Selling Santee Cooper: First Things First
Click to print PDF version Two committees comprised almost entirely of lawmakers are currently exploring the possibility of selling state-owned utility Santee Cooper. Not only is this beyond the proper jurisdiction of legislators – whose job is simply to establish laws – but their approach is leaving citizens in the dark. Santee Cooper is the […]
Bills filed during 3/19/19 – 3/21/19
Government Structure and Reform: H.4258 – Creates a new state retirement plan for private businesses H.4259 – Public officials DUI records subject to FOIA H.4260 – Regulates Santee Cooper through board qualifications and whistleblower protections H.4261 – Creates a new Santee Cooper oversight agency comprised of lawmakers 4265 – Expands jurisdiction of a public water […]
A bond bill for “freight transportation”
A newly filed bill (S.679) would allow economic development bonds to be issued for freight projects, which could be exempted from job creation requirements. Economic development bonds are a category of general obligation debt, which is backed by the taxpayers’ personal property, and they can be issued for anything from land acquisition to employee training. […]
What lawmakers want to give the Carolina Panthers
Last week, lawmakers introduced legislation in both the House (H.4243) and the Senate (S.655) to extend tax favors to the Carolina Panthers NFL team in an attempt to lure them to relocate their practice facility and headquarters (not their stadium) to South Carolina. Both bills are being fast-tracked through committee this week. The identical bills […]
Bills filed during 3/12/19 – 3/14/19
Government structure and reform S.636 – Workers’ compensation can be based on medical records, instead of medical advice. Both are admissible in appeals process. S.637 – Public employees’ drug test results are subject to FOIA, if the test was requested by the employer due to an accident or incident S.638 – Prohibits local internet monopolies […]
Eminent domain for environmental projects?
A SENATE BILL WOULD FUND THE TAKING OF PRIVATE PROPERTY TO CREATE FLOODPLAINS AND OPEN SPACES Update: the bill was amended in committee in four significant ways; Language was added to prevent the fund from being used to directly finance eminent domain takings. To use eminent domain, local governments would simply need to seize the […]
Bill would give subpoena power to legislative delegations
A concerning new bill filed this week – H.3934 – would allow committees created by county legislative delegations to subpoena any state or local government agency, board, commission, etc. and/or their representatives and records. This is a startling – and unnecessary – amount of power to give to a legislative delegation. Standing legislative committees already […]
Lawmakers Reintroduce Data Warehouse
The invasive data warehouse proposed last year as a budget proviso and vetoed by the governor has returned, this time as a bill. This bill (H.3757) would create a massive data collecting system that tracks children from preschool through the workforce (and possibly beyond). Despite several tweaks and an attempt at privacy protections, this version […]
The New State Property Tax South Carolinians Won’t See Coming
In 1976, voters passed a constitutional amendment amending legislators’ ability to provide for state borrowing. The ballot question was general, vaguely worded and failed to spell out what was arguably the most important part of the amendment: the creation of a new, automatic and limitless state property tax that could kick in with no warning […]
What’s coming in the 2019 legislative session
The recurring themes in the over 700 pieces of prefiled legislation this year are more spending, more legislative control, and eroding individual rights. Here is a broad overview of what lawmakers are proposing in the new session, focusing on the areas of utilities, roads, education, taxes, and governmental accountability and transparency. Utilities One of […]
