House committee votes to ban football recruiting trips on state planes

The South Carolina House Ways and Means Committee?voted Tuesday to stop colleges from using the state?s airplanes for athletic recruiting.

Photo of state plane ?Palmetto 1? that was posted to Twitter by Clemson assistant coach Jeff Scott. Scott also posted an image of coaches riding inside the plane

Supporters of the bill are targeting Clemson University, which appears to be the only school currently using state-owned planes for that purpose. The issue flared up after Clemson?wide receivers?coach Jeff Scott posted a photo on Twitter?in October 2011 showing several other coaches riding on?what he called ?the Governor?s?plane? (the plane is actually owned by the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission, although the governor frequently uses it).?

State Rep. Jim Merrill (R-Charleston) said that is not an appropriate use of the plane. ?It?s just ridiculous,??he?said during Tuesday?s meeting, ?The state plane should be used for purposes advancing the betterment of the state. And that isn?t one of them.?

The committee approved the ban in a voice vote. The proposed?ban now goes to the full House of Representatives for approval.

Rep. B.R. Skelton (R-Six Mile), a former Clemson professor?who now?represents the area in the House, opposed the effort. He said Clemson has?reimbursed the state each time it has used the?plane. ?If there?s something wrong with the going rate, then the going rate ought to be adjusted,? he said, ?But if there?s not anything wrong, I don?t see anything wrong with it.?

Clemson sold one of its two planes in 2011. School officials say they determined it cost less?to rent the state?s planes than to buy another one. It costs?$1,250 an hour to fly the state?s larger plane ?Palmetto 1? and?$850 an hour for the smaller ?Palmetto 2,??according to the state Aeronautics Commission.

Merrill said Clemson flies the plane?at a?lower rate than other charter flights because taxpayers cover the hangar and maintenance costs.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SouthCarolinaRadioNetwork/~3/YsI1HZoDi9U/

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