SC LAWMAKERS SPEND MORE THAN HALF THE YEAR IN COLUMBIA. TIME TO ABBREVIATE. THE BACKGROUND South Carolina has one of the longest legislative sessions in the country. Legislators spend almost…
FOR STARTERS, YOU MIGHT LEARN THE REASONS FOR SOME OF YOUR LAWMAKERS’ VOTES Suppose for a moment that you disapprove of a particular vote cast by your lawmaker. You think…
Politicians Shouldn’t Be in Charge of Ethics Reform, SCPC President Says Columbia, S.C. – August 29, 2012 – Today South Carolina Policy Council President Ashley Landess stood with an ideologically diverse…
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE GOVERNANCE? Here’s an interesting exercise: Go to the Budget and Control Board’s website and download an Excel file containing the names, positions, and salaries of all…
WHY IS OUR SALES TAX HIGH? BECAUSE LAWMAKERS SPEND TOO MUCH TIME IN COLUMBIA, THAT’S WHY This week, as our policy analysts worked on our forthcoming annual guide, The Best…
AND WHAT SHOULDN’T IT BE DOING? Like every other state, South Carolina maintains a Department of Agriculture. But what does the Department do? Its stated mission is to “promote and…
SALES TAX HOLIDAYS MASK THE TRUTH: THAT S.C., AMONG THE POOREST STATES IN THE U.S., HAS ONE OF THE NATION’S HIGHEST SALES TAXES At 6 percent, South Carolina has the…
This year’s budget debate is over, and taxpayers lost. But next year’s budget is already in the works. Here’s how you can be a part of it. Citizens’ Guide to…
WHAT WAS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT? (HINT: NOT MUCH) The battle over the state budget is over. The state’s spending plan for fiscal year 2012-2013 is a done deal. As…
$57.1 MILLION SOUNDS LIKE A LOT. BUT IS IT? The release of the Governor Nikki Haley’s vetoes for the 2012-2013 budget has predictably been met with cries that the governor…
THE PROBLEM: The new federal health care takeover will add trillions to the nation’s debt, raise taxes by $669 billion, heap burdensome regulations on South Carolina businesses, and spark sharp…
YOU’RE A TAXPAYER? SORRY, YOU DIDN’T MAKE THE PRIORITY LIST This year, the General Assembly had more than $1 billion in new revenue to appropriate. The final version of the…
THE DOA BILL HAS DIED IN THE SENATE. DID IT DESERVE ITS FATE? It’s been more than a month since we last saw the Department of Administration bill being debated…
WHAT IS THAT THING, AND WHY ARE WE PAYING SO MUCH FOR IT? Read Quantifying the Machine, the Policy Council’s report on the costs of economic development, here. For other material…
Most state agencies submitted their budget requests back in November. (State law requires them to submit requests, but a few just never get around to it.) When an agency submits…
The Senate is set to begin debate on the budget passed by the Senate Finance Committee last week. Here’s what you should know about it: The total projected budget is…
The House of Representatives has finally unveiled their amendment to the Department of Administration bill – after crafting it behind closed doors for more than two months. It sailed through…
UNFORTUNATELY, THE LATTER State legislators eager to escape Obamacare’s restrictive mandates have united behind the interstate healthcare compact, a single piece of state legislation they expect to free them from…
A LOT OF TALK. ALMOST NO RESULT. There are essentially two strategies in diplomatic negotiations. One is to ask for more than you know you’re likely to get, then to…
Next year, the state of South Carolina will receive around $25 million dollars from the National Mortgage Settlement, a joint federal-state lawsuit against loan servicers awarded to parties affected by…
As we’ve reported in the past, South Carolina’s tax rates are among the least competitive in the nation. Middle class families pay an inordinately high top rate, manufacturers are crippled…
The House is currently debating the budget recommended by the Ways and Means committee after months of hearings. With just over $535 million in “new” recurring revenue[1], lawmakers justify spending…
The governor’s budget is only the first in a series of budget drafts before we arrive at the final state budget later in the spring. Generally – in fact, without…
Yesterday the Senate passed what many are calling the most significant restructuring plan this state has seen in decades. By a vote of 44-0, the South Carolina Senate passed H.3066…
WELL, WHICH IS IT? Despite lawmakers’ disingenuous claims that South Carolina has some of the “lowest taxes in the nation,” the truth is that South Carolina taxpayers and businesses pay far too…
South Carolina elected officials claim to be restructuring government, but is anything changing? Are we moving toward real separation of powers, or is the status quo being preserved? Below are…
The South Carolina Department of Transportation has one of the largest budgets in state government, yet it can’t afford to maintain the state’s roads. Why? Because most of DoT’s money…
What’s wrong with the structure of South Carolina’s government? All the power is held by five-member boards, like the State Financial Affairs Authority and Budget and Control Board. Major functions…
A new amendment to the Department of Administration bill has hit the Senate floor. Although it’s a moving target, here’s an overview of what the bill would do with state…
Too Much Time on Their Hands?
SC LAWMAKERS SPEND MORE THAN HALF THE YEAR IN COLUMBIA. TIME TO ABBREVIATE. THE BACKGROUND South Carolina has one of the longest legislative sessions in the country. Legislators spend almost…
What Income Disclosure Would Mean for You
FOR STARTERS, YOU MIGHT LEARN THE REASONS FOR SOME OF YOUR LAWMAKERS’ VOTES Suppose for a moment that you disapprove of a particular vote cast by your lawmaker. You think…
Release: Policy Council, Allies Propose Far-Reaching Reforms
Politicians Shouldn’t Be in Charge of Ethics Reform, SCPC President Says Columbia, S.C. – August 29, 2012 – Today South Carolina Policy Council President Ashley Landess stood with an ideologically diverse…
What Can We Do about Higher Ed?
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE GOVERNANCE? Here’s an interesting exercise: Go to the Budget and Control Board’s website and download an Excel file containing the names, positions, and salaries of all…
Putting the Goodies Back In
WHY IS OUR SALES TAX HIGH? BECAUSE LAWMAKERS SPEND TOO MUCH TIME IN COLUMBIA, THAT’S WHY This week, as our policy analysts worked on our forthcoming annual guide, The Best…
Dept. of Ag – What’s it for?
AND WHAT SHOULDN’T IT BE DOING? Like every other state, South Carolina maintains a Department of Agriculture. But what does the Department do? Its stated mission is to “promote and…
South Carolina’s Killer Sales Tax
SALES TAX HOLIDAYS MASK THE TRUTH: THAT S.C., AMONG THE POOREST STATES IN THE U.S., HAS ONE OF THE NATION’S HIGHEST SALES TAXES At 6 percent, South Carolina has the…
Citizens’ Guide to the State Budget
This year’s budget debate is over, and taxpayers lost. But next year’s budget is already in the works. Here’s how you can be a part of it. Citizens’ Guide to…
Rhetoric vs. Reality in the State Budget
WHAT WAS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT? (HINT: NOT MUCH) The battle over the state budget is over. The state’s spending plan for fiscal year 2012-2013 is a done deal. As…
What Did – and Didn’t – Gov. Haley Veto?
$57.1 MILLION SOUNDS LIKE A LOT. BUT IS IT? The release of the Governor Nikki Haley’s vetoes for the 2012-2013 budget has predictably been met with cries that the governor…
Push Back: How South Carolina Can Respond to “Obamacare”
THE PROBLEM: The new federal health care takeover will add trillions to the nation’s debt, raise taxes by $669 billion, heap burdensome regulations on South Carolina businesses, and spark sharp…
The State Budget: Your priorities – or theirs?
YOU’RE A TAXPAYER? SORRY, YOU DIDN’T MAKE THE PRIORITY LIST This year, the General Assembly had more than $1 billion in new revenue to appropriate. The final version of the…
Government Restructuring – or Reshuffling?
THE DOA BILL HAS DIED IN THE SENATE. DID IT DESERVE ITS FATE? It’s been more than a month since we last saw the Department of Administration bill being debated…
How Much Does the Machine Really Cost?
WHAT IS THAT THING, AND WHY ARE WE PAYING SO MUCH FOR IT? Read Quantifying the Machine, the Policy Council’s report on the costs of economic development, here. For other material…
The Economic Development Pyramid
Whatever happened to this? Tune back in next week for an update on the state's failed economic development machine...
Ask Not, and Ye Shall Receive Anyway
Most state agencies submitted their budget requests back in November. (State law requires them to submit requests, but a few just never get around to it.) When an agency submits…
Budget Watch: What’s in the Senate Finance Budget?
The Senate is set to begin debate on the budget passed by the Senate Finance Committee last week. Here’s what you should know about it: The total projected budget is…
UPDATE: The House version of the DOA bill
The House of Representatives has finally unveiled their amendment to the Department of Administration bill – after crafting it behind closed doors for more than two months. It sailed through…
An Interstate Compact: Serious option or political gesture?
UNFORTUNATELY, THE LATTER State legislators eager to escape Obamacare’s restrictive mandates have united behind the interstate healthcare compact, a single piece of state legislation they expect to free them from…
School Choice in South Carolina: A Short History
A LOT OF TALK. ALMOST NO RESULT. There are essentially two strategies in diplomatic negotiations. One is to ask for more than you know you’re likely to get, then to…
The House Budget’s Five Worst Economic Development Provisos
Next year, the state of South Carolina will receive around $25 million dollars from the National Mortgage Settlement, a joint federal-state lawsuit against loan servicers awarded to parties affected by…
The House Tax Plan: True Reform or Something Else?
As we’ve reported in the past, South Carolina’s tax rates are among the least competitive in the nation. Middle class families pay an inordinately high top rate, manufacturers are crippled…
Ways and Means Budget Largest in State History – Yet Again
The House is currently debating the budget recommended by the Ways and Means committee after months of hearings. With just over $535 million in “new” recurring revenue[1], lawmakers justify spending…
The Governor’s Budget – A Sign of What’s to Come?
The governor’s budget is only the first in a series of budget drafts before we arrive at the final state budget later in the spring. Generally – in fact, without…
Government De-Structuring?
Yesterday the Senate passed what many are calling the most significant restructuring plan this state has seen in decades. By a vote of 44-0, the South Carolina Senate passed H.3066…
A Tale of Two Tax Proposals
WELL, WHICH IS IT? Despite lawmakers’ disingenuous claims that South Carolina has some of the “lowest taxes in the nation,” the truth is that South Carolina taxpayers and businesses pay far too…
Government restructuring – Reform or status quo?
South Carolina elected officials claim to be restructuring government, but is anything changing? Are we moving toward real separation of powers, or is the status quo being preserved? Below are…
DoT’s Budget – How not to fund an agency
The South Carolina Department of Transportation has one of the largest budgets in state government, yet it can’t afford to maintain the state’s roads. Why? Because most of DoT’s money…
The Citizen’s Guide to Restructuring
What’s wrong with the structure of South Carolina’s government? All the power is held by five-member boards, like the State Financial Affairs Authority and Budget and Control Board. Major functions…
Creating a Department of Administration – An Update
A new amendment to the Department of Administration bill has hit the Senate floor. Although it’s a moving target, here’s an overview of what the bill would do with state…