2015-2016 Bill 4243: Marlboro Electric Cooperative - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 121st Session, 2015-2016 3 4 H. 4243 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 Concurrent Resolution 9 Sponsors: Reps. Henegan, Alexander, Allison, Anderson, Anthony, Atwater, Bales, Ballentine, Bamberg, 10 Bannister, Bedingfield, Bernstein, Bingham, Bowers, Bradley, Brannon, G.A. Brown, R.L. Brown, Burns, 11 Chumley, Clary, Clemmons, Clyburn, CobbHunter, Cole, Collins, Corley, H.A. Crawford, Crosby, 12 Daning, Delleney, Dillard, Douglas, Duckworth, Erickson, Felder, Finlay, Forrester, Funderburk, 13 Gagnon, Gambrell, George, Gilliard, Goldfinch, Govan, Hamilton, Hardee, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, 14 Herbkersman, Hicks, Hill, Hiott, Hixon, Hodges, Horne, Hosey, Howard, Huggins, Jefferson, Johnson, 15 Jordan, Kennedy, King, Kirby, Knight, Limehouse, Loftis, Long, Lowe, Lucas, Mack, McCoy, 16 McEachern, McKnight, M.S. McLeod, W.J. McLeod, Merrill, Mitchell, D.C. Moss, V.S. Moss, Murphy, 17 Nanney, Neal, Newton, Norman, Norrell, Ott, Parks, Pitts, Pope, Putnam, Quinn, Ridgeway, Riley, 18 Rivers, RobinsonSimpson, Rutherford, Ryhal, Sandifer, Simrill, G.M. Smith, G.R. Smith, J.E. Smith, 19 Sottile, Southard, Spires, Stavrinakis, Stringer, Tallon, Taylor, Thayer, Tinkler, Toole, Weeks, Wells, 20 Whipper, White, Whitmire, Williams, Willis and Yow 21 Document Path: l:\council\bills\bh\26311zw15.docx 22 23 Introduced in the House on May 26, 2015 24 Introduced in the Senate on May 26, 2015 25 Adopted by the General Assembly on May 26, 2015 26 27 Summary: Marlboro Electric Cooperative 28 29 30 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 31 32 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 33 5/26/2015 House Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate ( House Journalpage 12) 34 5/26/2015 Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence ( Senate Journalpage 7) 35 36 View the latest legislative information at the website 37 38 39 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 40 41 5/26/2015 42 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE SIGNIFICANT SERVICE 12 OF MARLBORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE OF 13 BENNETTSVILLE AND TO CONGRATULATE THE 14 ORGANIZATION ON ITS SEVENTYFIFTH ANNIVERSARY 15 OF PROVIDING ELECTRICITY IN THE PALMETTO STATE. 16 17 Whereas, for seventyfive years, Marlboro Electric Cooperative has 18 served its membership with excellence. One of twenty nonprofit 19 consumerowned electricdistribution systems serving the rural and 20 suburban areas of South Carolina, Marlboro Electric Cooperative 21 was organized by people in Marlboro County and Dillon County 22 after many years of attempting to get other power suppliers to 23 provide electric service for their sparsely populated rural areas; and 24 25 Whereas, in the early 1930s, electricity in South Carolina was 26 confined to towns and cities where power suppliers could sell 27 current to large groups of customers over small areas of land. It 28 costs much more to serve rural areas because it takes more miles of 29 line to sell power to fewer people. To recover those costs and 30 make a profit, power companies would have to charge rates higher 31 than people could afford; and 32 33 Whereas, in 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed an 34 executive order creating the Rural Electrification Administration, 35 which today, as part of the United States Department of 36 Agriculture, is known as the Rural Utilities Service; and 37 38 Whereas, many consumers in the Palmetto State became interested 39 in organizing electricsupply systems through nonprofit electric 40 cooperatives. In 1939, Governor Olin Johnston signed the South 41 Carolina Rural Electrification Act. County agents from the 42 Clemson Extension Service, instrumental in forming most of the

[4243] 2 1 coops in the State, explained that it was possible for consumers to 2 own their own company through the cooperative system; and 3 4 Whereas, on September 3, 1940, Marlboro Electric Cooperative in 5 Bennettsville energized the first line and began serving power to 6 its members. Seventyfive years later, it serves 6,520 accounts and 7 1,094 miles of line in two South Carolina counties, Marlboro and 8 Dillon; and 9 10 Whereas, although the cooperative’s core mission is to provide 11 reliable, affordable electric service to its membership, it also has 12 become an economic engine for development and job creation. By 13 working with state and county governments, Marlboro Electric has 14 helped attract job growth and industrial leaders, such as Domtar, 15 Arauco, Mohawk Industries, Harbor Freight Tools, and Wyman 16 Gordon; and 17 18 Whereas, Marlboro Electric has shown a strong commitment to the 19 community through programs like Operation Round Up, which 20 rounds up members’ monthly bills to the nearest dollar for 21 distribution to local charities. Through Operation Round Up, the 22 cooperative donates more than thirty-six thousand dollars to 23 charities each year. Marlboro Electric also provides support for 24 local schools, fire departments, law enforcement agencies, 25 veterans, and senior citizens; and 26 27 Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly appreciates the 28 three quarters of a century that Marlboro Electric Cooperative has 29 provided electricity, productivity, and opportunity to the citizens of 30 South Carolina, and the members look forward to its continued 31 prosperity and growth in the days ahead. Now, therefore, 32 33 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate 34 concurring: 35 36 That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this 37 resolution, recognize and honor the significant service of Marlboro 38 Electric Cooperative of Bennettsville and congratulate the 39 organization on its seventyfifth anniversary of providing electricity 40 in the Palmetto State. 41 42 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to 43 Marlboro Electric Cooperative.

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