Q&A with SC House District 118 incumbent Rep. Bill Herbkersman

Incumbent Rep. Bill Herbersman, Republican

Age: 58

Number of years living in the area you seek to represent: 36 years

Family: Wife Mary, two adult children

Education: Attended University of South Carolina, received Bachelor of Arts degree from Jefferson Institute.

The state's retirement system is facing billions in unfunded liabilities. Taxpayers will have to pitch in more or state retirees must see services cut. What should be done?

Herbkersman: I'm co-chairing the retirement committee charged with making sense of the lagging retirement system. It's important to know that the state employees only make up 35 to 40 percent of the entire system. We have county and municipal employees on the system as well as education employees; those combined make up the bulk of the system. We are currently looking at some remedies. We have heard testimony and received advice from the groups that oversee and manage successful plans such as the Wisconsin Plan. We are in the process of formulating a plan that closes the open-ended amortization on the system and may include hybrids of what we are doing and what other retirement systems are having success with. Losing benefits is not an option at this point. We are committed to offering a fix for the problem in this new session but it's premature to offer the complete plan of action at this point.

Despite a $4 billion infusion of cash this legislative session, South Carolina's roads and bridges are crumbling. Should the gas tax be raised? What else should be done?

Herbkersman: On infrastructure my position has been consistent. We have a partial restructuring of the S.C. Department of Transportation and are working towards a full restructuring. South Carolina has over twice the roads of neighboring states and half the gas tax. When, and only when we have a fully restructured and accountable SCDOT, I am in favor of raising the user fee or gas tax incrementally to a sustainable amount. I have heard from the Truckers Association and they are in favor of raising the user fee on gas. Many of our constituents statewide are paying auto repairs due to bad roads that far exceeds any increase in a user fee. I stress user fee because the more miles that are driven the more road maintenance we require and it correlates with using the roads and paying for the maintenance. In the event of no full restructuring of SCDOT, I would be open to exploring local means of fairly including our tourists in the improvements of the roads. They certainly enjoy our roads and contribute to the need for maintenance.

Which presidential candidate are you supporting? Why?

Herbkersman: Although I think a person’s vote is a private matter, I think we are at a critical junction in our country. I am voting for Trump. Trump was not my first choice but considering the alternative he is my only choice. We need a president that can be trusted and tell it like it is, like it or not. We also need a president that understands business and that has not been a part of the machine — both Democrat and Republican — that has been so detrimental to this country. People argue that Clinton has never been convicted and I counter that neither was Hugo Chavez. Political correctness and a bias media have contributed to an ill-informed populace, that is just not acceptable in this great country. A deficit that has doubled in the past eight years to an almost unsustainable amount and entitlements that make up 60 percent of our budget have got to be on the table and the incumbents refuse to make it part of the conversation. I am a fiscal conservative and have run my businesses in that manner and believe our country should be run the same.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Q&A with SC House District 118 incumbent Rep. Bill Herbkersman."