The South Carolina Policy Council Archive

WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING YOUR MONEY, STATE SENATORS WON’T LET A LITTLE OL’ CONSTITUTION GET IN THE WAY When a special Senate subcommittee met on Tuesday, the purpose was clear: raising revenue by…

FOR HOUSE LAWMAKERS, ROAD FUNDING IS ABOUT BUILDING NEW ROADS, ‘ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT’ – AND JUST ABOUT ANYTHING BUT FIXING THE STATE’S CRUMBLING ROADS AND BRIDGES.  Lawmakers are quick to bemoan the state of…

S.556 would amend the Senate rules by adding a new rule requiring that within 60 days of any proposed agency regulation being submitted to the appropriate Senate committee for review…

S.523 is the Senate Finance Committee’s attempt to solve South Carolina’s infrastructure problems through tax and fee increases. To start, the bill would increase the gas tax by 12 cents, phased in…

S.498 would make it a crime for a private individual to fly a drone equipped with a camera or recording device over the property of another. The bill would also…

Companion bills H.3785 and S.389 would expand the scope of activities that business development corporations (BDC’s) can legally engage in. BDC’s are quasi-public quasi-private entities that receive state and federal funds from…

THE HOUSE IS DEBATING A $497 BOND PACKAGE. IT’S TERRIBLE IDEA, FOR LOTS OF REASONS. NOW TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT LAWMAKERS WANT TO SPEND THE MONEY ON. This week the House will…

  More often than not, state regulation – especially licensing laws – has little to do with protecting the public and everything to do with insulating currently entrenched businesses from competition.…

IT SERVES ITS PURPOSES, ALL RIGHT . . . AND THEY’RE ALL BAD As lawmakers and the governor seek to add more revenue to, and possibly reform, South Carolina’s broken…

H.3746 would mandate that the proceeds from overdraft fees charged by banks or trusts be remitted to the state treasurer and credited to the state highway fund. When discussing other…

H.3745 would specify that prosecutions for ethics violations can be commenced against non-legislative public officials and employees within four years of these officials or employees leaving office. The bill would…

H.3744 would exempt property that is owned or leased by manufacturers, and used in the conduct of business from property tax, provided the manufacturer agrees to donate an amount equal…

H.3374 would rename the Local Government Fund the “Local Government Revenue Sharing Fund” and would delete a requirement that the fund be appropriated an amount not less than 4.5 percent of…

H.3708 and H.3709 would each impose 50 cents surcharges on costs associated with public parking in order to raise revenue for roads. H.3708 imposes an additional 50 cent surcharge on all parking…

H.3705 would require the State Board of Education to develop or adopt curricula, materials, and guidelines for local school boards to use in implementing diversity awareness instruction programs in kindergarten through…

• A pair of omnibus ethics bills now in the General Assembly purport to end legislative “self-policing.” • They don’t. • Instead, both bills perpetuate a system in which lawmakers…

MAJOR ETHICS BILLS ARE MOVING IN BOTH HOUSE AND SENATE. EACH HIDES PROVISIONS THAT WOULD LEGALIZE UNETHICAL CONDUCT ON THE PART OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS, AND PUNISH CITIZENS FOR CHALLENGING THEM. [download…

S.195 would impose a toll along Interstate 95 where it crosses Lake Marion in either Orangeburg County or Clarendon County. All revenue generated from the toll would be used for…

H.3671 would eliminate the majority of South Carolina’s numerous sales tax exemptions and dedicate half of the resulting new revenue to schools via the South Carolina public education program fund…

S.474 would give “authorized health care providers”, defined as including but not limited to advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, the legal authority to perform initial examinations in facilities operated…

H.3693 would require the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to obtain the approval of the Public Utilities Review Committee (PURC) before submitting any plan to regulate South Carolina carbon…

H.3686 would establish a system by which South Carolina education funds follow the child, at least in the case of disabled children. The bill would allow the parents of a disabled…

H.3685 proposes that an additional $5 surcharge be tacked on to any ticket stemming from a misdemeanor traffic offense or non-traffic violation if the ticket is issued electronically. Electronic ticketing…

H.3669 would increase regulations on firearms by requiring a license to engage in the “casual” sale of a handgun. “Casual” in this context means the sale of a handgun by a…

S.475 would replace the current board of regents at South Carolina State University (SC State) with a new five member board with one member each appointed by the: Senate President…

Companion bills S.453 and H.3704 would make permanent a $5 fee (currently scheduled to expire June 30, 2016) levied on all monetary penalties imposed in general sessions court, magistrates court, or municipal court…

H.3663 would remove the sitting president and board of trustees from South Carolina State University. In their place each member of the Budget and Control Board (BCB) would appoint a designee to…

H.3654 would mandate that motor fuel retailers charge the same price to customers who pay for fuel with a debit card as those who pay with cash. Retailers who violate this…

 H.3650 would impose a new tax on motor fuel assessed at 21 cents a gallon. Revenue collected from this new tax would be credited to the state highway fund to be…

H.3566 would eliminate the seven member Department of Transportation (DOT) Commission which currently sets policy for the DOT. In place of this commission controlled by the legislature, the bill would vest…