Small Business "Backbone" Podcast

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 annua...

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 ha...

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...

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 O...

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 h...

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 c...

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-induce...

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. R...

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 al...

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...

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 Stateho...

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 reg...

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...

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 c...

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 insuran...

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 t...

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 pro...

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....

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...

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...

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.