Month: April 2015

S.649 would require all South Carolina law enforcement agencies to maintain a written policy for investigating officer involved deaths, defined as “the death of an individual that results directly from…

Companion bills S.650, H.3973, H.3990, and H.3991 all attempt to remove conflicts of interests and reduce public skepticism in the investigation of officer involved shootings. The bills seek to achieve…

S.647 would clarify that it is indeed legal for a private citizen to film the police in public. Citizens already have the right to record in public places. S.647 would…

 S.702 would give charter schools opening after July 1, 2015 the ability to administer enrollment preferences from an attendance zone specified by the local school district sponsoring the charter school.…

H.4056 would restrict contracting firms from bidding on DOT projects if a firm is owned, either fully or partially, by a trust that benefits a person, a person’s family, or…

H.4051 aims to amend the Constitution by exempting persons seeking to serve on the governing body of a public college or university in this State from possessing the minimum qualifications…

H.4042 could have a significant impact on the future of high school education in South Carolina. The bill would require successful completion of three high school-level “virtual learning credit units”…

S.201 requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop a process that prioritizes the maintenance, preservation, and rehabilitation of the state highway system and bridges. The bill further requires that…

S.686 is a bill that makes slight adjustments to current law regulating the Housing Trust Fund: Removes the dollar figure from the definition of “affordable housing,” leaving it more open…

S.683 (and companion bill H.5078) amends the sunset provision in current state law for locally-imposed sales taxes. Under current law, a locally-imposed sales tax must not last longer than eight years. If…

ANSWER: NO ONE. CONSIDER A RECENT ATTEMPT TO RAISE REVENUE IN THE SENATE. The General Assembly has long dominated South Carolina politics. Members of the House of Representative and Senate…

S.668 gives local governing bodies the ability to create a clean energy financing program (C-PACE program – commercial-property assessed clean energy program). The program would work like this: The governing…

H.3948 would exempt large commercial motor vehicles (vehicles weighing over 2,600 pounds used for the transportation of property on a public highway) from property taxes. In place of property taxes…

• Bill raises taxes on gasoline and motor vehicle sales. • Enacts a roughly $360 million tax hike next year. • Allows Infrastructure Bank to fund more projects, not fewer. • Gives…

LATEST ATTEMPT TO GET STATE HANDS ON NEW REVENUE MAY ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS OF LEGALITY, CONSTITUTIONALITY South Carolina’s sales tax is unfair in its imposition and isn’t producing enough revenue. At…

THROWING MORE AND MORE MONEY AT A BROKEN SYSTEM IS HOW WE WOUND UP WITH A DECREPIT ROAD SYSTEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE WAY FORWARD IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Over…

● One last chance for this year’s omnibus “ethics” bill ● Self-policing provision makes little actual improvement ● Income disclosure provision contains loopholes, exceptions The Senate may take one more…

IT’S MONEY. THEY WANT TO SPEND IT. THAT SETTLES IT. ANY QUESTIONS? In a little remarked upon move, South Carolina House members scrambled last month to insert line items from…

H.3164 replaces the income tax with a 3.5% tax on adjusted gross income, and allows a tax forgiveness credit based on income level and dependents. The bill creates a set…

S.372 broadens the definition of “cigarette,” increasing the weight limitation from three pounds or less of tobacco per thousand to four and a half pounds per thousand. The new definition…

Companion bills S.595 and H.4151 change the method by which the cigarette tax is paid. Under current law, the cigarette tax is payable by distributors, who are required to make a monthly…

H.3049 directs the Department of Revenue (DOR) to create a tax expenditure report every four years to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of economic development tax incentives issued by the…

● The S.C. Department of Transportation is an unaccountable mess. ● Act 114, the 2007 “reform,” improved virtually nothing. ● What little Act 114 did improve may soon be repealed.…

S.594 would add detail to the Jobs Tax Credit by requiring the Department of Revenue to issue a report containing the net number of new full-time jobs created in this…