The South Carolina Policy Council Archive

H.3214 proposes an amendment to Section 1, Article XVII of the state Constitution declaring that members serving on the governing body of South Carolina State University need not possess the…

WHICH ONES DESERVE THE WORD ‘REFORM’? Two years ago, many, perhaps most, lawmakers dismissed the need for ethics reform. They know better now. As the 2015 session begins, already more…

S.244 would allow the governing body of a county to enact an ordinance creating a referendum on a local gas tax increase of up to 5 cents a gallon to…

S.242 is an attempt to reform the judicial screening process by changing the membership of the screening body, the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC). The JMSC is tasked with nominating…

S.208 would require that the Governor’s budget, the House Ways and Means budget, and Senate Finance budget all contain narratives regarding each agency and its programs. Included in the narrative…

S.206 instructs the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) to design, and the General Assembly to fund a state employee longevity pay plan. All state employees would participate in…

S.170 is a reintroduction of last session’s S.870. Like last session’s bill S.170 would make internet retailers who make at least $10,000 from South Carolina consumers in a given year…

S.43 seeks to consolidate the governance of public institutions of higher education in South Carolina into the new South Carolina College and University Board of Regents. The board would be…

H.3198 would amend state law by clarifying that a public official with an economic conflict of interest over a public matter must recuse himself anytime the matter comes before a…

Companion bills S.560 and H.3075 would obligate the state to provide transportation to school to students who reside any further than 0.3 miles from the school they attend. Under current law the state…

H.3067 would extend the protection of the State Insurance Reserve Fund to any physician or dentist performing medical services in a clinic (or similar facility) solely for reimbursement through Medicaid.…

H.3255 would establish a form of zero base budgeting by requiring a different group of agencies present their budgets using a zero base approach each year. Every agency would be covered…

H.3228 would prohibit any “state agency, instrumentality, or department”, from expending public funds to contract with a lobbyist. This prohibition would help to prevent the astronomically wasteful practice of an…

H.3208 is a reintroduction of last session’s H.5028. The bill would stipulate that right of way acquisition cost for government bodies exercising eminent domain include compensation to landowners within 1000…

H.3196 would amend the law requiring General Assembly members abstain from votes on governmental decisions in which they, their family, or individual with whom they are associated have an economic…

H.3194 turns another negative provision from last session’s omnibus ethics legislation into its own bill. H.3194 would add additional protection to incumbents by broadening the definition of “candidate” to include…

H.3192 is a response to a recent State Supreme Court decision stating that public bodies need not post an agenda prior to meeting. This legislation would require all public bodies to post an…

H.3191 is another attempt to strengthen FOIA by creating the Office of FOIA Review, which would be headed up by the Chief Judge of the Administrative Law Court and will…

 At first glance H.3190 seems to narrow the near-total exemption legislators currently enjoy from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but on closer inspection it’s not clear that this exception is…

 H.3189 turns one of the worst provisions of last session’s atrocious “ethics” bill into a piece of stand-alone legislation. H.3189 would require individuals making an independent expenditure in excess of five…

H.3183 would apply registration requirements and the same regulations limiting the area a golf cart can be driven to ATVs.

H.3020 is a reintroduction of one of the many versions of last year’s anti-commandeering bill, designed to slow if not halt the implementation of certain provisions of the Affordable Care…

Companion bills S.301 and H.3179 would amend the membership of the South Carolina Board of Accountancy and would implement new continuing education requirements for certain applicants for licensure as Certified Public Accountants.…

 H.3161 is a refiling of a bill from last session that shared the same bill number. Both bills establish a lengthy list of new regulations for “compounding pharmacies”, pharmacies that…

H.3159 is a reintroduction of last session’s H.3151. The bill would require the registration and regulation of pharmacy benefit managers (PBM), defined as an individuals who engage in “the administration…

H.3143 is a refiling of last session’s H.4542. The bill would require any surgery involving the ankle be performed in an accredited hospital or ambulatory surgical center. It would also…

H.3095 would create the Property and Casualty Insurance License Executive Committee to establish a code of ethics for insurance agencies, brokers, and producers licensed by the Department of Insurance (DOI)…

H.3056 would require that before any individual can be employed by a law enforcement agency in South Carolina he must undergo a 10 year criminal background check. It would be…

H.3152 is a reintroduction of last session’s H.3533. Just like its predecessor, H.3152 would create a new spending limit reserve fund into which all General Fund revenues beyond the appropriations limit…

S.124 would prohibit a Senator, an individual with whom he is professionally associated, a law firm which he is a partner in, or a law firm which he is otherwise…