If you’ll indulge me for a moment, one of my constituents last week, after watching this year’s State of the State, shared with me that I have been mentioned in the past three speeches ( Sanford 2009 , Sanford 2010 , Haley 2011).

Ok, yes, that is certainly flattering and humbling but I also hope that after this year, there will be no need to debate On the Record Voting again .

It’s been a long time coming and I’m hopeful the House and the Senate can come together and agree this issue must become permanent law soon. It’s long overdue.

H.3004 passed the House unanimously the first week and today (January 26) H.3285 should pass on second reading. Within the first 3 weeks, the House has passed both a permanent law and a constitutional amendment to provide more accountability for our elected officials to the voters of our state. I’m hopeful the Senate will approve both so we can send to our new Governor in the next few weeks.

Enjoyed visiting w/constituent Cynthia Hardy on her weekly show “On Point!” Discussed budget crisis and working together (Rs/Ds, Legislative and Executive Branch)

Joining me is fellow colleague, Representative Chris Hart (D-Richland).

A conversation primarily focused on the budget crisis we’re facing this year and the upcoming new session working with Governor Haley.

Another unanimous vote from the House after brief questions from Minority Leader, Harry Ott (D-Calhoun).

Once again, the bill now rests in the Senate where hopefully we’ll see quick action and see roll-call voting as SC permanent law.

There’s a lot of energy around the State House as we are on the eve of the Inauguration of the state’s 116th Governor and several constitutional officers tomorrow!

Both the House and Senate convened today and will be back at work tomorrow after Inauguration Events. The day starts with a 9am Prayer Service at Trinity Cathedral ; followed by the swearing-in of our state’s first female Governor, The Honorable Nikki R. Haley at noon.

I hope to see you at one of the events tomorrow. I’m looking forward to tomorrow evening’s Gala where my wife, Karen, has been working to prepare for the people from around the state who will converge on Columbia for a historic day and a new chapter in South Carolina politics.

For those colleagues or visitors coming to Columbia tomorrow, please be careful on the roads.

Thanks for visiting Nathan’s News. Now that we’re back in session, I’ll have more regular updates and information to share with you! Come back often and always feel free to leave your comments here or contact me through the website link at the top of the page.

It’s an honor and privilege to be a part of the beginning of better days for our state! This year will be extremely difficult but by keeping a long-term vision and a focus on “what’s important now”, we’ll position our state and our children for a brighter future!

Been a while since I spoke to you via video so I drove to the new offices of Donehue Direct , put a dime in the parking meter, and minutes later (one take), I was on my way.

I’ll be updating Nathan’s News more frequently now that the General Assembly returns in a few weeks for our next sesion. This is going to be a VERY difficult budget to put together and I hope Republicans/Democrats, House/Senate, Legislative/Executive branch can keep the focus on People, Not Politics.

We’re looking at a “hole” of approximately $800 million heading into the 2011-2012 budget. Because 70%+ of the state’s General Funds are appropriated to “Education” and “Healthcare”, we’ll have to make cuts in those areas to even get close to that figure in the General Fund portion of the budget. For perspective, you may be interested to know that even if we eliminated approximately 80 agencies in state government the cost savings would be roughly $300 million…which is less than HALF of what will be needed.

Ideas and suggestions? Click “contact” above and let me know what’s on your mind.

Representative Nathan Ballentine talks about the 5th Annual Prayer Breakfast, which took place at First Baptist Church in Irmo.