S.C. Democrats' 2017 legislative hopes include casinos, legalizing medical marijuana

COLUMBIA — House Democrats laid out lofty hopes for the 2017 legislative session on Tuesday, including finding a permanent fix for road funding by bringing luxury casinos to South Carolina and legalizing medical marijuana.

House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, said that while the gas tax-supported roads funding bill introduced earlier this year is a good starting point to solving the state's infrastructure problems, more needs to be done.

"That roads bill is exactly what Democrats have been talking about all these years," he said at a press conference called by party lawmakers. "And now that we’ve gotten rid of Governor Haley, we believe that that roads bill can go into effect."

Former Gov. Nikki Haley left last week to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Read more: http://www.postandcourier.com/politics/s-c-democrats-legislative-hopes-include-casinos-legalizing-medical-marijuana/article_46398952-e7d9-11e6-8a5b-d78c69d9ddc1.html