Year: 2017

BECAUSE SCHOOL KIDS NEED TO LOOK AT SCREENS MORE? Perhaps there is some justification for legislation – S.33 – that would mandate the installation of wireless Internet access in all…

WHERE DO WE STAND ON ETHICS REFORM? Since the Policy Council released its eight-point reform agenda in 2013, several lawmakers have been indicted and the General Assembly has passed a…

A TAX BREAK FOR FOOD AND CLOTHING IN THE PREPARATION OF PERISHABLE FOOD. THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. It’s often the case, and South Carolina is no exception. Lawmakers tend to…

LAST YEAR’S DISCLOSURE LAW LEAVES OUT A LOT – A LOT THAT YOU CAN ASK FOR Last month, we launched Project Income Disclosure with the aim of giving citizens a way…

SOUTH CAROLINA’S EXECUTIVE BUDGET GETS IGNORED – AND THAT’S HOW LAWMAKERS LIKE IT On websites and editorial pages across the nation, Americans are debating President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. The president’s…

WHY MUST THE STATE DECIDE THE RIGHT AND WRONG WAY TO DRAW A TREE? South Carolina faces many problems. The fact that graphic designs of palmetto trees aren’t standardized is not…

WHAT PASSED, WHAT DIDN’T, WHAT’S STILL TO COME On May 11, the legislative session ended for this year. Lawmakers will return next week to finish and pass the budget and…

• Legislature began diverting fees to Infrastructure Bank in 2005 • Diversion of Funds meant to circumvent state constitution • In 2003 lawmakers changed the name of the gas tax to…

PROPONENTS CLAIM THE BILL WOULD FIX SOUTH CAROLINA’S ROADS. THAT’S NOT WHAT THE BILL SAYS. [NB: The bill discussed in this report is now law, the state senate having overridden…

SOUTH CAROLINA’S ‘PENSION DEFICIT DISORDER’ HASN’T BEEN SOLVED On April 25, Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill intended to reform South Carolina’s pension system. The bill, now a law, raises…

LAWMAKERS HAVE TO COMBINE TWO BAD BILLS. THINGS COULD GET WORSE. The House and the Senate have both passed bills that contain significant tax increases, insignificant reform elements, and negligible…

● The Senate’s bill raises gas tax by 12 cents per gallon ● Includes large increases in array of fees ● Calls tax a ‘fee,’ allowing Infrastructure Bank to create more…

WHY DISCLOSURE MATTERS – AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT In 2008, the Policy Council published a report recommending the mandatory disclosure of all income sources for elected officials.…

THREE STEPS TO FIXING SOUTH CAROLINA’S ROADS – AND NONE OF THEM INVOLVES RAISING TAXES ON A POOR AND OVERTAXED POPULATION One thing has become increasingly evident in the debate over the gas…

WHY? JUST . . . WHY? Perhaps one of the most arrogant things that any legislature can do is to adopt the idea that every single part of life must…

  Today the Senate continued yesterday’s debate of the gas tax bill, which raises the gas tax by twelve cents per gallon (up from the ten-cent hike passed by the…

WHAT MAKES STOCK CAR RACING SO SPECIAL? Many cities across the country have what could be called a “stadium problem.” This problem occurs when a sports team – usually, but…

  IF LAWMAKERS WANT TO SEND MORE OF THE GAS TAX TO ROADS, THEY’RE FREE TO DO IT. SO WHY DON’T THEY? When the gas tax hike bill (H.3516) was going…

Being able to earn a living is one of our most fundamental rights as human beings. The other rights that we possess matter little when our ability to simply earn…

LEGISLATION WOULD TIGHTEN SOME REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTEREST — AND LOOSEN OTHERS Late in March, House Republicans, including Speaker Jay Lucas, sponsored a bill requiring increased disclosure on…

WHEN IT COMES TO TAXES, LAWMAKERS ALWAYS PREFER TO COMPLICATE THINGS Maintenance of one’s property – whether a house, a boat, or an electric guitar – is the responsibility of…

BILL WOULD ELIMINATE THE COMMISSION THAT SHIELDS POLICYMAKERS FROM ACCOUNTABILITY There seems to be broad agreement (except, perhaps, among Statehouse legislative leaders) that the state’s road funding system needs structural overhaul.…

WE CAN’T HAVE UNLICENSED INTERPRETERS OUT THERE! You probably didn’t know this, but South Carolina apparently has a problem with unlicensed sign language interpreters. That’s right – using sign language…

MORE MONEY HASN’T IMPROVED SOUTH CAROLINA’S ROAD SYSTEM – AND FOR A VERY GOOD REASON. If more money were the answer to the state’s infrastructure woes, the topic would hardly…

LAWMAKERS OVERSEE EXPLOSION IN FEDERAL FUNDS, FINES & FEES Each year during the budget debate, legislators talk about the responsible spending included in the budget. In this year’s debate, for…

PAYING FOR ROUTINE RENOVATIONS WITH DEBT HAS BECOME A THING Update: The final version of the committee bill ended up being $497 million, nearly half of which is going to higher…

IS THIS A FAVOR, OR JUST A FOLLY? S.248 is an exceedingly short and clear bill. It contains only three lines. The bill would allow anyone who’s held a state-issued…

‘CONSERVATIVE’ BUDGET A FULL BILLION DOLLARS BIGGER THAN LAST YEAR’S Late Tuesday night the House passed by far the largest budget in state history, as it usually does this time of…

WE SENT SIMPLE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS TO ELEVEN STATE AGENCIES. HERE’S WHAT WE FOUND. The purpose of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), passed in the aftermath of…

A CREDIT FOR ONE COMPANY WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE HONEST South Carolina has an exemption problem. The number of exemptions to the sales tax enshrined in law is staggering. As…