Sandifer, a Republican, has represented Oconee County’s District 2 since 1994. He is a retired small-business owner who, for the last several years, has been able to focus on public service full-time. He and his wife Sandra live in Seneca. 

“It is a tremendous privilege and honor to represent the citizens of District 2,” Sandifer said. “As South Carolina continues to emerge from the recession, there are many serious issues before the Legislature that ultimately will shape the future of our state. I am running for re-election because now, more than ever, Oconee County needs a strong voice in the House who will stand up for job creation, better schools, efficient government, and our quality of life.” 

In 2009, Sandifer was selected by his fellow House members to serve as chairman of the Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee (LCI), which addresses all business-related issues for the state. Sandifer was re-elected LCI Chair in 2011. 

Additionally, Sandifer serves as vice chairman of the Public Utility Review Committee, and on the Review and Oversight Commission on the State Ports Authority. He is also the South Carolina legislator appointed to the Southern States Energy Board, a 50 year-old organization that works to promote economic development and enhance quality of life through innovations in energy and environmental policy. 

Sandifer says his priorities include:

Job creation. Creating a strong business climate in South Carolina, so that the private sector can grow and create new jobs. Encouraging small business growth and entrepreneurial activity to help put more South Carolinians back to work. 

Better schools. Making education a top priority in South Carolina to help our students realize their full potential and to build a future workforce.

Fiscal responsibility. Keeping government spending in check and reducing the tax burden on families.

Limited government. Protecting individual freedoms.

Protecting quality of life. Preserving our natural resources. Ensuring South Carolina and Oconee County remain great places to live and work.

In Sandifer’s hometown of Seneca, he is an active community leader and the former owner and operator of Seneca Mortuary. He and his wife Sandra have four children and four grandchildren and are members of St. Mark United Methodist Church. Before his tenure in the S.C. General Assembly, Sandifer served his country, spending two decades as a member of the S.C. National Guard and retiring with the ranking of major. 

Sandifer notes that he chose to begin his re-election bid and file on the first possible day to show his eagerness to continue serving the people of his area.

“I am energized and dedicated to continue working hard to find common-sense solutions to the challenges facing our state and community,” Sandifer said. “I will keep fighting to make South Carolina an even better place for our children and grandchildren.”

In the House, we recently passed the Right to Work Act of 2012 to strengthen our state’s right-to-work laws. This legislation, which I introduced earlier in the session, garnered bipartisan support and now has headed to the Senate.
This bill is critical because it updates our laws to make South Carolina the strongest right-to-work state in the nation. While some might characterize it as anti-union, nothing could be further from the truth. The purposes of the legislation are to ensure freedom of choice and to level the playing field so that all sides — employees, employers and unions — are protected and armed with knowledge about their rights.

The bill has several important provisions that shore up our existing right-to-work laws.

First and foremost, it gives workers the right to protect their hard-earned paychecks. Under South Carolina’s current right-to-work law, if you join a union and sign up for a payroll deduction, the draft is often irrevocable for a year, even if you resign union membership. The bill lets workers stop payroll deductions any time.

Second, it lets employees hang a poster in their workplaces outlining the fundamental principles of South Carolina’s right-to-work laws. The posters would be available electronically or in hard-copy from the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Employers already can hang right-to-work posters, but employees do not have the statutory right to do so. This would give employees and employers equal rights to display a poster if they choose.
The bill also seeks to level the playing field for all S.C. businesses that compete for government contracts. Recently, there has been a push at the federal level and in neighboring states to require project-labor agreements, meaning that union-worker quotas are involved when awarding public contracts. Under the new legislation, state and local governments would not be able to require or prohibit project-labor agreements as part of awarding a contract, incentive or tax credit.

The bill further protects South Carolinians by increasing fines for right-to-work violations, which have not been indexed to inflation, bringing them up to a level that is punitive.

Passing the Right to Work Act this year is a critical next step in protecting freedom of association in South Carolina, one of our basic constitutional rights. Forcing workers to pay union dues to get or keep a job is simply wrong, and we must make it a priority as a state to have the strongest right-to-work laws in the country. As the Obama administration is promoting union activity, now is the time for us to send a strong message that South Carolina is a right-to-work state.

The Senate will be taking up the bill in the coming days and weeks, and I am encouraged that many senators were involved in developing it or have expressed support. Gov. Nikki Haley also has been a vocal advocate. As it moves through the General Assembly, I ask my fellow legislators to make strengthening right to work a top priority this session. In addition, I ask employees and employers to contact your senators to express support for this important bill, which protects freedom of choice in South Carolina.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/01/2172581/sandifer-time-to-strengthen-right.html#storylink=cpy

“Every South Carolinian should have the right to work and make a living for his or her family without being forced to join a union or pay dues,” Sandifer said. “Union participation should be a matter of choice for each individual in South Carolina. This bill is about protecting this important individual liberty.”

The bill protects workers rights in several ways. First, it clarifies language in South Carolina’s existing Right to Work Act that ensures an employee cannot be fired from his or her job for choosing to join or not to join a union. Second, it ensures that all South Carolina workers who are union members have the right to resign membership and stop paying dues at any time.

Also under the bill, South Carolina employers are required to display a poster containing five specific provisions of state law at the heart of South Carolina’s Right to Work Act. Further, the bill prohibits state and local governments from requiring or prohibiting contractual union worker quotas when awarding government contracts, incentives, or tax credits, ensuring a level playing field for all businesses.

Along with protecting workers’ rights, the bill requires unions in South Carolina to be transparent in how they operate. All unions, regardless of membership size, would have the same new reporting requirements under South Carolina law. The bill also increases penalties for any unions or employers that violate the Right to Work Act, putting teeth to current South Carolina statutes.

South Carolina currently is one of 22 right-to-work states and national statistics show a strong relationship between right-to-work laws and economic growth. From 2000 to 2010, personal incomes grew by an average of 24.3 percent in the 22 right-to-work states, more than double the rate for the other 28 as a group. Further, in-migration of young adults has been significantly higher in right-to-work states. In 2009, there were 20 percent more 25- to 34-year olds in right-to-work states than in 1999. In forced-union states, the increase was only 3.3 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that from 1999 to 2009, states without right-to- work protections lost 1.8 million jobs. During the same decade, right-to-work states added 1.5 million jobs.

“Every South Carolinian should have the right to work and make a living for his or her family without being forced to join a union or pay dues,” Sandifer said. “Union participation should be a matter of choice for each individual in South Carolina. This bill is about protecting this important individual liberty.”

The bill protects workers rights in several ways. First, it clarifies language in South Carolina’s existing Right to Work Act that ensures an employee cannot be fired from his or her job for choosing to join or not to join a union. Second, it ensures that all South Carolina workers who are union members have the right to resign membership and stop paying dues at any time.

Also under the bill, South Carolina employers are required to display a poster containing five specific provisions of state law at the heart of South Carolina’s Right to Work Act. Further, the bill prohibits state and local governments from requiring or prohibiting contractual union worker quotas when awarding government contracts, incentives, or tax credits, ensuring a level playing field for all businesses.

Along with protecting workers’ rights, the bill requires unions in South Carolina to be transparent in how they operate. All unions, regardless of membership size, would have the same new reporting requirements under South Carolina law. The bill also increases penalties for any unions or employers that violate the Right to Work Act, putting teeth to current South Carolina statutes.

South Carolina currently is one of 22 right-to-work states and national statistics show a strong relationship between right-to-work laws and economic growth. From 2000 to 2010, personal incomes grew by an average of 24.3 percent in the 22 right-to-work states, more than double the rate for the other 28 as a group. Further, in-migration of young adults has been significantly higher in right-to-work states. In 2009, there were 20 percent more 25- to 34-year olds in right-to-work states than in 1999. In forced-union states, the increase was only 3.3 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that from 1999 to 2009, states without right-to- work protections lost 1.8 million jobs. During the same decade, right-to-work states added 1.5 million jobs.

NCOIL is an organization composed of legislators from around the nation. The group works to educate state legislators on insurance issues, help state legislators from different states interact with each other, improve the quality of insurance regulation, and speak out on Congressional initiatives that encroach upon states’ rights in overseeing insurance. Many legislators active in NCOIL either chair or are members of the committees responsible for insurance in their respective state houses across the country.

Sandifer was appointed to the chairmanship by New Mexico Senator Carroll Leavell who recently became NCOIL president. Sandifer chairs the S.C. House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, which reviews all insurance-related legislation in South Carolina.

“I am thrilled to take on this leadership position, which gives South Carolina a seat at the table in creating national insurance policy and protecting states’ rights,” Sandifer said. “From healthcare reform to Dodd-Frank Act’s financial services regulatory overhaul, I believe we are seeing a federal government that’s increasingly intrusive at the expense of state authority. I think legislators must be prepared to address the regulations coming out of Washington and to determine what is best at the state level. I look forward to working with NCOIL to help states know and protect their rights.”

For more information, visit NCOIL.org.

I think it is important for you to know what to do if you disagree with the reassessment of your property. Here are the steps you should take:

1. File an appeal by no later than December 9, 2011. If it is filed one day late, it will not be accepted. You can get the appeal form from the Tax Assessor’s Office. The staff there will even help you fill it out or you can consult a real estate professional who might be willing to help you file your appeal for a reasonable fee.

2. You will have a discussion of your appeal with the Assessor’s Office sometime after you file the appeal. If they do not agree with your appeal, you may accept their opinion OR you may ask to appeal it further.

3. The next step in the appeal process is to present your case before the Board of Assessment Appeals. Fortunately, you will not need an attorney. This board is composed of nine Oconee County citizens who are recommended by the county legislative delegation and appointed by the governor. They are fair minded and knowledgeable.

4. Finally, if you do not agree with the outcome of the Board of Assessment Appeals, you can appeal to the SC Administrative Law Court. This court is located in Columbia. Again, it is important to understand that you are not required to have an attorney.

If your assessment is under appeal at the time that your property taxes are due, you are required to pay 80 percent of the amount of the taxes. If paying 80 percent results in an underpayment, you will be required to pay interest on the difference. However, if you pay 100 percent of the tax bill while it is under appeal and the appeals process determines that you have overpaid, the county must pay you interest on the amount of overpayment.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to file your appeal by December 9, otherwise your appeal is not valid.

I wish you success in getting an assessment that is fair and that accurately reflects the market value of your property.

The first event will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 10. It will be held at Earle’s Grove Baptist Church, located at 398 Cedar Lane Road in Westminster.

The second event will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22. It will take place at Seneca City Hall, 221 East North First Street in Seneca.

The purpose of the events is to update citizens on topics being debated in the state legislature. In addition, the meetings will provide a forum where residents can ask questions and let their voice be heard on the critical issues facing South Carolina.

Questions can be sent to Sandifer in advance of the meeting via email at bill@sandifer.us or on Facebook.

Both town hall meetings are open to the public.

Located across from Yoder’s Building Supply (500 E Fair Play Boulevard) in Fair Play, SC

For more information, contact:
Glen  McPheeters at (864) 972-1987

575 North Fairplay Street
Seneca, South Carolina 29678

For more information, contact:
American Legion Post 120 Commander Carlton Patterson at  (864) 882-3535

Recall legislation