Friday Follies: Seatbelts in School Buses
WHY? JUST . . . WHY? Perhaps one of the most arrogant things that any legislature can do is to adopt the idea that every single part of life must…
The South Carolina Policy Council Archive
Limited Government | Free Enterprise | Individual Liberty
WHY? JUST . . . WHY? Perhaps one of the most arrogant things that any legislature can do is to adopt the idea that every single part of life must…
Today the Senate continued yesterday’s debate of the gas tax bill, which raises the gas tax by twelve cents per gallon (up from the ten-cent hike passed by the…
WHAT MAKES STOCK CAR RACING SO SPECIAL? Many cities across the country have what could be called a “stadium problem.” This problem occurs when a sports team – usually, but…
Being able to earn a living is one of our most fundamental rights as human beings. The other rights that we possess matter little when our ability to simply earn…
LEGISLATION WOULD TIGHTEN SOME REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTEREST — AND LOOSEN OTHERS Late in March, House Republicans, including Speaker Jay Lucas, sponsored a bill requiring increased disclosure on…
WHEN IT COMES TO TAXES, LAWMAKERS ALWAYS PREFER TO COMPLICATE THINGS Maintenance of one’s property – whether a house, a boat, or an electric guitar – is the responsibility of…
WE CAN’T HAVE UNLICENSED INTERPRETERS OUT THERE! You probably didn’t know this, but South Carolina apparently has a problem with unlicensed sign language interpreters. That’s right – using sign language…
LAWMAKERS OVERSEE EXPLOSION IN FEDERAL FUNDS, FINES & FEES Each year during the budget debate, legislators talk about the responsible spending included in the budget. In this year’s debate, for…
IS THIS A FAVOR, OR JUST A FOLLY? S.248 is an exceedingly short and clear bill. It contains only three lines. The bill would allow anyone who’s held a state-issued…
A CREDIT FOR ONE COMPANY WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE HONEST South Carolina has an exemption problem. The number of exemptions to the sales tax enshrined in law is staggering. As…
THAT’S A EUPHEMISM FOR ‘PORK BY COMMITTEE’ [Update: This proviso was struck from the House budget when the bill went to the floor.] Buried in this year’s state budget bill…
It’s understandable that many South Carolinians want to push back at the federal government’s regulatory overreach. It’s understandable, too, that their Statehouse politicians want to respond to that desire. But…
S.256 would allow the county legislative delegations to remove their appointees or recommendations for appointment for neglect of duty, misconduct, or malfeasance. While the ability to remove appointments for cause…
MODEST REFORM MEASURE INTRODUCED, BUT PREMISE STAYS THE SAME On Tuesday the House considered the gas tax hike bill (H.3516). House leadership proposed an amendment that would divert 20 percent…
S.386 would amend the state constitution by having the governor appoint the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Circuit Court judges rather than having them elected by the legislature. The…
BUSINESS LICENSE TAXES ARE CONFUSING AND PUNITIVE. A REFORM BILL IN THE LEGISLATURE WOULD DO NOTHING TO CHANGE THAT. By any reckoning, one of the most widely hated taxes is…
H.3700 is a full constitutional carry bill. Anyone over 21 who is legally allowed to own a handgun in the state could carry that handgun in public, either openly or…
S.370 would amend the state constitution by having the governor appoint Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals, and Circuit Court judges rather than having them elected by the legislature. It…
H. 3650 attempts to streamline and simplify business licensing in the state. It would create a uniform business license tax, that would expire on the 30th of April of each year.…
LAWMAKERS’ ANSWER TO THE ROADS PROBLEM IS STILL THE SAME: YOU HAVEN’T SENT ENOUGH MONEY TO COLUMBIA [The text of this analysis has been updated to reflect the bill’s most…
H.3443 would expand Medicaid to cover adults sixty-five years of age and younger who are at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. This expansion is one that legislators…
H.3473 is a resolution calling for an Article V Convention of States to amend the US Constitution. The resolution attempts to limit potential amendment subjects to a spending cap and…
H.3468 would allow an individual, partnership, limited liability company, trust, or estate to transfer an unclaimed textile mill site rehabilitation tax credit to another recipient, provided the Department of Revenue…
H.3352 creates a new judicial branch under the Administrative Law Court that would oversee Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeals and challenges and would institute a number of reforms to…
S.301 would eliminate the Commission of Transportation and transfer the Commission’s authority to the Secretary of Transportation. The Secretary would be a gubernatorial appointment with Senate confirmation. The bill would…
S.27 is a companion bill to S.137, a joint resolution that proposes that the superintendent of education be appointed by the governor instead of elected. S.27 would adjust the necessary code…
S. 54 increases the existing 16 cent per gallon gas by 4 cents every year from 2017 through 2019, nearly doubling the current gasoline tax. The bill would also allow…
H.3473 calls for an Article V convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution to mandate a federal balanced budget. Article V of the Constitution establishes two ways to amend…
S.158 and S.159 create additional roadblocks to obtaining a firearm. When a firearms dealer performs a federal background check on a buyer or transferee through the National Instant Criminal Background…
S.155 would protect the right of individuals to record or photograph law enforcement officers while performing their law enforcement duties, provided the officer is in a public place, public view,…