Year: 2016

REAL REFORM, NON-REFORM, OR SOMETHING ELSE? On Wednesday night, senators emerged from a behind-the-scenes meeting to adopt an amendment to the roads bill. As it exists now, the bill does not…

FARMERS WERE HIT HARD DURING LAST OCTOBER’S FLOODS. SO WERE MANY OTHERS. BUT ARE MORE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES ALWAYS THE ANSWER? [Note: Gov. Haley signed this bill in June, 2016.] Thousands…

GAS TAX HIKE SUPPORTERS CLAIM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATON ALREADY USES OBJECTIVE CRITERIA IN CHOOSING ROAD PROJECTS. THEY’RE WRONG. One of the most frequently repeated arguments against reforming the Department…

Lawmakers have bypassed the public, the law, their own rules, and the constitution to get a gas tax through the Senate. Citizens deserve better. Legislation to raise the gas tax and…

WHY ARE PROPONENTS OF A GAS TAX HIKE RELYING ON SUCH BAD NUMBERS? The debate over roads and road funding, especially as it’s taken place inside the State House over…

LEGISLATION WOULD REMOVE WHAT LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY STILL REMAIN IN SOUTH CAROLINA’S ROAD FUNDING SYSTEM ● Bill empowers murky government entities called “COGs” ● Removes governor’s power to appoint DOT…

H.4847 would permit the Department of Natural Resources to issue feral swine holding licenses. The bill would also allow feral swine to be held on private property by a feral…

H.4844 would place on the 2016 General Election ballot an advisory question asking if the legislative pay should be raised to $35,000 or $50,000 (current pay is $10,400). In the…

H.4822 would prohibit citizens from using a hands-free electronic communication device unless it is in voice-activated mode only, in other words does not require the driver to use a hand…

H.4819 creates the Office of Homeowners Ombudsman within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The ombudsman is appointed by the Director of the Department. The ombudsman’s responsibilities include providing homeowners associations…

H.4784 would mandate that all counties and municipalities perform an inspection every five years on balconies in their jurisdiction that are part of a variety residential properties including: hotels, apartments,…

S.1050 establishes the SC Able Savings Program, which would allow disabled individuals and their families to set up tax-free savings accounts to cover disability-related expenses. The accounts would have no…

H.4845 is a reintroduction of a bill from the last legislative session that would allow a funeral home to transfer a dead body to another funeral home only after the latter…

H.4571 would prohibit a “government agency, body, commission, committee, or council” whose governing board is appointed by a legislative delegation from transferring any of the bodies’ authority to another board…

S.1035 would allow licensed South Carolina physicians to prescribe medication to a patient through telemedicine, and requires physicians to comply with the same regulations and standards of traditional practitioners. Telemedicine…

● Bill includes unaccountable exceptions to private income disclosure ● Actually weakens public income disclosure requirement ● Legislative self-policing rearranged, not abolished ● Allows ethics committees to sign off – in secret…

H.4801 would amend the rules of the House of Representatives to allow each House member to appoint one full time staffer to perform such duties related to the member’s service…

  DANGEROUS ‘ELECTIONEERING’ PROVISION SCRAPPED, BUT LEGISLATION STILL CONSISTS MAINLY OF REGRESSIVE NON-REFORMS The Senate Judiciary Committee has just passed another omnibus ethics bill, H.3184. The bill has a tortured history, having…

Companion bills H.4728 and S.1016 would prohibit the use of eye care diagnostic kiosks that do not meet certain criteria from being operated in South Carolina. The bills would also prohibit the dispensing…

H.4713 closes the SC Retirement System, the Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors, and the State Optional Retirement Program, replacing them with the SC Retirement Investment Plan (SCRIP). With the…

H.4732 would prohibit the state or any political subdivision from purchasing portable solar power generator systems unless the system to be purchased: has security-sensitive component parts that are manufactured in…

H.4780 creates a committee for the purpose of reviewing Title 59 of the SC Code and reporting to the General Assembly the statutes that are obsolete or no longer applicable.…

H.4781 creates the South Carolina Education and Economic Development Coordination Council, comprised of: State Superintendent of Education or his designee; Executive Director of the South Carolina Employment Security Commission or…

H.4776 would create the South Carolina Education Facility Authority to “select and assist in the provision of financial assistance for the construction or enhancement of school facilities to school districts.”…

Companion bills H.4782 and H.4938 would mandate the State Department of Education and the Center for Education Recruitment, Retention and Advancement collaborate with the Commission on Higher Education to survey students at the…

H.4792 would create the Virtual Early Learning Pilot Program to provide literacy and numeracy instruction and assessment for preschool children in low income households. The program would be provided via…

Companion bills H.4774 and S.1038 would reauthorize the first steps to school readiness program, which provides funding to and oversight of various early education programs in South Carolina, until July…

STRUCTURE, FUNDING, REFORM Many of South Carolina’s roads and bridges are in a deplorable state of disrepair. No one who’s spent much time driving across the state will dispute that.…

H.4779 creates the Office of Transformation within the Department of Education for the purpose of providing service and support to school districts and schools. This translates into going into the…

AS LONG AS LEGISLATIVE LEADERS STAY IN CHARGE, THE CHANGE IS COSMETIC [UPDATE: The Senate Transportation Committee has passed an amended version of the bill to the full Senate. We’ll have an…