The South Carolina Policy Council Archive

South Carolina lawmakers met last week (May 12) to take up legislation dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, and to pass a resolution funding state government through the year until they…

Government Structure S.1203 – Giving the legislature (or President of the Senate and Speaker of the House if it is inconvenient to convene the General Assembly) the power to revoke…

Yesterday, the General Assembly met to pass a continuing resolution to ensure that state government will be funded through the end of the fiscal year in June and until they…

Local governments all over the state are adopting emergency measures to combat the COVID-19 outbreak – but not all of them are making their emergency declarations and ordinances easily accessible. …

Regulations S.1184 – Regulating licensing of the massage industry, increasing license fees for massage therapists, creating a new license for massage establishments, providing penalties for non-compliance, and instructing the Massage…

What they did: This week, the House passed a $32 billion budget – the largest budget in state history. However, they only debated around $10 billion of that spending and…

This was the last legislative week before the House considers the $30 million Ways and Means budget. The budget debate will begin next week on Monday instead of Tuesday. This…

Government Structure  S.1163 – Removing Santee Cooper (PSA) board, appointing an interim board made of 7 members, 6 will be appointed by legislative leadership and 1 by the governor, removing…

What they did: This week House and Senate committees continued the process of reviewing proposals for state-owned utility Santee Cooper. All three proposals have serious problems, and none of them…

Legislation calling for an Article V convention to amend the U.S. Constitution has been gaining traction lately. An Article V convention has never happened before, and the U.S. Constitution contains…

Regulations H.5334 – If you are born after 1979 you need a boater safety license to operate a boat S.1138 – Commercial airmen that participate in interstate commerce and are…

What they did: This week, lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee adopted the largest budget in state history – recommending that the state spend over $32 billion in…

Taxation and Spending  S.1127 – Making the tax credit on solar energy systems refundable (you can earn a refund through the credit not just reduce your income tax) S.1123 –…

EMINENT DOMAIN FOR PIPELINE COMPANIES? A recently filed bill (S.1100) would give private petroleum pipeline companies the power to condemn state residents’ property through eminent domain. It would also classify…

What they did: This week, lawmakers received the Department of Administration’s (DOA) report of the top proposals for the disposal of state-owned utility Santee Cooper. Last year, lawmakers passed legislation…

Taxation and Spending  H.5234 – Department of Aging must pay for emergency response systems for seniors who cannot afford them and do not qualify for similar federal program H.5261 –…

What they did: This week at the State House, lawmakers elected 17 judges in uncontested legislative elections, as all contesting candidates had dropped out by the time the elections were held. All…

Regulations S.1108 – Required registration of fertile pit bulls at the cost of $500 annually  H.5227 – Adding “other on track equipment” to the list of things that require you…

What they did: This week, the Senate passed S.996 (legislation to extend the Public Service Commission candidate filing and screening period) after tweaking the diversity language inserted by the House last week.…

Elections S.1083 – If you vote in a party primary in 2020, you may only vote in that same party’s primary in all future elections through 2024. Regulations S.1077 –…

Last September, the Department of Transportation (DOT) Commission voted to rename the “John N. Hardee Expressway” in Columbia to the “Columbia Airport Expressway” following Hardee’s guilty plea to a federal…

Ethics H.5027 – No legislator may pledge to vote for a candidate for a judicial office, legislators may not pressure a candidate to drop out of an election for judicial…

What they did: This week the House passed H.4819 – legislation to pay local Union County transportation officials out of gas-tax dollars for attending their meetings (SCPC analysis). It should be noted…

MULTIPLE BILLS ATTACK SOUTH CAROLINIANS’ RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS A growing number of bills filed by lawmakers would erode South Carolinians’ Second Amendment rights. In recent weeks, five…

Spending  H.4823 – Orders that 5% of DOT contracts or consulting expenditure are contracted or subcontracted to businesses owned by minorities and 5% is to women owned businesses  H.4824 –…

January 14 – 16, 2020 . What they did: The 2020 legislative session started this week, and since it is the second year in the two-year session, lawmakers were able…

Individual rights H.4991 – Seizure of weapons without due process or notice, commonly known as a “red flag law” S.1039 – Permanent loss of gun rights for low-level crimes (crimes…

Three recently filed bills would pay certain local transportation officials (appointed by lawmakers) out of their counties’ local share of gas-tax revenue. H.4819 would pay each member of the Union…

It’s a new year in the Palmetto State, and that means South Carolina’s legislative session is about to begin – on January 14 to be exact. While it’s impossible to…

The most important bill passed in each legislative session is the state budget. Every year, state agencies spend more and more taxpayer dollars on a variety of things – sometimes…