Category: Research

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…

If there’s anything state lawmakers are good at, it’s wasting time on frivolous legislation. This week’s return to the legislative session was no exception. On Wednesday, a handful of lawmakers…

It’s a new year in the Palmetto State, and that means the South Carolina’s legislative session is about to begin – on January 9 to be exact. Despite the changes…

Over the past few weeks lawmakers in both the House and the Senate have been prefiling new bills for consideration in the upcoming session. Next year is the second half…

In mid-November, the House prefiled and fast-tracked through committee six bills developed by the special energy investigatory committee, appointed by the House speaker (you can read our analysis of those…

The 2018 legislative session is just around the corner, and lawmakers from both the House and Senate have prefiled a number of new bills for consideration when session begins on…

There is one question that we should all ask when analyzing elements of South Carolina government: Who controls it? Answering that question can often be a profoundly frustrating experience, as…

THE HOUSE ENERGY COMMITTEE DRAFTED SIX BILLS TO “FIX” THE SYSTEM. HERE’S WHAT THOSE BILLS WOULD DO. UPDATE: The House passed H.4379 (ORS) and H.4378 (PURC) this week with no substantial…

TO UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES FACING SOUTH CAROLINA, WE SHOULD FIRST ASK: WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO? In January, lawmakers will reconvene to debate solutions for the problems facing our…

Over the past couple of weeks the House and Senate energy committees have begun drafting policy proposals to amend the energy regulatory structure. However, those proposals are premature as neither…

On November 1, state law requires that the annual budget process begins. Every step is spelled out, but for decades South Carolina lawmakers have simply ignored the laws that don’t…

Checks and balances are one of the strongest protections for individual liberty because they prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful. Concentration of power and lack of…

Shortly after Santee Cooper and SCANA abandoned their joint project to build two nuclear facilities, SC legislative leaders created special committees in the House and Senate to investigate the failed…

Earlier this week the House energy committee held a public hearing on the failed nuclear construction project and the accompanying rate hikes. However, if you were unable to attend the…

A pair of bills filed last year would allow the creation of powerful mini-governments within public colleges and universities. These entities would function similarly to shell corporations by allowing universities…

SCPC President Ashley Landess was interviewed for a report aired on Columbia television station WIS investigating how contractors who are members of the gas-tax lobbying group, SC Alliance to Fix…

SOUTH CAROLINA’S ONLY COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF EVERY YEAR’S LEGISLATIVE SESSION Our guide to the 2017 legislative session – The Best and Worst of the General Assembly – has just been published. It’s the only…

The House energy committee met today to discuss the contents of an audit of the failed nuclear construction project. This audit was conducted by Bechtel Corp., the largest engineering and…

When Santee Cooper partnered with SCANA to assume a 45% share in the assembly of two nuclear reactors, it borrowed billions of dollars to finance the project. Now that the…

Earlier this week the Senate V.C. Summer Nuclear Project Review Committee and the House Utility Ratepayer Protection Committee met to discuss the failed nuclear reactor construction project. Both are special…

  The decision by Santee Cooper and SCANA  (the parent company of SCE&G) to abandon a multi-billion joint project to build two nuclear power facilities means that their customers were…

POLITICIANS YOU DIDN’T VOTE FOR. THAT’S WHO. From education to road funding, from the judicial system to your electric bill, the important decisions are made by state lawmakers who represent…

Last week the Department of Transportation (DOT) Commission and the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB) met for the first time since the gas tax bill passed. Both meetings were focused…

The process of investigating and prosecuting corruption in the legislature is confusing and complicated – at best. At worst, it is specifically designed to shield lawmakers from legal scrutiny and…

LAWMAKERS PROMISED THE MONEY WOULD GO TO MAINTAIN ROADS.  STATE OFFICIALS SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS. On July 1, the gas tax hike went into effect. Drivers across the state are now…

HOW A SIMPLE, WELL-INTENDED REGULATION TURNED INTO A TANGLED MESS Earlier this year, a report at The Nerve detailed an attempt by a few lawmakers to insert a budget proviso…

GOVERNMENT OUTPACING THE ECONOMY – BY A LOT The General Assembly just passed a $27.42 billion budget – by far the largest in state history and a $1.1 billion increase from…

THE SYSTEM MAKES IT DIFFICULT – BUT IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE South Carolina’s transportation system is not accountable to any one elected official, and that’s by design. Even so, after several…

IF YOU WANT TO HOLD TRANSPORTATION POLICYMAKERS ACCOUNTABLE, HERE’S HOW. After three years of effort, lawmakers raised the gas tax (and a host of related taxes and fees). In the…

WHERE DO WE STAND ON ETHICS REFORM? Since the Policy Council released its eight-point reform agenda in 2013, several lawmakers have been indicted and the General Assembly has passed a…