WHY THE HOUSE & SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEES SHOULDN’T EXIST – AND WHY IT MATTERS South Carolina is often said – correctly – to be dominated by the legislature. What does that…
OR, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THESE GUYS STICK AROUND TOO LONG? We’re sometimes asked: Where’s the harm in the fact that South Carolina has a longer legislative session than most other…
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…
Ever wonder why our sales tax is so high? Part of the answer can be found in this abandoned amusement park. Earlier this week, one of our analysts was scrolling…
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…
THE BUDGET VETO “DEBATE” INVOLVED PRECIOUS LITTLE DEBATE If you followed the coverage of the governor’s budget vetoes – rallies outside the State House, op-eds denouncing specific vetoes – you…
LAWMAKERS REDUCED THE STATE BUDGET BY A TINY FRACTION OF A TINY FRACTION Lawmakers began public meetings on the state’s 2012-13 budget January 10 of this year – the first…
SORRY, BUT TAXPAYERS LOST THE REAL BATTLE MONTHS AGO Yesterday the South Carolina House overrode the majority of Gov. Nikki Haley’s budget vetoes. The vetoes themselves were minimal – at…
‘JOBS’: THE ALL-PURPOSE JUSTIFICATION FOR EVERY GOVERNMENT PROGRAM Today, as expected, the South Carolina House voted to override Gov. Nikki Haley’s veto of Arts Commission money. Specifically, she vetoed $1.9…
THIS YEAR’S DEBATE OVER VETOES ISN’T ABOUT CUTTING GOVERNMENT This week, the legislature will reconvene to take up the governor’s budget vetoes. Gov. Nikki Haley vetoed $57.1 million from the…
$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…
THINK YOU KNOW THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE BUDGET? 1) Including state, federal, and “other” funds, the budget totals approximately a. $6.6 Billion b. $8.6 Billion c. $17.3 Billion d.…
DID ALABAMA GET A BETTER DEAL THAN WE DID? In October of 2009, South Carolina celebrated Boeing’s decision to locate a production line in North Charleston and bring an untold…
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…
MORE STUFF THE DEPT. OF ADMINISTRATION BILL WOULDN’T HAVE DONE Last week, we attended a meeting of the Budget & Control Board. Now, oftentimes these meetings are excruciatingly uneventful,…
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…
The Senate has passed their version of the budget, and it is now headed to the House for a final vote there. The budget includes an un-funded tax relief reserve…
The debate over school choice has been revived by the passage of H.4894 in the South Carolina House, and we’re glad to see the subject debated again. We just have one small…
Tucked away at the tail end of part 1B of the budget bill is proviso 90.20, which deals with state non-recurring revenue: that is, revenue that’s only available for one…
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 Rules Apply to Everyone. (Except Us.)
WHY THE HOUSE & SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEES SHOULDN’T EXIST – AND WHY IT MATTERS South Carolina is often said – correctly – to be dominated by the legislature. What does that…
Why Our Legislative Session Is Far Too Long
OR, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THESE GUYS STICK AROUND TOO LONG? We’re sometimes asked: Where’s the harm in the fact that South Carolina has a longer legislative session than most other…
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…
Playing with the Tax Code
Ever wonder why our sales tax is so high? Part of the answer can be found in this abandoned amusement park. Earlier this week, one of our analysts was scrolling…
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…
Budget Vetoes: Were lawmakers even there?
THE BUDGET VETO “DEBATE” INVOLVED PRECIOUS LITTLE DEBATE If you followed the coverage of the governor’s budget vetoes – rallies outside the State House, op-eds denouncing specific vetoes – you…
Veto Recap
LAWMAKERS REDUCED THE STATE BUDGET BY A TINY FRACTION OF A TINY FRACTION Lawmakers began public meetings on the state’s 2012-13 budget January 10 of this year – the first…
The Battle over Vetoes
SORRY, BUT TAXPAYERS LOST THE REAL BATTLE MONTHS AGO Yesterday the South Carolina House overrode the majority of Gov. Nikki Haley’s budget vetoes. The vetoes themselves were minimal – at…
Art Is about Jobs?
‘JOBS’: THE ALL-PURPOSE JUSTIFICATION FOR EVERY GOVERNMENT PROGRAM Today, as expected, the South Carolina House voted to override Gov. Nikki Haley’s veto of Arts Commission money. Specifically, she vetoed $1.9…
Microscopic cuts
THIS YEAR’S DEBATE OVER VETOES ISN’T ABOUT CUTTING GOVERNMENT This week, the legislature will reconvene to take up the governor’s budget vetoes. Gov. Nikki Haley vetoed $57.1 million from the…
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…
Budget quiz!
THINK YOU KNOW THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE BUDGET? 1) Including state, federal, and “other” funds, the budget totals approximately a. $6.6 Billion b. $8.6 Billion c. $17.3 Billion d.…
Airbus v. Boeing?
DID ALABAMA GET A BETTER DEAL THAN WE DID? In October of 2009, South Carolina celebrated Boeing’s decision to locate a production line in North Charleston and bring an untold…
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…
Restructure This?
MORE STUFF THE DEPT. OF ADMINISTRATION BILL WOULDN’T HAVE DONE Last week, we attended a meeting of the Budget & Control Board. Now, oftentimes these meetings are excruciatingly uneventful,…
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...
Senate Budget Priorities: The Un-funded Tax Relief Reserve Fund
The Senate has passed their version of the budget, and it is now headed to the House for a final vote there. The budget includes an un-funded tax relief reserve…
What’s the point of school choice?
The debate over school choice has been revived by the passage of H.4894 in the South Carolina House, and we’re glad to see the subject debated again. We just have one small…
The Great Pork Debate
Tucked away at the tail end of part 1B of the budget bill is proviso 90.20, which deals with state non-recurring revenue: that is, revenue that’s only available for one…
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…