Defense for abuse victims shelved

State Rep. Shannon Erickson expected the Senate this week to consider a bill she is sponsoring to prevent insurers from discriminating against victims of abuse.

That didn't happen because Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Ridgeland, used Senate rules to block it, Erickson said.

Erickson, R-Beaufort, suspects Pinckney might have done so as retribution because she has been "a little bit critical" of a bill Pinckney is sponsoring that would provide tens of millions of dollars in tax incentives to the developer of Okatie Crossings, a 280-acre shopping center planned in Beaufort and Jasper counties.

Officials of The Sembler Co. have said the incentives are critical to their plan to invest $400 million and create as many as 2,500 jobs while building about 1.6 million square feet for national retailers and Italian and American designers.

She said she hopes her bill isn't in jeopardy "over a political disagreement."

"My hope is that he has a question about the legislation and that it's not just a political ploy," Erickson said Friday.

Reached by phone Friday, Pinckney initially declined to comment. When pressed, he said he wants to take a second look at the bill to make sure he understands "what the bill intends."

When asked if Erickson's suspicion about his motives is correct, Pinckney said: "I don't think her assumption is accurate." He declined to elaborate.

Any question Pinckney has at this point in the process would be unusual, Erickson said. Pinckney did not raise questions when the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee unanimously approved the bill last month, Erickson said.

South Carolina is one of eight states without similar legislation, Erickson said. She is the primary sponsor of the bill, which she said has broad, bipartisan support and 14 co-sponsors. It passed with little debate in the House and has been endorsed by Scott Richardson, director of the state Department of Insurance, Erickson said.

A Senate rule allows members to attach their names to bills to keep them from being heard.

Lawmakers say the rule was designed to allow them to be sure they were present for certain bills in the days when people traveled by horseback.

Though transportation methods have changed, senators still frequently use the rule to keep contested legislation from advancing. Senators must remove their names before the legislation can proceed.

For example, Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, used a similar tactic to slow Pinckney's incentives bill before senators voted to give it a priority position on the Senate calendar.

In this case, the Senate calendar shows Pinckney's name began to appear on Erickson's bill on Thursday. That's the same day opponents declared his bill dead and lawmakers said they were drafting wholesale changes.

Although Erickson has not been vocal about that bill, she has said Sembler failed to provide her with a satisfactory business plan.

Unless Pinckney relents, Erickson said senators aren't likely to give her bill the same priority as they did Pinckney's.

"If his name stays on it, it will sit there and not get passed," Erickson said.

"Stopping that piece of legislation only hurts our citizens who are the victims of domestic violence," she said. "It doesn't hurt me personally."