thestate.com
SOUTH CAROLINA -- Thirty-five bills, at least.
Twenty-two weeks.
One topic: Immigration.
While the S.C. General Assembly will tackle dozens of issues during 2008, illegal immigration is shaping up to be The Hot-Button Topic when the Legislature returns to Columbia Tuesday.
Legislators, who are up for re-election this year, say they are responding to voters’ concerns, driven by the state’s growing Hispanic population and the federal government’s failure to act.
“It’s the No. 1 issue on voters’ minds,” said state Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, a leader in the push for a state immigration law.
Ritchie shepherded legislation to curb illegal immigration through the Senate in 2006 and hopes that bill is on Gov. Mark Sanford’s desk by March.
Posted by tyne at January 7, 2008