Small Business "Backbone" Podcast

Representative Heather Bauer shares her story about how a high school guidance counselor/ volleyball coach turned her life around by opening the door for her going to college. Now in her third year in the SC House where she is in the minority party, she believes that bipartisanship is important for being successful on legislation. However, Rep. Bauer also believes that the House Democratic Caucus should be doing a better job standing up for a legislative agenda that the public agrees with. “There is no fight…we’re not focused on the right issues”, she says and suggests that this iss...

First year Representative Robert Reese gives his professional and volunteerism background and how he came to run for office. He says that his first year was “revelatory”.

Rep. Reese tells the story of how a dormant family farm, on which his great grandmother grew and picked cotton, led him to ask to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. He shares how he felt compelled, due to his decades of professional experience in running diversity and inclusion programs, to explain to the full House what DEI really is.

As the one of only two members to rais...

Senator Rex Rice of Pickens County believes that this past legislative session was one of the best. He gives credit to the leadership of Senators Thomas Alexander, Harvey Peeler and Shane Massey. Senator Rice discusses ear marks in the budget that were not allowed this year. He cites the quality of the many new Senators and working across party lines for the Senate having a great year. Senator Rice talks about the critical legislation passed to protect children; tort reform and its impact on insurance premiums; and the energy bill that had consumer protections stripped out by the House.<...

Rep. Seth Rose of Richland County shares his enthusiasm for any sport that translates from tennis. The former First Team All-America Singles Tennis Player at the University of South Carolina has found a new love, padel tennis, which he describes as fast growing in popularity. On the legislative front Rep. Rose says that he is greatly concerned about the information being fed to our youth via social media that can be misinformation with the intent to influence opinions. He has introduced legislation that would create a pilot program on media literacy and critical thinking in our schools. He also...

As a new Senator, Allen Blackmon talks about lessons learned in his first year. He discusses with the host, Frank Knapp, his assessment of the major energy bill passed without some important consumer protections. Specifically he raises concern that data centers were not held responsible for paying their own way for the new electrical generation they need and that they will not have to report annually on their water consumption, which is enormous. He regrets that the Senate was not given much time to debate the final bill, which he feels was a strategy of the House, He also...

First elected to the SC House in 1992, Rep. Jerry Govan of Orangeburg remarks about the present generation of elected leaders whose experiences are vastly different from those who came before.

He offers that legislation to ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the public and private sectors is not needed. Rep. Govan points out that programs to make sure all Americans are treated the same have not held back the state’s economy which is booming.

Rep. Govan also comments that he sees anti-DEI legislation that passed the House did not follow proper procedures and ap...

Having served in the SC Senate for 32 years, Darrell Jackson shares stories of his early days, the Senate giants that he served with, and the Senate’s tradition of a deliberative, respectful process. His own family experience with home healthcare workers funded with Medicaid underscores the importance of the program and the need for higher pay for the workers. Senator Jackson relates how his being a pastor gives him clarity on the needs of the people and how government can help.

The Director of the City of Columbia Office of Business Opportunities, Ayesha Driggers, talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about how her office helps grow the city’s small businesses. The city has a revolving loan fund that partners with financial lenders to help reduce the interest rate on small business loans. The city loans can be from $10,000 to $200,000 with the rate of 4% below prime. The Office of Business Opportunities facilitates small local businesses receiving contracts from the city for products and services. Start-up small businesses are provided assistance and services. Ms. Driggers also shared that her office is sp...

Cliff Wilson, President and CEO of The Centric Group based in Columbia, SC, talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about the general contractor business. He tells how he arrived at the name of his business and how his success left an original plan behind. He shares how the turmoil over the Trump Administration's policies on immigration and tariffs have caused severe problems for his industry. While he has tried to adapt and plan; lack of crews, project delays and higher costs have led to decreased revenues.

Representative Gil Gatch talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about his winding road to becoming a lawyer in his late 30's and how those experiences helped shape his perspective on family law and legislation. He tells why is proud of the budget the House passed and his distaste for the antics of some members of the House. Rep. Gatch explains the issues covered in the House passed tort reform bill compared to the more expansive Senate bill on the issue. He tells why a special ad hoc committee in the House will hold hearings on the cost of insurance...

SC Senate President Thomas Alexander expresses his appreciation for the Senators he presides over and talks about his 38 years serving in the legislature. He shares the role of the presiding officer of the Senate and the reason that position changed from being the Lt. Governor.

Senator Alexander talk with podcast host Frank Knapp about the need for his bill to create the offense of fentanyl-induced homicide. Creating a specific crime punishable by imprisonment for up to 30 years for lacing other drugs with fentanyl of just selling other drugs containing fentanyl would hopefully reduce the number of deaths...

Rep Todd Rutherford, the S.C. House Minority Leader, talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about the economic benefits to the state for legalizing casino gambling, pari-mutuel betting and other gambling games. He believes that his “ban the box” bill, that would ban job applications from asking questions about criminal convictions, will enable previously incarcerated the opportunity for employment. Rep. Rutherford has experienced, as has the host, the high cost of event tickets offered by online scalpers. He has a bill to allow local vendors to engage in reselling tickets to provide real competition in this market.

Rep. Micah Caskey, Chairman of the House Rules Committee, shares with podcast host Frank Knapp the importance of his committee and the process of setting legislation for special order. Amendments during the budgetary process on the House floor need to follow the rules. He describes the overall legislative budget process and addresses differences between the House and Senate budgets. Rep. Caskey also talks about how important it is to pay local law enforcement officers more and how his legislation can help these men and women keep more of the pay that they receive by excluding their income from state...

Rep. Brandon Newton of Lancaster tells podcast host Frank Knapp that the SC House members turn over pretty frequently which makes term limits unnecessary. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and describes the budget, reserve funds and regarding Medicaid he wants to see what Congress does and how it might impact the state’s Medicaid program. Rep. Newton describes his bill to exempt the first $10,000 of business personal property from local property taxes. Election reforms are of particular interest to him, and he describes some of his bills on the issue.

Rep. Blake Sanders of Anderson County shares personal stories with podcast host, Frank Knapp. These engaging stories cover how he became a landscape architect, the origin of his handlebar mustache, re-invigorating the economy of West Pelzer, and how a life-threatening health issue led to a decision to run for the SC House. He also tells of how he unknowingly jeopardized the security of the Statehouse on his first legislative day.

Representative Roger Kirby of Lake City talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about rural South Carolina's serious problems with access to healthcare, education, and transportation. The closing of the Georgetown paper mill in December has caused a real problem for the timber industry in his district. Mr. Kirby is very concerned about potential loss of federal revenue to South Carolina especially regarding Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. How the legislature will deal with possible Medicaid cuts will be critical. Any new tariffs by the Federal government also threaten his farmers. Economic development in rural South Carolina is...

Nick Callas of the Law office of Nicholas G. Callas in Columbia talks about his early experiences with criminal law and what he learned about the psychology of those accused of committing crime. While he provides legal services in workers compensation and personal injury, Nick's passion is for helping his clients receive the social security disability benefits they deserve, a process that can take years. He also discusses challenges to the social security disability process that have developed since COVID and he expressed concern about cutting government jobs in Social Security Offices in the name of fraud.

Senator Ronnie Cromer of Newberry, whose district includes many miles of lake shoreline, discusses South Carolina's very high boat tax and what the benefits would be for reducing the tax level to be competitive with other states. He also reflects on a significant difference serving in the Senate in 2003 versus today and his future plans.

Charleston Representative Spencer Wetmore joined “Backbone” podcast host Frank Knapp and talks about her infrastructure bill to give a tool to local governments to better manage growth prior to issuing construction permits. Giving local government the ability to build needed infrastructure, as her bill would do, prior to anticipated growth is critical. Representative Wetmore also talks about her concern on how filed legislation on diversity, equity and inclusion would negatively impact private businesses. Human trafficking is also a growing problem and she has a bill to include training medical professionals how to identify patients as being trafficked and what they...

Richland County Senator Tameka Isaac Devine talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about her transition from City Council to the state Senate and legislation she has introduced. A supporter of the right to own firearms, she believes that firearm owners should be required to have liability insurance for the weapons to cover losses or damages resulting from any negligent or accidental use. Such insurance would protect innocent victims and the firearm owner. Senator Devine also wants to expand the definition of domestic abuse victims eligible for an order of protection to those who have or are in a dating...

Representative Craig Gagnon of Abbeville shares his experience of being a chiropractor and the overall cost of healthcare training today and how it contributes to the rapidly rising healthcare and insurance costs. He discusses his previous concern of expanding Medicaid to provide health insurance to many small business workers and the possibility of looking at how North Carolina moved forward on the issue.

Angela Barrett talks with “Backbone” host Frank Knapp about her two podcasts, “Talking South Carolina” and “4 all things Lexington”. Angela talks about her pre-podcast experiences: Statehouse Paige, graduating from Columbia College, state employee and a court reporter. Now in real-estate, Angela tells how she got started with her podcasts, which highlights businesses, organizations and events.

Representative Jay Jordan of Florence talks with "Backbone" Podcast host Frank Knapp about issues coming up in the legislature. Making sure the state has sufficient energy for business and industry is a priority as well as teacher pay and school choice, two issues that he says are not in conflict. Rep. Jordan expects to reintroduce his bill on the Probate Court to continue with judicial reform progress. He also talks about balance being an attorney, having a family with 3 children and serving in the House with responsibility as 1st Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Public education is very important to Representative Neal Collins, who has filed numerous bills addressing the subject. His bills include focusing on racial disparity in academic performance, substituting statewide funding for K-12 schools instead of local property tax, abolishing the State Board of Education, and consolidating all school districts in a county into one county school district. Rep. Collins also talks about the problem of affordable childcare as well as his work preparing the state for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and South Carolina's role.

In this episode of the "Backbone" Podcast, Representative Jermaine Johnson, now in his third term, talks about needed election reform. He is the primary sponsor of three bills dealing with the issue. Rep. Johnson discusses his bill to make it illegal to use deceptive deep fake media in political campaigns to mislead and confuse voters. He has also introduced the Election Official Protection Act to address verbal and physical harassment of poll workers. Rep. Johnson also wants to give municipalities another method of electing local officials. Instant runoff voting would enable cities to have majority-vote winners without the need...

Senator Majority Leader Shane Massey discusses legislative priorities including the state's need for more energy. The conversation includes a detailed explanation of his tort reform legislation as well as his bills on reforming the makeup of the Commission for Minority Affairs and the national security threat of businesses controlled by foreign adversary nations owning property in South Carolina.

Senator Brad Hutto describes the functions of being the Senate Min0rity Leader. He discusses the need for making AI generated child pornography a crime as requested by the Attorney General's Office and SLED. He talks about the future energy needs of the state and how that can be addressed by possible nuclear energy and allowing Santee Cooper and investor-owned utilities to partner in the building new generation. The Senator also discusses how to protect ratepayers from data center needs for energy and whether the state even needs data centers.

Representative Davey Hiott of PIckens County is the House Majority Leader. He talks about that role and some priority issues for the Republican super majority in the House. Going into his 26th year in the House, he talks about his decision to retire after this term.

Newly elected Senator Ott represents a wide swath of rural and urban area in the Midlands of South Carolina. In a conversation with host Frank Knapp, the Senator expresses concern for education vouchers and the role education plays in preparing students for employment in the workforce. He also states his concern about the impact of gerrymandered districts.

Senator Tom Davis discusses the possible private-sector completion of 2 abandoned nuclear plants at the VC Summer Nuclear site in Fairfield County to supply the future energy needs of AI data centers in order to protect small business and residential ratepayers from subsidizing BIG TECH. Now in his 17th year as a state Senator and chairs the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, Senator Davis talks about his rise from his beginnings as the "hero of libertarians" to a very respected, influential member of the SC Senate.

Dr. Vicki Young is the CEO of the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association, the unifying organization for Community Health Centers (CHCs) in South Carolina. CHCs are time-tested models of community-based care. They represent public and private partnerships working together to improve the health status of their respective communities. First established in 1964, CHCs are community-based, non-profit organizations that provide comprehensive, high-quality, patient-focused health care services in a culturally appropriate manner. With a focus on primary care, prevention, education, and case management, CHCs accept most health insurance plans including Medicare and Medicaid and for those patients without insurance, services are...

In the inaugural episode of the "Backbone" podcast, Frank Knapp, co-founder and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, sits down with Eddy Moore from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Their discussion covers key issues facing small businesses, including the growing energy demands of data centers and the impact of rate increases. Eddy shares insights into how these energy challenges disproportionately affect small businesses and what steps can be taken to foster a more sustainable and equitable energy landscape. Tune in for an insightful conversation on energy use, policy, and small business advocacy.

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Meet host Frank Knapp, President & CEO of the SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce.