Author: South Carolina Policy Council

S.406 may be the worst gas tax/roads bill introduced this session. The bill would allow the quasi legislative quasi executive State Fiscal Accountability Authority (SFAA) (a successor to the Budget…

‘STATE HOUSE ECONOMICS’ AT ITS FINEST The state’s roads are crumbling, according to the popular refrain, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) claims it faces a nearly $43 billion shortfall between…

S.380 reforms South Carolina’s asset forfeiture laws by stipulating that all property subject to forfeiture reform may not be seized by an investigating agency prior to a criminal conviction. Other provision…

S.382 would allow the agency head of South Carolina State University to impose mandatory employee furloughs of up to 20 working days per year in the next two years. This is…

Potential judges and candidates for non-judicial state offices elected by the General Assembly must be screened by the Judicial Merit Selection Committee (JMSC) or a joint legislative screening committee respectively…

IT’S ABOUT STRUCTURE, NOT MONEY – ACCOUNTABILITY, NOT TAXES Every South Carolinian who drives a car knows our state’s roads need work. Many have also heard about the Department of Transportation’s…

H.3464 would stipulate that a license from the State Board of Barber Examiners is required to operate a barber school in South Carolina. Under current law barber colleges and their…

H.3453 would establish that students enrolled in public institutions of higher education or student organizations have the right to be represented by an attorney or “nonattorney advocate” at a “disciplinary proceeding…

H.3451 would allow a supervising anesthesiologist to supervise up to 4 anesthesiologist assistants instead of the 2 currently permitted by state law. Permitting anesthesiologists to supervise an increased number of assistants…

H.3450 would mandate that no beer, wine, or liquor wholesaler deliver any of these alcoholic beverages to an alcohol retailer until they have been “received unloaded, and stored or warehoused at…

H.3448 is a reintroduction of last session’s S.936. Like last session’s bill H.3448 would require the owner of an air ambulance to obtain a permit from the Department of Health and…

H.3445 would impose two new 7 cent per gallon taxes on motor fuels including gasoline. Combined these two new taxes would nearly double the current state gas tax. All of the…

H.3431 would prohibit any political subdivisions of the state (any form of local government) from requiring employers to provide any form of employee benefits. Employee benefits are defined as “anything of…

Companion bills H.3429 and S.473 would slowly restore the funding level of the local government fund (LGF) over three years until it once again received its full legally required funding amount (4.5% of…

H.3427 would make forfeit any retirement benefits a public office holder may have accrued during their time in office if during that time in office they are convicted, plead guilty, or…

H.3414 would continue a legislative push begun in 2014 by allowing Board of Trustees of the College of Charleston (COC) to designate the institution a research university. Last year’s push began…

H.3419 would make the offense of unlawfully carrying a handgun a felony with a potential penalty of a $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison. Under current law unlawful carrying…

Companion bills H.3413 and S.409 are an attempt to allow ridesharing companies (Uber and other similar services) to operate legally without having to obtain class c certificates from the public service commission as is…

H.3404 would create new felonies and accompanying sentences for offenses against a person (think murder, assault, etc.), or destroying or defacing property, if the offense was committed with the intent…

Companion bills H.3396 and S.16 would amend state law to stipulate that worker’s compensation laws in South Carolina do not apply to any employees for which there is jurisdiction under either the…

Oh, the danger that lurks beneath H.3410. This amendment seeks to establish the Commission on General Assembly Compensation. With the recent attention on ethics reform and rebuilding public trust, citizens…

It would appear that S.333 seeks to limit prison sentences for public officials who commit felonies or misdemeanors. For felonies and misdemeanors alike, the amendment states that any official who…

THE HOUSE PLAN HAS THIS IN COMMON WITH THE GOVERNOR’S: IT ASSUMES WE HAVE A REVENUE PROBLEM. Nearly a week after the governor released her plan to fix South Carolina roads,…

SOUTH CAROLINA’S REGULATORY REGIME DOESN’T PROTECT CONSUMERS, PLACES UNACCOUNTABLE POWER IN THE HANDS OF A FEW POLITICIANS, AND OUGHT TO BE ROLLED BACK – STARTING WITH THE TAXI INDUSTRY. HERE’S HOW TO…

H.3375 would prohibit the issuance of an alcohol retail dealer’s license if issuing the license would increase a county’s license ratio past one license per 7,500 residents. The bill would also…

H.3373 and H.3774 would require the Board of Technical and Comprehensive Education to collaborate with DEW, CHE, DOE, and other alphabet soup agencies to  establish a manufacturing career pathway for students within…

H.3370 would allow Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) decisions on the issuance, denial, renewal, suspension, or revocation of permits, licenses, or other actions to be appealed directly to the…

H.3360 would put in a place a moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages secured by residential real estate for a period of 180 days. In other words lending institutions will be…

H.3348 is yet another bill regulating pharmacies filed by pharmacist Kit Spires. The bill would require any pharmacy located outside of South Carolina that engages in the “manufacture, production, sale, distribution,…

H.3339 is a reintroduction of last session’s H.4624. If passed H.3339 would represent a significant step on the road to school choice for all South Carolina children and parents. The bill would allow…