DANGEROUS ‘ELECTIONEERING’ PROVISION SCRAPPED, BUT LEGISLATION STILL CONSISTS MAINLY OF REGRESSIVE NON-REFORMS The Senate Judiciary Committee has just passed another omnibus ethics bill, H.3184. The bill has a tortured history, having been completely rewritten several times. The amended bill is not yet available to the public (this is the case with more and more legislation, incidentally). …
Posted: February 2, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
Senate’s Latest Version of ‘Ethics Reform’
DANGEROUS ‘ELECTIONEERING’ PROVISION SCRAPPED, BUT LEGISLATION STILL CONSISTS MAINLY OF REGRESSIVE NON-REFORMS The Senate Judiciary Committee has just passed another omnibus ethics bill, H.3184. The bill has a tortured history, having been completely rewritten several times. The amended bill is not yet available to the public (this is the case with more and more legislation, incidentally). …
Posted: January 22, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
Ending Legal Corruption – A Progress Report
● House bill on self-policing further empowers legislature. ● House income disclosure bills still full of loopholes. ● House FOIA reform bill still allows lawmaker exemption. The 2016 legislative session has begun with the usual round of speculation, accusations, and factually challenged claims. In her State of the State address, for example, Gov. Nikki Haley left the …
Posted: November 23, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
South Carolina’s Endless Legislative Session
● South Carolina’s session is one of the nation’s longest ● Longer sessions mean lawmakers spending more time with lobbyists ● In South Carolina, there are about two lobbyists for every one lawmaker ● Last year, lobbyists in South Carolina made more than $15 million ● At least three current bills would significantly shorten session South Carolina’s legislative session can …
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Posted: August 28, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
Taking the Power Back: Eight Reforms
HOW CAN WE MAKE SOUTH CAROLINA’S POLITICIANS THE LEAST POWERFUL AND MOST ACCOUNTABLE IN THE NATION? (1) Restore judicial independence. The public deserves confidence that judges rule independently of the legislature whose laws they judge. South Carolina is the only state in the nation in which the legislature unilaterally appoints judges even when vacancies arise. …
Posted: July 17, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
Budget Process Remains Secretive
THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO ACHIEVE BUDGET TRANSPARENCY, AND THAT’S TO FOLLOW THE LAW The budget debate this session was one of the most bizarre we’ve seen yet. It wasn’t that many years ago that the state’s Budget and Control Board was making across-the-board budget cuts owing to the recession and the state’s inability to meet its …
Posted: June 26, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
How Lawmakers Have Made Themselves FTEs
‘IF THEY BELIEVE THEY AREN’T BEING PROPERLY COMPENSATED FOR THE WORK THEY DO, THEY SHOULD REDUCE THEIR WORKLOAD’ Watch the General Assembly long enough and you’re sure to hear the popular complaint about how South Carolina lawmakers are underpaid. Rep. Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville) recently proposed an amendment to a budget bill to provide a substantial pay increase …
Posted: June 12, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
Why the ‘Uber Legislation’ Is a Missed Opportunity
LAWMAKERS HAD A CHANCE TO ADVANCE ECONOMIC FREEDOM IN SOUTH CAROLINA. THEY MISSED IT. Lawmakers have introduced a number of bills this session designed to clear up the legality of ride-sharing services in South Carolina, and all of them have accepted the premise that the industry needs state regulation rather than freedom from it. Rather …
Posted: May 18, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
Gas Tax Plans: More of the Same
S.C. POLITICOS HAVE PRODUCED AT LEAST FOUR MAJOR PLANS TO “FIX OUR ROADS.” NOT ONE OF THEM WILL ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL. HERE’S WHY. How would a massive tax hike fix all our roads and bridges and cut our income taxes? It won’t. But that hasn’t stopped South Carolina politicians from pushing multiple versions of this …
Posted: May 12, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
How Does Road Money Get Spent?
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM? WHO SPENDS IT? WHO ARE THEY ACCOUNTABLE TO? The debate over road funding has seen a number of outrageous and contradictory claims. On the one hand, for example, we’re told that the Department of Transportation (DOT) faces a $43 billion shortfall; on the other that it’s a flawlessly run …
Posted: April 23, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
Who Holds the General Assembly Accountable?
ANSWER: NO ONE. CONSIDER A RECENT ATTEMPT TO RAISE REVENUE IN THE SENATE. The General Assembly has long dominated South Carolina politics. Members of the House of Representative and Senate elect judges, perform executive functions such as procurement, and investigate and punish ethics violations in their own bodies. The pervasive nature of legislative dominance is …