SCPC celebrates historic tax relief and reform
Taxpayer victory! Historic tax relief passed by the state Legislature and supported by Governor McMaster will immediately help South Carolina “up its game” when it comes to job creation and…
The South Carolina Policy Council Archive
Limited Government | Free Enterprise | Individual Liberty
Taxpayer victory! Historic tax relief passed by the state Legislature and supported by Governor McMaster will immediately help South Carolina “up its game” when it comes to job creation and…
. . Inflation, gas prices are top concerns for SC voters as lawmakers return to Columbia for special session Inflation and gas prices are among the most pressing concerns for…
*** 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…
LEGISLATIVE SELF-POLICING REARRANGED, NOT ELIMINATED Yesterday the Senate amended H.3184, which deals with the legislature’s system of self-policing – i.e. lawmakers adjudicating each other’s ethics violations in the form of…
INCOME DISCLOSURE, WITH LOOPHOLES Senators seemed determined this week to not let another session go by without addressing “ethics reform” – although nothing that’s likely to pass the legislature will…
THE SENATE BILL IS GONE. THE HOUSE BILL IS BACK. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? The ethics debate in the Senate got very interesting this week as the Senate took…
THE SHORT ANSWER: OF COURSE NOT Many, if not most, South Carolina state lawmakers have a peculiar understanding of the separation of powers. For them, the principle seems to mean…
● Major reforms no longer under discussion ● One bill would put nonprofits in charge of business taxes ● Legislation would allow lobbyist principals to set taxes ● Municipal, county…
FARMERS WERE HIT HARD DURING LAST OCTOBER’S FLOODS. SO WERE MANY OTHERS. BUT ARE MORE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES ALWAYS THE ANSWER? Thousands of individuals and businesses have received governmental assistance following…
Lawmakers have bypassed the public, the law, their own rules, and the constitution to get a gas tax through the Senate. Citizens deserve better. Legislation to raise the gas tax…
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…
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,…
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.…
Worst of the worst: ● Forcing citizens to undergo training before even buying a gun. ● Creating a new crime of failing to notify law enforcement after gun theft. ●…
ON CARRYING FIREARMS, THE PRESUMPTION SHOULD BE ONE OF LIBERTY S.105 and companion bills S.570 and H.3716 are all attempts to enact a policy of “constitutional carry.” If passed, any…
WHY TAXES AND FEES ON PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES PROTECT ESTABLISHED COMPANIES AND STIFLE INNOVATION Companion bills S.862 and H.4329 would stipulate that a third party that makes an accommodation reservation and…
SOME SLOPES REALLY ARE SLIPPERY
THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO ACHIEVE BUDGET TRANSPARENCY, AND THAT’S TO FOLLOW THE LAW The budget debate this session was one of the most bizarre we’ve seen yet. It wasn’t…
EVERY YEAR, LAWMAKERS TRY TO PASS POTENTIALLY CONTROVERSIAL CHANGES THROUGH THE STATE BUDGET. BUT NOT EVERY PROBLEM IS A FUNDING PROBLEM. Legislators returned to Columbia July 6 for a third…
● U.S. Supreme Court defines federal agency as “state” ● Millions will continue to be subject to individual, employer mandates ● Only one way remains to circumvent ObamaCare Last week…
‘IF THEY BELIEVE THEY AREN’T BEING PROPERLY COMPENSATED FOR THE WORK THEY DO, THEY SHOULD REDUCE THEIR WORKLOAD’ Watch the General Assembly long enough and you’re sure to hear the…
SESSION IS OVER … ALMOST The third week in June ended on a tragic note in the General Assembly, and attention has rightly been away from legislative business. In the…
THE DISTINCTION IS VITAL, AND STATE LAWMAKERS ARE WRONG TO IGNORE IT A common mentality inside the South Carolina General Assembly holds that all private goods and services belong to…
A COMPROMISE? SURE. A COMPILATION OF ALL THIS YEAR’S BAD IDEAS? THAT TOO. Last week, a majority of Senate Republicans produced a compromise on the subject of road funding. At…
STATE HOUSE ECONOMICS, CHAPTER II Following the governor’s lead on tax swaps, more than 20 Senate Republicans unveiled the outline of a compromise amendment to the Senate Finance gas tax…
ANSWER: NO ONE. CONSIDER A RECENT ATTEMPT TO RAISE REVENUE IN THE SENATE. The General Assembly has long dominated South Carolina politics. Members of the House of Representative and Senate…
LATEST ATTEMPT TO GET STATE HANDS ON NEW REVENUE MAY ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS OF LEGALITY, CONSTITUTIONALITY South Carolina’s sales tax is unfair in its imposition and isn’t producing enough revenue. At…
IT’S MONEY. THEY WANT TO SPEND IT. THAT SETTLES IT. ANY QUESTIONS? In a little remarked upon move, South Carolina House members scrambled last month to insert line items from…
● Numerous and complicated tax and fee hikes. ● Constitutional issue addressed – briefly. ● Bill to come up in full Senate next week. The Senate Finance Committee had a…
DEBATE LIMITED TO ONE GOAL: HOW TO SEND MORE MONEY TO A BROKEN SYSTEM Tuesday’s Senate Finance Committee featured a lot of grandstanding but little action. Senators agreed to strike…