Oconee lawmakers vote no on a referendum for Greenville

Oconee’s two members of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Bill Sandifer of Seneca and Bill Whitmire of Walhalla, voted with the majority this week to defeat a bill that would have set up an advisory referendum to allow Greenville County voters to weigh-in on whether GHS—the Greenville Health System—may go thru with its planned affiliation with Palmetto Health of the Midlands. GHS is the parent company of Oconee Memorial Hospital. And late last year the Oconee County Council withheld its support of a bond issue that the proposed new hospital company sought to re-finance debt. Rep. Sandifer says he and his colleague, Whitmire, voted no because both Oconee and Laurens counties are part of the GHS and that if there is to be a referendum, it should include the voters of the two other counties, as well. At the same time, Sandifer doesn’t support the idea of a referendum to settle the dispute between GHS and several members of the Greenville state delegation. There is a lawsuit among those parties, and Sandifer believes the courts are the forum for settling the disagreements.