Daily briefing: Today in the state legislature

12:47 p.m.: As expected, Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, was re-elected Senate President Pro Tempore.

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12:25 p.m.

The Legislature is back in Columbia today for the first day of session. The House and Senate convene at noon, but the day is mostly perfunctory.

The House is expected to be in session long enough to read bills across the desk. Every bill must be read on the House floor and assigned a committee. The House Republican Caucus will hold a press conference immediately after adjournment to discuss its agenda. After that, the members will move into subcommittee meetings to discuss the budget for the upcoming fiscal year that starts in July.

State revenues have fallen a billion dollars short of projections in this budget year, forcing mid-year cuts to agencies and services. Next year's budget is not expected to provide any relief.

Furloughs: House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, announced this morning during the Republican Caucus meeting that the House will furlough next week and three additional weeks this year to save money. Each week they don't meet saves roughly $50,000.

It was also announced during the caucus meeting that Rep. Thad Viers' father died yesterday. Viers is a Republican from Myrtle Beach.

Probation and parole: The Post and Courier is planning to attend a meeting today of the Ways and Means Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Subcommittee. Members will begin talking about the budgets for the Judicial branch and the departments of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and Juvenile Justice

The newspaper revealed problems within the parole agency in the five-part series "Law and Disorder," published in August. The series described how criminals out on probation or parole kill, rob and rape all too often in a state where repeat offenders are routinely released into a system ill-equipped to maintain control. Budget cuts could exacerbate those problems.

Senate action: Today, the Senate must organize. Senators will chose seats and vote on the body's president pro tempore, a position Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, has held since 2001. He is expected to be re-elected to that position today. In that role, he facilitates the Senate and helps build consensus on key legislation.

The Senate will also be voting on a rule change to require more roll call voting. The Legislature was criticized in recent months for failing to record the way legislators voted on key issues. The House, during its October organizational session, adopted a rule change to govern roll call voting, but some don't believe it has gone far enough. That could become an issue in coming weeks.

District 115: Also today, the Judiciary Election Laws Subcommittee will prepare for a hearing tomorrow on Wallace Scarborough's election protest appeal. Scarborough is asking the House to reconsider the State Election Commission's Dec. 3 decision to deny his request to toss out the Nov. 4 election results that seated his Democratic challenger Anne Peterson Hutto. The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Blatt Building's room 101.