PRIVATE PROPERTY IS TOTALLY SECURE IN THIS CONSERVATIVE STATE, RIGHT? WRONG. In the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision, South Carolina attempted to shore up property rights with a constitutional amendment. As it now stands, however, the state constitution does not protect private property from seizure by government or even private companies. Currently, …
Posted: October 31, 2018 by South Carolina Policy Council
The Budget Process: A Quick Primer
The budget process spelled out in state law is a thorough, deliberate process, designed to inform citizens at every stage and to maximize their input into the spending of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, lawmakers consistently flout this law in favor of a process that centers key decision-making in the hands of a few powerful lawmakers. Here’s …
Posted: September 28, 2018 by South Carolina Policy Council
What the Data Warehouse Could Mean for You
The new data warehouse – created by last year’s law and this year’s budget proviso – poses serious threats to the privacy of South Carolinians, especially if lawmakers override the Governor’s veto of the budget proviso containing the details of how the data warehouse would operate. According to the proviso, the intent behind the data …
Posted: August 2, 2018 by South Carolina Policy Council
Fact Sheet: Lawmakers’ Data Warehouse for Individual Information
Download the PDF version here » Lawmakers created a statewide data tracking system via proviso in this year’s budget. The Governor vetoed it, but lawmakers could override the veto when they come back later this summer. Here’s what you need to know about this proposed data warehouse. State government could gather data on anyone for any …
Posted: May 3, 2018 by South Carolina Policy Council
General Assembly to Censor Video Games and Movies?
Lawmakers often wait until the closing weeks of session to drop their most controversial bills. This year was no exception, with H.5218 and H.5219 aiming to censor gun violence in digital entertainment. The former would make it illegal to sell video games depicting gun violence, and the latter would prohibit theaters or other streaming services …
Posted: January 26, 2018 by South Carolina Policy Council
Property Rights Threatened by Lawmakers’ Economic Development Interests
REMOVING CITIZENS’ POWER TO HOLD THEIR NEIGHBORS ACCOUNTABLE? UPDATE: The final version of the bill placed parameters on the bill’s scope, but the core of the proposal – the violation of property rights – remains the same. The amended version defines “reasonable expansion,” and only allows the nuisance exemption to be transferred to another facility if …
Posted: January 24, 2017 by South Carolina Policy Council
New Bill Takes Aim at Criticism of Lawmakers
LEGISLATION WOULD REGULATE FREE SPEECH EVEN MORE TIGHTLY THAN LAST YEAR’S ‘DARK MONEY’ BILL In its present form, S.255, sponsored by Sen. Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence), would substantially encroach on South Carolinians’ right to criticize politicians. The bill would require groups engaging in “election communication” – broadly defined as communication that supports or opposes a candidate, …
Posted: December 9, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
Property Rights in South Carolina
PRIVATE PROPERTY IS TOTALLY SECURE IN THIS CONSERVATIVE STATE, RIGHT? WRONG. In the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision, South Carolina attempted to shore up property rights with a constitutional amendment. As it now stands, however, the state constitution does not protect private property from seizure by government or even private companies. Currently, …
Posted: November 10, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
The Threats to First Amendment Rights in S.C.
HOW STATE LAWMAKERS CONTINUE TO STRIKE AT CITIZENS’ FIRST AMENDMENT FREEDOMS Many Americans assume, wrongly, that their state legislatures deal mainly with low-level issues and that only Congress and the president deal with the really important matters of governance. Certainly in South Carolina, that’s an increasingly dangerous assumption. Indeed, the General Assembly has debated and …
Posted: October 14, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
Are Gun Restrictions Likely in 2017?
IN RECENT YEARS, STATE LAWMAKERS HAVE MADE INCREASINGLY BOLD MOVES AGAINST THE SECOND AMENDMENT. LOOK FOR MORE OF THE SAME THIS YEAR. The hostility toward Second Amendment freedoms seen at the national level – proposals for gun registries, bans on certain firearms, and so on – is just as evident in “red state” South Carolina’s …
Posted: September 15, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
The Gun Death ‘Epidemic’ and the 2nd Amendment
SOUTH CAROLINA POLICYMAKERS HAVE A DUTY TO RESPOND WITH REASON, NOT FEAR State lawmakers are now holding public forums to consider whether the General Assembly should further restrict citizens’ Second Amendment rights. Here’s what South Carolinians should understand about the gun debate before it begins. (1) The constitutional principle The American Constitution is not a …