provisions of boating law, but does not call for any fee increases, Witherspoon said.

The same panel will consider two bills seeking to protect turtles by controlling commercial catches and limiting possession. Witherspoon said “there are plenty of turtles,” and he does not support the bill but brought it forward as a courtesy to the sponsors.

The subcommittee meets at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 410 of the Blatt House Office Building.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will again discuss bills that legalize gaming nights and raffles for nonprofit organizations. The meeting will be at 2:30 p.m. in Room 105 of the Gressette Senate Office Building, but it is not a hearing.

Budget

The Senate is holding budget hearings, even though it has not received the final proposal from the House. Most state agencies will make the same pitches to Senate Finance subcommittees that they made to the House Ways and Means Committee in January.

Ways and Means has finished its version of the budget, and copies are to be on House members’ desks when they come to work Tuesday.

Members have a week to study and to prepare amendments if they wish before Budget Week, March 10-14. The House devotes a whole week to floor debate on the budget. Nothing else is on the agenda for that week, and sessions last all day and into the night as needed.

By Zane Wilson
The Sun News
3/3/2008