Tag: Nikki Haley

Gingrich, Myrtle Beach, Oil and Interstates

Community Forum on Off-shore Drilling

A community forum on off-shore drilling will be held at the North Myrtle Beach Historical Museum June 23, 2015 beginning at 5 p.m.

The forum is being presented by a local grassroots volunteer organization formed in response to the Obama administration’s proposal to open the mid- and south-Atlantic waters to seismic testing and deep water drilling for off-shore oil & gas by the petroleum industry.

Called Stop Off-shore Drilling in the Atlantic – Prevent Oil Pollution, or by the acronym SODAPOP, this grassroots organization will have Peg Howell, a former petroleum engineer with experience working on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, as the featured speaker June 23rd.

South Carolina has been one of the states pushing for oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic despite the state’s reliance on tourism on the Grand Strand and Hilton Head.

Only Rep. Mark Sanford opposes off-shore gas and oil exploration among our federal legislators and Gov. Nikki Haley joins the group listening more to the oil industry lobbyists than environmentalists.

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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

SC General Assembly Compromise Roads Bill

The SC General Assembly turned its attention back to passing a road funding bill this year, but the devil is in the details.

The bill, which began as H. 3579, was set for special order yesterday after a compromise was reached in the SC Senate to move it to priority status for debate.

Much changed since its original version, the bill contains the three elements Gov. Nikki Haley said was needed to avoid a veto – sort of.

The current plan raises the state gas tax by 12 cents per gallon and allows it to be adjusted for inflation in future years. Increases in license and registration fees and raising the sales tax cap on car sales are also included bringing the estimated rise in revenue to approximately $800 million per year.

The bill proposes a decrease of 1% in the state income tax spread over five years. However, the reduction in tax rates would be suspended in any year the projected growth in state revenue is less than 4%.

If the rate is lowered over five years, the estimated tax cut is $700 million.

From 2003-2013, South Carolina’s annual average growth rate was less than 2%, making the possibility of income tax reductions less than certain.

Finally, the bill makes some changes in how the SC Department of Transportation commission is appointed.

While the bill would probably allow for some improvement in funding road maintenance and repairs, it now appears to be more political nonsense than a real effort at fixing the state’s roads.

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SC House Amends Roads Bill

SC House members amended their road maintenance bill last week to allow county councils the choice of whether to take over maintenance of current state roads.

Instead of County Transportation Committees as first included in the bill (H 3579), it will now be county councils that have the choice whether to accept maintenance responsibility for roads within the county now in the state system.

It would be nice to see County Transportation Committees disbanded with gas tax rebates (C Funds) from the state to the counties directly disbursed to county governments.

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Desperate Preparations for Atlantic Beach Bikefest

Two Ordinances aimed at the Atlantic Beach Bikefest and passed first reading by Myrtle Beach City Council appear acts of desperation.

Called the extraordinary events and public peace act ordinances, they could be lumped together under the title “Gall Doctrine” after Myrtle Beach Police Chief Warren Gall.

Why acts of desperation?

Randy Webster, Director of Horry County Emergency Management, was quoted in local media as calling Atlantic Beach Bikefest an uncontrollable event. Webster went on to say with all the planning that has gone into Bikefest “it’s still uncontrollable.”

With Myrtle Beach as the epicenter for the crowds that come to Bikefest and with planners calling the event uncontrollable, passing what amounts to de facto martial law ordinances was the answer from Myrtle Beach City Council.

Or are there ulterior motives?

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A Lesson from the AvCraft Experience

The final curtain is coming down on AvCraft Technical Services in a couple of weeks leaving behind an important political lesson that will soon be forgotten.

That lesson? Never, never, never believe a politician’s (or their associates’) claims about economic development and/or job creation.

AvCraft was first introduced to Horry County in 2003 by, then, Horry County Council candidate Joe DeFeo.

AvCraft had just forfeited economic development incentive payments for failing to reach job creation promises at its location in Tyler, Texas and was looking for fresh government dollars. DeFeo was looking for an issue that could help him win election to Horry County Council District Three.

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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

Two Road Funding Plans Introduced in S.C. House

As expected, two road funding plans were introduced in the S.C. House yesterday.

Rep. Gary Simrill (R-York) and Chairman of the House Ad Hoc Transportation Committee introduced H.3579, a bill crafted around the recommendations of the study committee.

Rep. Tommy Stringer (R-Greenville) introduced H.3580, a bill that mirrors the gas tax/income tax plan outlined by Gov. Nikki Haley in her State of the State address last month.

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Road Funding Plans Due in S.C. General Assembly Today

Competing road funding plans are expected to be introduced in the S.C. General Assembly today.

The plans, authored by a S.C. House ad hoc committee and by Gov. Nikki Haley, respectively, each attempt to address fixes for South Carolina’s crumbling road infrastructure.

The main difference in the plans is funding mechanisms. Haley’s plan calls for a 10 cent rise in the state gas tax spread over three years, while calling for a 2 percent reduction in state income tax over 10 years.

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S.C. Supreme Court Denies School Rehearing

The S.C. Supreme Court denied a request by Gov. Nikki Haley and the S.C. General Assembly to rehear a school funding lawsuit it ruled on two months ago.

In its denial, the Court said it was unable to discover any material fact or principal of law that had been overlooked or disregarded when it first ruled on the case.

In November 2014, the Court ruled the state failed to provide to children in poor, rural school districts with a minimally adequate education as required by state law.

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Nikki Haley and Her Road Plan

We finally know the secret plan of Gov. Nikki Haley to fix the state’s roads.

Haley announced her three-part plan to fix state roads during her State of the State address two nights ago.

The three-part plan is – increase the state gas tax by 10 cents over three years, decrease state income tax rates by 2 percent over 10 years and restructure the Department of Transportation from a legislative appointed agency to a governor appointed agency.

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Nikki Haley Inaugural Speech “In the Air”

Gov. Nikki Haley told listeners of her dreams in her second inaugural speech yesterday with no idea of how to make them reality.

Haley quoted Henry David Thoreau – “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Haley’s enunciated dreams are certainly in the air. Unfortunately, her performance as governor, to date, lacks any attempt at foundations.

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