These House budget provisos need attention
The House this week passed its version of the largest state government budget in South Carolina’s history – a bill that would appropriate $38.2 billion in tax dollars, federal funds,…
Analysis: SC’s competing tax cut proposals, what to know
After years of justified frustration from taxpayers, state lawmakers have finally decided to address South Carolina’s highest-in-the-Southeast top income tax rate. The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would lower…
Analysis: Blurring the line between education and job training (updated)
Update as of 2/12/22: H.4766, which would add more seats and give more power to the Coordinating Council for Workforce Development, passed the S.C. House on Feb. 8. The bill…
Analysis: Medical cannabis is a win, despite issues in bill
In late 2020, a Senate bill (S.150) was introduced that would give South Carolinians the right to use medical cannabis to treat certain debilitating conditions, called as the “Compassionate Care…
Analysis: Bill would let for-profit pipeline companies take citizens’ property
A House committee this week deliberated a bill that would allow for-profit pipeline companies to take citizens’ property using eminent domain. Two similar bills were filed in 2020. How your property gets taken H.3527 creates…
SCPC is hiring an Executive Director!
The South Carolina Policy Council is seeking an Executive Director to lead the organization in making South Carolina the freest state! At its core, SCPC exists to identify barriers to freedom – and…
Half of House budget meetings not streamed in first week (now updated weekly)
Budget meetings sorted by week As part of our push for more government transparency, we have been tracking the streaming of legislative budget meetings each week. Below is list of…
Three crucial tax reforms for South Carolina
The S.C. Legislature convened for session this week, renewing calls to fix South Carolina’s dated and uncompetitive tax structure. This focus comes as our northern neighbor passed a significant tax cut last year, with Georgia making…
Bills to watch in 2022
At the end of each year, state lawmakers file a series of bills (known as “prefiles”) in anticipation of the upcoming legislative session. The following report looks at some of the most significant House prefiles, organized by…
South Carolina needs judicial reform
1.20.22 UPDATE: Ahead of next month’s judicial elections, including for one seat on the state Supreme Court and Administrative Law Court, and many on the Court of Appeals, circuit court,…
Let’s pump the brakes on the electric vehicle panic
*** 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 vehicles pose an…
Eight reforms to take your power back
. South Carolina has some of the most powerful politicians in the country. They exercise unwarranted powers over state government and the economy, and face very little accountability for their…
Delegations have a transparency problem: let’s fix it
Legislative delegations in South Carolina have a serious transparency problem. As it turns out, an alarming number of counties are missing basic information about legislative delegations on their websites. In fact, some…
Delegations in SC rank among most powerful in nation
South Carolina’s county legislative delegations, comprised of the lawmakers representing each of the state’s 46 counties, are among the most powerful in the nation. In fact, most states don’t even recognize such delegations, and where they do,…
Delegation influence reaches state airports
By now, if you’ve been following the Policy Council’s latest research, it should come as no surprise to hear that legislative delegations (the group of state lawmakers representing a particular county) play an oversized role in filling important state and local positions, which has…
Lawmakers need to fix SC’s magistrate system
In South Carolina, magistrate judges have serious power, especially over the lives of everyday citizens. For many, their courtroom will be the final stop when it comes to adjudicating legal issues. This is why it is particularly alarming that in…
Why don’t more counties control local road funding?
Despite the gas-tax-hike having passed in 2017, an alarming number of South Carolina’s roads and bridges are still crumbling. As bad as things are for state roads and highways, locally managed roads are sometimes in the worst condition, as…
How small groups of lawmakers control massive state institutions
There is little question that South Carolina lawmakers exert tremendous power over state government, and consequently, the life everyday citizens. This topic is something the Policy Council has researched extensively…
Explosive spending, questionable provisos define next year’s budget
State lawmakers this week approved what will be the final version of next fiscal year’s $32 billion-plus budget, pending vetoes issued by the governor. The General Assembly will take up any vetoed items when it reconvenes next Tuesday for the final…
Examining South Carolina’s massive proposed budget
While the 2021 regular legislative session ends this week, lawmakers are set to return to Columbia in June – possibly on three separate occasions – to address a number of…
What’s going on with Santee Cooper?
UPDATE as of 5/7/21: This week, the House voted to keep the option to explore selling Santee Cooper in H.3194, while adopting some of the Senate’s “reform” measures, including those…
Requiring businesses serving liquor to earn majority of their revenue from food, non-alcoholic drinks
S.536, which received a committee hearing Wednesday, would require businesses serving liquor-based drinks to earn at least 51% of their total revenue from food and non-alcoholic beverages. The bill would…
Bills update 2021: what passed and what to watch
Last week (Saturday, April 10) was the 2021 crossover deadline, which means bills that failed to pass one chamber (House or Senate) and cross to the other by this date…