Author: South Carolina Policy Council

H.3204 would require the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) to provide a list of all qualified candidates for judgeships to be submitted to the General Assembly for election. This would change…

H.3111 would impose a fourteen cent per gallon gas tax hike, the proceeds of which would be used to improve road conditions and supporting infrastructure. The legislation includes a provision…

H.3181 would require private firearm sales, with the exception of sales or transfers between licensed manufacturers, dealers, or between immediate family members, to undergo a national background check. Confirmation of the…

H.3180 requires that before any sale, exchange, or transfer of a firearm, a national instant background check must be performed. The process cannot continue until the results come back in. As…

H.3179 would remove the roll-call requirement for certain legislative votes. Legislators would be able to vote on “a certain number” of budget sections, as authorized by the chambers’ rules committees. This…

H.3178 would remove the roll-call requirement for certain legislative votes. Legislators would be able to vote on up to ten budget sections. However, members would be able to record their individual…

H.3174 would allow judges, magistrates, solicitors, clerks of court, and workers’ compensation commissioners to carry concealed anywhere in the state, whether they are active in their positions or retired. Current law…

H.3146 is a constitutional amendment that would change the Superintendent of Education from an elected position to a cabinet position with advice and consent of the Senate. In order for this to…

H.3140 requires all high schoolers seventeen and older register to vote. Schools are also prompted to offer information about and the importance of voting in their social studies classes. Voting is…

H.3137 loosens the regulations placed upon micro distilleries and manufacturers. With this bill, micro distilleries or manufacturers do not have to limit their sample size to half an ounce and can…

H.3090 is a joint resolution calling for a referendum of voters in the election of 2018 to raise members’ salaries from $10,400 to $42,830. Legislators each receive mileage compensation, free office…

H.3088 is a joint resolution to conduct an advisory referendum in the 2018 election to gauge voters’ support for a gas tax increase. The question would ask if voters would be…

H.3066 would create a College and University Board of Regents, which is meant to make the governance of higher education more effective and uniform. The Board would consist of seventeen members…

At first glance, H.3018 appears to protect non-elected state employees from privacy infringement. However, upon closer examination, it is yet one more way for the government to be less transparent. Non-elected…

H.3006 would require movie theaters to install metal detectors and for sporting arenas and concert venues to either install metal detectors or use a wand to inspect attendants. This is an…

H.3053 would prohibit higher education tuition rate hikes during the four years following a student’s initial enrollment, or for eight semesters. If the student has not completed the degree by…

H.3003 would prevent computers from being sold or distributed in South Carolina without an active filter for obscene content. The filter could be deactivated by the consumer after payment of…

By SHANE McNAMEE CHOICE GETS THE BLAME FOR THE STATE’S EDUCATIONAL ILLS. YET CHOICE HASN’T BEEN TRIED. The Post and Courier’s recent five-part series, “Left Behind: The unintended consequences of…

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE EGREGIOUS The legislative session begins this week, and scores of bills await debate. Among these are bills that would increase the gas tax, restrict…

PRIVATE PROPERTY IS TOTALLY SECURE IN THIS CONSERVATIVE STATE, RIGHT? WRONG. In the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision, South Carolina attempted to shore up property rights with…

LAST YEAR, THE PROBLEM WAS STRUCTURAL RATHER THAN MONETARY. IT STILL IS. Over the past several weeks there has been considerable public speculation that Gov. Nikki Haley’s successor may support a…

HOW STATE LAWMAKERS CONTINUE TO STRIKE AT CITIZENS’ FIRST AMENDMENT FREEDOMS Many Americans assume, wrongly, that their state legislatures deal mainly with low-level issues and that only Congress and the…

IN RECENT YEARS, STATE LAWMAKERS HAVE MADE INCREASINGLY BOLD MOVES AGAINST THE SECOND AMENDMENT. LOOK FOR MORE OF THE SAME THIS YEAR. The hostility toward Second Amendment freedoms seen at…

SOUTH CAROLINA POLICYMAKERS HAVE A DUTY TO RESPOND WITH REASON, NOT FEAR State lawmakers are now holding public forums to consider whether the General Assembly should further restrict citizens’ Second…

● State issues bond debt through a murky, complicated process ● Process shields lawmakers from accountability for debt spending ● Real power belongs to two boards few citizens have even heard of…

BUT THE NEW LAW WON’T TELL YOU MUCH ABOUT CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The legislature has now passed, and the governor signed, allegedly groundbreaking “ethics reform” legislation on the investigation of lawmakers…

WILL THE NEW LAW CUT SOUTH CAROLINA’S HALF-YEAR SESSION, OR IS IT ANOTHER FAUX REFORM? Gov. Nikki Haley recently signed a bill shortening South Carolina’s legislative session. Media reports indicate…

THE GOVERNOR HAS SIGNED IT, BUT VERY LITTLE HAS CHANGED In 2012, the Policy Council began calling for the abolition of the legislature’s power to police its own members’ ethics…

ANY OR ALL OF THESE BILLS COULD BECOME LAW SOON – AND AFFECT YOU DIRECTLY In the final hours of the 2016 legislative session, lawmakers passed a dizzying array of…

IT MIGHT BE THE MOST CONVOLUTED REFORM BILL WE’VE SEEN YET. [Update: On Wednesday, June 8, Gov. Haley signed the bill analyzed below, calling it “incomplete reform” and “far less…