Year: 2014

H.3025 would allow any individual over the age of 21 who is not legally barred from owning a handgun to carry a concealed handgun on their person in public. Individuals…

H.3029 would allow lower income taxpayers to apply a credit to their South Carolina income taxes worth a designated percentage of the federal earned income tax credit (EITC). The credit…

 H.3003 would forbid the use of mopeds on any public highway or street in South Carolina. Currently mopeds are a relatively low cost means of personal transportation for South Carolinians.…

House members have introduced a number of bills that seek to increase funding for infrastructure by either raising or implementing new fines, fees, and taxes. H.3004 and H.3065 both require…

H.3171 would require all candidates for public office receive written approval from the appropriate supervisory office for any reimbursement to themselves from their campaign account for more than $500. Once…

H.3180 would suspend the statutory requirement to fund the local government fund at a rate of 4.5 percent of last year’s general fund revenues. The General Assembly has been shortchanging…

H.3174 would remove references in the state code to the legislative ethics committees and their powers. The bill would also delete sections of law that exempt legislators from the oversight…

H.3085 and H.3163 would both abolish the state corporate income tax by gradually lowering the rate of the tax over four years until the tax is finally eliminated in 2018.…

H.3077 is an attempt to delete newly added language to the House Rules which prohibits House members from establishing leadership PACs. Leadership PACs allow public officials to fundraise outside their…

H.3072 is an attempt to codify a school choice program that provides a limited amount of tax credit scholarships to exceptional needs children. The program currently exists as a one…

S.264 would amend the Senate rules to allow any bill or resolution that has 27 or more cosponsors to be placed on the Senate calendar without reference, i.e. to skip the…

S.263 would amend the Senate rules to require that any Senator making an earmark request in any budget bill do so through a form designed by the Senate Finance Committee.…

S.247 would require the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) to submit to the full General Assembly the names of all candidates it finds qualified for judicial seats. Currently the JMSC…

S.239 just like last session’s S.898 and H.4478 would mandate that public teachers and administrators in South Carolina be paid, at minimum, the Southeast region’s average salary for their positions. Presumably the thinking behind…

S.200 would eliminate language in the state code which currently allows legislators to operate leadership PACs (political action committees). Leadership PACs are PACs that are “directly or indirectly established, financed,…

Although it contains a few caveats the core of S.194 is the same as 2012’s deplorable dilapidated buildings act. Like its predecessor S.194 would empower government to seize private property,…

Mandating Paid Sick Leave S.172 is identical to last session’s S.906. Each bill would mandate that all South Carolina employers provide earned paid sick leave to employees, and outlines what…

S.2 establishes the Interstate Lane Expansion Fund that will annually receive non-tax revenues equal to the amount of revenue projected from the sales, use, and causal excise taxes derived from…

S.142 would require that any year’s General Fund Revenues not spent in general or supplemental appropriations be credited to the State Highway Fund. Currently these funds (when they exist) are…

Firearms made in SC are Exempt from Federal Regulations S.117 asserts that firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition that are manufactured and remain solely in South Carolina are beyond the authority…

Nullifying Unlawful Detainment under the National Defense Authorization Act S.114 is similar to last session’s S.92. Like last session’s bill S.114 asserts state sovereignty by prohibiting state agents from assisting…

S. 134 – Incentive Transparency This bill would be a significant step toward ending the state’s secret incentives dealings. In line with a series of reforms recommended by the Policy…

S. 123 – Shorten session and implement Biennial budget This bill would shorten the legislative session so that in even-numbered years the General Assembly would adjourn the second Thursday in…

S. 111 and S. 112 – Governor appoints judges with advice and consent of Senate In 2012 the Policy Council launched an 8-point reform agenda aimed at making South Carolina…

S.1, S.14, S.74, S.202, and H.3184 are all omnibus ethics bills that contain some of the negative provisions from last session’s failed horrendous omnibus “ethics” bill. Several of the negative…

Regulating the Online Sale of Hearing Aids S.167 is a reintroduction of last sessions S.1056 which stalled in the house Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs committee. S.167 effectively prevents…

Companion bills S.155 and H.3678 are near identical to last session’s S.901, which never made it out of committee. Each bill would gradually eliminate South Carolina’s individual income tax over a five-year period by reducing…

Eliminating CWP Fees S.109 is a reintroduction of last session’s S.1045. Both bills eliminate the $50 fee that must be paid in order to receive a concealed weapons permit, and…

 Occupational License Fees must be approved by the Legislature S.107 would prohibit executive boards from unilaterally imposing occupational licensing fees. Instead occupational licensing fees would be recommend by the appropriate…

The Capital Reserve Fund (CRF) is a special fund which is funded at a rate of 2 percent of the previous year’s General Fund Revenue and is intended in theory…