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…
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…
‘STATE HOUSE ECONOMICS’ AT ITS FINEST The state’s roads are crumbling, according to the popular refrain, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) claims it faces a nearly $43 billion shortfall between…
IT’S ABOUT STRUCTURE, NOT MONEY – ACCOUNTABILITY, NOT TAXES Every South Carolinian who drives a car knows our state’s roads need work. Many have also heard about the Department of Transportation’s…
THE HOUSE PLAN HAS THIS IN COMMON WITH THE GOVERNOR’S: IT ASSUMES WE HAVE A REVENUE PROBLEM. Nearly a week after the governor released her plan to fix South Carolina roads,…
THE GOVERNOR’S PLAN IS A SHELL GAME THAT WOULD DO LITTLE TO IMPROVE S.C.’S ROADS Gov. Nikki Haley’s plan to fix South Carolina’s decrepit roads and bridges and lower income taxes will…
THE GOVERNOR DOUBLES DOWN, PHONES IT IN Update* Budget documents prepared by the Executive Budget Office not available at the time of initial publication reveal an even larger executive budget. The…
WHAT YOUR POLICYMAKERS ARE HEARING & SAYING Two recent meetings – the House Ad Hoc Transportation Review Committee, and a York Town Hall addressed by Rep. Gary Simrill (R-York) –…
LAWMAKERS SEEM TO THINK SO. A LITTLE EFFORT MIGHT BE IN ORDER. Tax hikes are on the mind of legislators. At least that’s what the October 30 meeting of the…
MONEY’S NOT THE PROBLEM. PRIORITIES ARE. The issue of road funding – or, to put it slightly differently, the question of how South Carolina should fix its broken road system…
AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT As South Carolinians hit the roads for summer vacations, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to discuss the state’s poorly maintained roadways. The potholes,…
THE GOOD NEWS: THE STATE HAS ENOUGH TO FUND ROADS. THE BAD NEWS: LAWMAKERS WILL NEED TO GO WITHOUT PAY HIKES, CORPORATE WELFARE, AND PORK. State budgets are a big deal.…
S.C.’S ROAD POLICY: BUILD NEW ROADS WITHOUT FIXING EXISTING ONES Since the close of the 2013 legislative session, the confused priorities of the state’s transportation authorities have been on full…
WHEN THE ISSUE IS THE PRESERVATION OF POWER, REFORM HASN’T GOT A CHANCE In 2013, despite all the rhetoric with which the legislative year began, lawmakers failed to pass a…
WHAT DOES IT DO? AND IS THIS A SOLUTION? [UPDATE: Gov. Haley signed H.3360 on Monday, June 24] The legislature has finalized the conference version of the last transportation bill…
(WITHOUT RAISING TAXES) How do lawmakers propose to deal with the fact that South Carolina’s roads and bridges are in suboptimal shape? The governing assumption behind most answers to this…
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM: PRIORITIES OR FUNDING? This week, the Senate Finance Special Subcommittee on Transportation Funding kicked off a series of meetings to discuss several bills that could make big…
. . . AND HOW NOT TO FUND IT State lawmakers have introduced a new plan to increase funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT) without raising revenues or fees.…
IF IT DOESN’T WORK, KEEP DOING IT … ? Part 2 of our series on the governor’s proposed budget of FY 2013-14 shines a light on the following four department…
JUST WHAT WE NEED: A NEW, MORE COMPLICATED INFRASTRUCTURE FUND A bill recently introduced by Senator Larry Grooms aims to create the “Palmetto Highway Improvement Fund.” The bill –…
With all of Columbia abuzz about government restructuring, H.4625 has passed through the House Judicial Committee without incident. As the Department of Transportation’s budget woes have come to light, state…
The South Carolina Department of Transportation has one of the largest budgets in state government, yet it can’t afford to maintain the state’s roads. Why? Because most of DoT’s money…
The House recently passed legislation, the Transportation Infrastructure Funding Flexibility Act, authorizing the creation of public-private partnerships (PPP) that can be used to build roads in South Carolina. In theory,…
S.C. Going the Wrong Way on Road Funding
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…
Why the Infrastructure Bank Should Go
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…
Sketchy Numbers Behind Road Funding Debate
‘STATE HOUSE ECONOMICS’ AT ITS FINEST The state’s roads are crumbling, according to the popular refrain, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) claims it faces a nearly $43 billion shortfall between…
South Carolina’s Roads Problem Isn’t about Revenue
IT’S ABOUT STRUCTURE, NOT MONEY – ACCOUNTABILITY, NOT TAXES Every South Carolinian who drives a car knows our state’s roads need work. Many have also heard about the Department of Transportation’s…
On Roads, S.C. House Doing Its Own Thing
THE HOUSE PLAN HAS THIS IN COMMON WITH THE GOVERNOR’S: IT ASSUMES WE HAVE A REVENUE PROBLEM. Nearly a week after the governor released her plan to fix South Carolina roads,…
Haley Road Plan: Higher Taxes, New Debt, Fuzzy Numbers
THE GOVERNOR’S PLAN IS A SHELL GAME THAT WOULD DO LITTLE TO IMPROVE S.C.’S ROADS Gov. Nikki Haley’s plan to fix South Carolina’s decrepit roads and bridges and lower income taxes will…
Gov. Haley’s Budget: Same Deal, More Money
THE GOVERNOR DOUBLES DOWN, PHONES IT IN Update* Budget documents prepared by the Executive Budget Office not available at the time of initial publication reveal an even larger executive budget. The…
Good & Bad Ideas on Roads
WHAT YOUR POLICYMAKERS ARE HEARING & SAYING Two recent meetings – the House Ad Hoc Transportation Review Committee, and a York Town Hall addressed by Rep. Gary Simrill (R-York) –…
Roads: Is Raising Taxes Really the Only Option?
LAWMAKERS SEEM TO THINK SO. A LITTLE EFFORT MIGHT BE IN ORDER. Tax hikes are on the mind of legislators. At least that’s what the October 30 meeting of the…
Why Raising the Fuel Tax Is a Terrible Idea
MONEY’S NOT THE PROBLEM. PRIORITIES ARE. The issue of road funding – or, to put it slightly differently, the question of how South Carolina should fix its broken road system…
How Federal Funding Has Ruined S.C.’s Roads
AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT As South Carolinians hit the roads for summer vacations, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to discuss the state’s poorly maintained roadways. The potholes,…
State Budget: Enough to Fund Roads Already
THE GOOD NEWS: THE STATE HAS ENOUGH TO FUND ROADS. THE BAD NEWS: LAWMAKERS WILL NEED TO GO WITHOUT PAY HIKES, CORPORATE WELFARE, AND PORK. State budgets are a big deal.…
Road Funding Priorities Run Further Amok
S.C.’S ROAD POLICY: BUILD NEW ROADS WITHOUT FIXING EXISTING ONES Since the close of the 2013 legislative session, the confused priorities of the state’s transportation authorities have been on full…
Why Did Reform Die in 2013?
WHEN THE ISSUE IS THE PRESERVATION OF POWER, REFORM HASN’T GOT A CHANCE In 2013, despite all the rhetoric with which the legislative year began, lawmakers failed to pass a…
Road Maintenance Bill Heads to Governor
WHAT DOES IT DO? AND IS THIS A SOLUTION? [UPDATE: Gov. Haley signed H.3360 on Monday, June 24] The legislature has finalized the conference version of the last transportation bill…
How to Fund Road Maintenance
(WITHOUT RAISING TAXES) How do lawmakers propose to deal with the fact that South Carolina’s roads and bridges are in suboptimal shape? The governing assumption behind most answers to this…
Transportation Funding: The Current Options
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM: PRIORITIES OR FUNDING? This week, the Senate Finance Special Subcommittee on Transportation Funding kicked off a series of meetings to discuss several bills that could make big…
How to Fund Road Maintenance
. . . AND HOW NOT TO FUND IT State lawmakers have introduced a new plan to increase funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT) without raising revenues or fees.…
The Governor’s Spending Plan (Part 2)
IF IT DOESN’T WORK, KEEP DOING IT … ? Part 2 of our series on the governor’s proposed budget of FY 2013-14 shines a light on the following four department…
Road Funding: Another Bad Idea
JUST WHAT WE NEED: A NEW, MORE COMPLICATED INFRASTRUCTURE FUND A bill recently introduced by Senator Larry Grooms aims to create the “Palmetto Highway Improvement Fund.” The bill –…
Pointless DoT Restructuring?
With all of Columbia abuzz about government restructuring, H.4625 has passed through the House Judicial Committee without incident. As the Department of Transportation’s budget woes have come to light, state…
DoT’s Budget – How not to fund an agency
The South Carolina Department of Transportation has one of the largest budgets in state government, yet it can’t afford to maintain the state’s roads. Why? Because most of DoT’s money…
The Transportation Infrastructure Funding Flexibility Act: H 4033
The House recently passed legislation, the Transportation Infrastructure Funding Flexibility Act, authorizing the creation of public-private partnerships (PPP) that can be used to build roads in South Carolina. In theory,…