The South Carolina Policy Council Archive
Limited Government | Free Enterprise | Individual Liberty
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purpose of reviewing Title 59 of the SC Code and reporting to the General Assembly the statutes that are obsolete or no longer applicable.…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…
WEIRD PROCEDURAL MOVES, CONVOLUTED SHUFFLING OF TAXES AND FEES … WELCOME TO THE 2016 ROADS DEBATE The Senate Finance Committee is currently debating legislation that would raise taxes and fees,…
H.4516 requires the Criminal Justice Academy to develop and implement a training program curriculum for school resource officers by January 1, 2017. This bill also requires the Department of Education…
H.4718 allows retired teachers to apply for a South Carolina Retired Educator certificate. The initial certificate is valid for 30 years, and a renewed certificate is valid for 10. No completion…
S.955 mandates that a ticket be issued instead of an arrest for the following offenses: Cutting or removing timber without permission (if the value is less than $50) Trespassing Parking…
H.4516 requires the Criminal Justice Academy to develop and implement a training program curriculum for school resource officers by January 1, 2017. This bill also requires the Department of Education…
S.958 requires law enforcement officer candidates to complete a psychological examination conducted by a licensed professional, and be pronounced psychologically suited to perform law enforcement-related duties. Law enforcement is a…
H.4706 would create the new felony crime of knowingly selling a firearm to an individual on the consolidated terrorist watch list administered by the FBI. This crime would be punishable…
H.4717 establishes the South Carolina Farm Aid Fund in response to the October flooding. The fund is administered by the Department of Agriculture, with the advice of a Farm Aid…
H.4574 prohibits anyone from practicing or teaching electrology unless licensed by the State Board of Cosmetology, and establishes the Electrology Licensure Committee to advise and assist the Board in issuing…
● House bill on self-policing further empowers legislature. ● House income disclosure bills still full of loopholes. ● House FOIA reform bill still allows lawmaker exemption. The 2016 legislative session has begun…
EXCELLENT REFORM MADE MEANINGLESS BY ONE AMENDMENT H.3250 is the most significant health care reform introduced so far this session. At the end of the 2015 session, the bill would…