Cyclist bills drops after opposition
State Rep. Wendy Nanney, R-Greenville, dropped a bill that would regulate bicyclists hours after filing it, The State reported.
Nanney posted on her Facebook page that she received “overwhelming response” from cyclists who opposed the bill. Stressing that she believed the bill created a good conversation about bicycle and moped safety, Nanney said she hopes to continue thinking of ways to find a solution.
If it had passed, the bill would have required bicyclists and moped drivers over the age of 15 years old to obtain an official license from the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The scope of the bill also only applied to cyclists driving on roads with speed limits of at least 35 mph.
Nanney came up with the provisions of the bill after seeing bicyclists and moped operators creating hazardous conditions in heavy traffic, saying, “It’s really about how to educate bikers that are riding in traffic.”
Emma’s Law passed by House Judiciary Committee
A bill that aims to reduce the number of people killed by drunken drivers has made it out of the state House Judiciary Committee, The State reported.
The bill — known as Emma’s Law — would enforce tougher restrictions on drunken drivers with multiple offenses. Supporters of the bill come from both political parties and were working on a compromise after amendments were passed that weakened those restrictions last week.
The version of Emma’s Law that passed through a subcommittee required convicted first-time offenders with a blood alcohol content of .15 percent or higher to use a built-in breath test before operating a car.
Safety activists disagree with the blood-alcohol level in that provision, saying drivers with a .12 percent blood alcohol content should also have to use an ignition interlock.
South Carolina had the seventh-most DUI deaths in the nation in 2012.
Newcomer challenges Scott for seat
A member of the new American Party has jumped into the race for U.S. Sen. Tim Scott’s seat, The Greenville News reported.
Jill Bossi, 45, said Scott sides with the far right ideology of the tea party and has contributed to political gridlock. As senator, she said she would work to simplify the tax code and make “health care more affordable without invasive government regulations.”
The corporate executive from York County has worked for Bank of America and Verizon Wireless and said she knows she’s an underdog because she has no prior political experience. Just beginning to raise money, Bossi will have to compete with the $3 million in cash that Scott’s campaign has already raised.
The American Party that Bossi represents was formed last year by a former Democratic state superintendent of education and a Republican physician who challenged Mark Sanford for governor. The party’s aim is to “govern from the middle.”