South Carolina

Complaint Cites Conflict with Federal Enforcement of Immigration Laws

October 31, 2011 --WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice challenged South Carolina’s recently passed immigration law, Act No. 69, in federal court today.

October 31, 2011 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Monday against South Carolina's harsh immigration law on the grounds that it violates the U.S. Constitution by interfering with the federal government's jurisdiction over immigration law. The South Carolina law would require law enforcement to demand "papers" demonstrating citizenship or immigration status during traffic stops when they have "reasonable suspicion" that a person may by undocumented. It also would criminalize the provision of transportation or rental housing to undocumented immigrants.

SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina responded to the Justice Department's lawsuit in the following statement:

Governor Mark Sanford

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly, Constitutional Officers and my fellow South Carolinians:

It’s an honor to be with you tonight to deliver my view on the state of our state, but as I’ve done in the past, I’d first ask that we pay tribute to the South Carolinians who died fighting in the Middle East and Afghanistan over the last year. Their deaths are a reminder to every one of us of how short and fragile life can be – and beg of us the larger question of what are we doing to both honor their sacrifice, and to live the gift of life each of us has been granted?

December 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) requested the following projects in the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA). The projects are listed in alphabetical order.

WRDA is an authorization bill; it does not provide funding. If the project is authorized by this bill, it must then be funded through a separate appropriations process. WRDA is the first step for Army Corps of Engineer projects.

Project: Clemson University’s Intelligent River™
Amount: $1,500,000
Description: To provide the management of water quality and quantity through remote-data acquisition of real-time data on a watershed and river-basin scale.

Project: Congaree Regional Waterfront Park
Amount: $85,506,438

Charleston, S.C. (November 11, 2009): A new study released today shows that a combination of energy and water efficiency policies could cut electricity and water bills for South Carolinians by $5.1 billion and could create almost 22,000 new “green” jobs by 2025.

Upstate General Contractor Named, Will Hire Up To Two Thousand

Columbia, S.C. - November 6, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on Boeing Company’s decision to use BE&K Building Group of Greenville as its general contractor to build the North Charleston facility for a second production line for the 787 Dreamliner.

October 26, 2009 -- Representatives from NOAA and the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, announced the formation of a partnership to better manage and protect ocean and coastal resources, ensure regional economic sustainability, and respond to disasters such as hurricanes. The announcement was made during the annual meeting of the Coastal States Organization in Charleston, S.C.

October 16, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) issued the following statement today on the failure of the State of South Carolina to enact legislation allowing for 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits.

"When my staff and I discovered in an analysis we conducted that the State of South Carolina had failed to enact legislation to allow for 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits – 100% federally funded through the Recovery Act – I was astounded.

Red Venture llc To Invest $27 Million In New Lancaster County Operations

Columbia, S.C. - October 7, 2009 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today joined with the Department of Commerce and Lancaster County community in welcoming Red Venture LLC as they expand operations and move their headquarters to South Carolina.

The decision by Charlotte-based Red Venture LLC, an internet technology company named the 17th fastest growing private firm in the United States by Inc. magazine last year, will mean 1,000 new high-paying jobs and a $27 million investment for Lancaster County.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - June 16, 2009 -- An array of 213 solar panels will soon provide electricity to homes served by Duke Energy's McAlpine Creek substation in south Charlotte – all part of an effort to implement new smart grid technology.

The substation's new solar panels will provide approximately 50 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power five homes when the panels are operating. Electricity from these panels can be sent directly into the distribution lines serving the McAlpine Creek test area or used to charge a 500-kilowatt storage battery planned for installation at the substation in the weeks ahead.