Year: 2021

At the end of each year, state lawmakers file a series of bills (known as “prefiles”) in anticipation of the upcoming legislative session. The following report looks at some of the most significant House prefiles, organized by…

New bills filed (highlights)  S.1236 – Providing every taxpayer a rebate of $100 for each month that the average regular price of gas exceeds $4 per gallon H.5223 – A handgun must…

1.20.22 UPDATE: Ahead of next month’s judicial elections, including for one seat on the state Supreme Court and Administrative Law Court, and many on the Court of Appeals, circuit court,…

*** On Wednesday, a special legislative committee tasked with “modernizing” the state’s transportation funding system met for the second time, once again alleging that the rise in electric and hybrid vehicles pose an…

In our latest video, we go in-depth on our recently published report, Eight reforms to take your power back, to explain how changes like reforming our judicial selection process, shortening the legislative…

We talk through our latest project which revealed that legislative delegations in South Carolina are among the most powerful in the nation. We’re also asking SC viewers to find their…

. South Carolina has some of the most powerful politicians in the country. They exercise unwarranted powers over state government and the economy, and face very little accountability for their…

Legislative delegations in South Carolina have a serious transparency problem. As it turns out, an alarming number of counties are missing basic information about legislative delegations on their websites. In fact, some…

South Carolina’s county legislative delegations, comprised of the lawmakers representing each of the state’s 46 counties, are among the most powerful in the nation. In fact, most states don’t even recognize such delegations, and where they do,…

By now, if you’ve been following the Policy Council’s latest research, it should come as no surprise to hear that legislative delegations (the group of state lawmakers representing a particular county) play an oversized role in filling important state and local positions, which has…

We break down the issues facing South Carolina’s magistrate court system, where in some counties, a single state senator is primarily responsible for the selection of powerful local judges.

In South Carolina, magistrate judges have serious power, especially over the lives of everyday citizens. For many, their courtroom will be the final stop when it comes to adjudicating legal issues. This is why it is particularly alarming that in…

In our latest video, we look at how small groups of lawmakers control crucial functions of state government, and what that means for the everyday lives of South Carolinians.

During a special committee held last week, lawmakers made the bold claim that SC’s method of funding transportation will soon need to change as fuel-efficient/electric vehicles become more widely adopted.…

During Tuesday’s Santee Cooper conference committee, S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas admitted that government should get out of the power generation business. He also worried that, even with the proposed…

In our first video, we look at what’s been happening with state-owned utility Santee Cooper, and break down why certain reforms proposed by lawmakers fall short.

Despite the gas-tax-hike having passed in 2017, an alarming number of South Carolina’s roads and bridges are still crumbling. As bad as things are for state roads and highways, locally managed roads are sometimes in the worst condition, as…

There is little question that South Carolina lawmakers exert tremendous power over state government, and consequently, the life everyday citizens. This topic is something the Policy Council has researched extensively…

State lawmakers this week approved what will be the final version of next fiscal year’s $32 billion-plus budget, pending vetoes issued by the governor. The General Assembly will take up any vetoed items when it reconvenes next Tuesday for the final…

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While the 2021 regular legislative session ends this week, lawmakers are set to return to Columbia in June – possibly on three separate occasions – to address a number of…

Regulations H.4324 – Proposing a state constitutional amendment to lift the sales restriction on liquor between 7pm and 9am  H.4318 – Cable service providers must provide refunds for interruptions in…

Government Structure H.4283 – Allowing the S.C. Supreme Court to declare a “Judicial Emergency”, which would let it delay hearings and deadlines, relocate court operations, and would overall broadly expand…

UPDATE as of 5/7/21: This week, the House voted to keep the option to explore selling Santee Cooper in H.3194, while adopting some of the Senate’s “reform” measures, including those…

Elections H.4255 – Numerous voting law changes: 1)  requiring poll workers wear body cameras; 2) journalists may not come within 200 yards of entrance of a voting place unless coming…

Criminal Justice H.4210 – Making it a felony to give out the private address, phone number or email of an elected official or government employee with the intent to intimidate,…

S.536, which received a committee hearing Wednesday, would require businesses serving liquor-based drinks to earn at least 51% of their total revenue from food and non-alcoholic beverages. The bill would…

Criminal Justice H.4149 – Limiting the amount of monetary compensation a whistleblower on public utilities can recover from litigation and allowing the utility to fire the whistleblower if it is…

Last week (Saturday, April 10) was the 2021 crossover deadline, which means bills that failed to pass one chamber (House or Senate) and cross to the other by this date…

Taxation/Spending S.710 – Allowing municipalities that don’t have operating property taxes to impose one  (capped at a rate sufficient to generate one-third of the previous year’s general fund expenses). Any…