Category: Research

Download the PDF version here » Lawmakers created a statewide data tracking system via proviso in this year’s budget. The Governor vetoed it, but lawmakers could override the veto when they…

On July 5, the Governor vetoed 42 items and roughly $40 million from the state budget passed by lawmakers in the June special session. Most significantly, the governor vetoed the…

UPDATE: The conference budget passed the House (84-28) and the Senate (30-9) on Thursday, June 28. The budget goes to the Governor’s desk next for line-item vetoes.  HERE’S WHAT IS…

The South Carolina budget process has been eventful this year:  Overall spending has continued to climb; lawmakers have once again refused to follow the transparent budget process mandated by law;…

• Data warehouse would track adults and children alike for “workforce development purposes” • Lawmakers and staff would have direct access to individual data • State government could gather data…

Last June, SCPC revealed in an analysis that revenue from the proposed gas tax hike (now law) was written with the intent to divert the new revenue from the fund…

The energy crisis in South Carolina – triggered by SCE&G’s abandonment of the V.C. Summer nuclear construction project – has been in limbo for nearly a year. Despite months of…

A few weeks ago, the House passed their first version of the state appropriations bill. After it was amended by the Senate, the budget returned to the House for another…

By the time the legislative session ended last Thursday, a number of significant bills had either passed or failed. However, due to the sine die resolution which scheduled two special sessions…

UPDATE: Lawmakers have cancelled the May special session and postponed all business (including consideration of the budget) until the June session (27-28).    In theory, the 2018 legislative session ended last…

A bill – S.954 – targeting current and future utility rates has passed both the House and the Senate as slightly different versions, and is now in conference committee. Here…

Lawmakers often wait until the closing weeks of session to drop their most controversial bills. This year was no exception, with H.5218 and H.5219 aiming to censor gun violence in…

Earlier this month the Senate amended and passed the House budget, and the House is currently debating further amendments prior to sending the bill to conference committee. While the Senate…

Yesterday, a brand-new piece of legislation was filed, bypassed the committee process, and was scheduled for second reading on Friday – all in the span of two minutes. This is…

At this point in the legislative session, one can predict with a certain degree of accuracy which bills will not become law this year. This is due to a legislative…

UPDATE: The House passed this bill by a vote of 107 – 0 on 4/24/18 with one minor amendment. Upon the governor’s signature, this bill will become law.  If the goal…

Additional update: House lawmakers killed H.4421 on its third reading vote (normally a procedural vote, as amendments and debate occur on second reading) by raising the point that the state…

  Over the last several weeks, South Carolina’s pension system has drawn even more attention from lawmakers, prompting them to propose bills that would significantly change the state’s retirement landscape.…

UPDATE: When the Senate’s version of the budget returned to the House, the latter readopted the original House budget with additional amendments. The total budget spending approved by the House is…

It’s no secret that South Carolina’s education system is regarded as one of the worst in the country. In many cases, lawmakers have turned to increased spending and growing government…

This week, a number of freshman lawmakers filed legislation to call a convention to amend the South Carolina constitution. Much like the United States Constitution, the South Carolina Constitution can…

How successful does a car dealer have to be to be allowed to stay in business? Under current South Carolina law, car dealers are issued a certain number of dealer…

Update as of 2/17/22: Two resolutions (H.3205 & S.133) calling for an Article V convention of states passed a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday, the former of which passed the full…

  In the past couple of weeks, lawmakers have taken action on several interesting energy bills – only one of which was originally proposed by the special energy committees convened…

  In Best and Worst of the General Assembly 2017, we discussed a newly-passed law that reinserted a regulation into state law in direct defiance of a Supreme Court ruling.…

WHY YOU HEAR NOTHING ABOUT YOUR NEW SUPREME COURT JUDGES When President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court one year ago, the nation’s media, political class, judicial…

BILL PROTECTS INNOVATIVE PRIMARY CARE ALTERNATIVE America’s healthcare system often leaves consumers burdened with high costs and limited choices. This is the result of numerous regulations on medical professionals and…

The General Assembly is currently debating six bills to ostensibly “reform” the system and the laws that created the V.C. Summer nuclear construction debacle. These bills were developed in the…

REMOVING CITIZENS’ POWER TO HOLD THEIR NEIGHBORS ACCOUNTABLE? UPDATE: The final version of the bill placed parameters on the bill’s scope, but the core of the proposal – the violation of…

Last year the legislative session ended before the governor’s line-item vetoes of the 2017-18 budget were issued, and lawmakers opted to wait until session reconvened the following January to sustain…