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The Collard Conundrum

In our meeting this week, the very last piece of legislation considered by my Agriculture Subcommittee was the bill to make collards the official vegetable of the state. This bill was sent to us after being passed out by the Senate – ahead of tort reform and SUTA reform, by the way.

We hold subcommittee hearings to hear testimony and determine the need for the legislation in question. In the case of the collards, nobody showed up to testify on its behalf. So, I made the motion to adjourn debate.

Given the reaction by several members of the General Assembly and The State newspaper, you would have thought that I had adjourned debate on a major economic development bill. Apparantly, collards carry weight in the Midlands.

If people wonder what’s wrong down in Columbia, the collard bill might provide some clues.