Author: South Carolina Policy Council

S.315 would repeal a section of Act 114 of 2007 that sunsets the Governor’s ability to appoint the Secretary of the Department of Transportation. Act 114 also gave the Governor…

H.4700 would amend the rules of the House of Representatives to add special introductions, recognitions, and announcements to the House’s regular order of business. This time would be limited to…

H.4691 would designate the second full week in November as Youth ATV Safety Week. During this week each class in public schools Kindergarten through 12th grade would be required to…

WHEN DOES ‘WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT’ BECOME CENTRAL PLANNING? Update: This bill was amended and much was taken out from the original legislation. The Council is now essentially a glorified study committee,…

S.1005 would mandate the reporting of information related to other funds, defined in the bill as “all non-general fund revenue appropriated or authorized by the General Assembly in acts and…

THE STATE BUDGET LAW – WHAT IT IS, WHY IT MATTERS, WHY LAWMAKERS IGNORE IT Debate over the state budget has already started, but you don’t know anything about it.…

H.4673 adjusts the restrictions of the beginner’s permit in the case of motorcycles, motor scooters, or light motor-driven cycles. Under current law, these vehicles may only be driven by a…

S.972 requires life insurance providers to compare their records and policies against the US Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (or a similarly reliable source) twice a year. If a…

S.979 defines animal shelters as either facilities operated by the state, veterinary hospitals that take in stray or unwanted animals, or facilities owned or operated by nonprofit societies for the…

Requiring Cell Phone Companies to Carry Forward Unused Data from Month to Month S.983 requires cell phone companies that charge a fee in exchange for a limited amount of data…

S.974 would allow breweries licensed to sell beer produced on their premises to also obtain a license to sell liquor purchased from a wholesaler. Under current law these licensed breweries…

H.4665 would require that all candidates for Magistrates office be screened by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) and then have their names sent to the appropriate Senate Delegation. The…

H.4664 would allow a concealed weapons permit (CWP) holder who is injured by a criminal on the premises of a property whose owner prohibits the carrying of firearms, to hold…

H.4644 would require the Board of Pharmacy to issue a written protocol which pharmacists would follow in order to prescribe and dispense birth control medication without a physician’s prescription. The…

H.4621 transfers ten institutions of higher education to not-for-profit organizations, for the purpose of operating them as private institutions. The institutions specified and the transfer timetable are as follows: July…

H.4625 would permit county and municipal governments to impose an impact fee on developers, not to exceed $250, for each new residential dwelling unit constructed by a developer within the…

H.4628  and H.4729  would prohibit the state government or any political subdivision of the state from using public funds to “implement, regulate, or enforce a federal law, executive order, regulation, or…

H.4637 is an attempt to restrict the powers granted by South Carolina’s eminent domain law. It would require an entity exercising eminent domain to prove by convincing evidence that: the…

H.3430 would create a definition for “unsafe” tires that includes “damage exposing the reinforcing plies of the tire, including cuts, cracks, bulges, punctures, or scrapes.” The law code is not the…

Companion bills H.4484 and H.4635 are somewhat similar to the reform package presented in 2015’s S.561 in that they would make some small reforms to transportation management, but ultimately fall…

H.4452 would alter the makeup of the seven member State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB) Board by requiring all seven of its members be appointed by the Governor. Under current law…

H.4417 would direct the state Department of Transportation to build a pedestrian overpass in Charleston. This is wasteful meddling in DOT affairs. Legislators already effectively control DOT leadership through the nomination…

H.4577 would require that all revenue from aircraft property taxes paid by airline companies be credited to the State Aviation Fund. Under current law annual revenues from these taxes under…

H.4525 and S.973 are companion bills that extend the time period during which 2.25% of insurance premium tax revenue must be given to the South Carolina Forestry Commission from 2017 to 2022.

S.959 would repeal existing law that allows individuals who are behind in child support payments to have their driver’s license revoked or restricted. This is a sensible reform. Revoking or…

S.953 would require that all estate liquidators, defined as individuals who offer to conduct or conduct estate sales, be licensed by the South Carolina Auctioneers’ Commission. Contra the common wisdom,…

S.952 would prohibit individuals from emitting a noise beyond the bounds of their property that “unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or with any lawful business or activity”. Just…

S.938 would create a state minimum wage higher than its federal counterpart. The state minimum wage would be set at $8.75 an hour starting January 1 2017 and would be…

S.922 would prohibit the subcontracting of work done at concession stands operated by the Commission for the Blind to anyone who is not blind or who does not have a…

H.4555 would repeal South Carolina’s right-to-work law, allowing union membership to become a prerequisite for employment. That would, in other words, allow unions to force workers to join whether or not…