Tag: S.C. House

Is Machiavelli Writing S.C. House Road Plan?

The S.C. House plan to fix roads is still in the planning stages, but the politics in it resembles the best thoughts of Niccolo Machiavelli.

Rep. Gary Simrill, R-York, will, reportedly, introduce the plan next week. Simrill chaired a special committee over the summer and fall that developed the plan.

Highlights of the plan include lowering the state’s gas tax at the pumps from its current 16.75 cents to 10.75 cents, but it would add a six percent sales tax to gas sales at the wholesale level. Not only would the wholesale tax be passed on to the consumer by being added to the price of gas at the pump, but it would increase overall gas taxes paid by the end consumer. (If you reduce a tax by 6 cents, but add back a 6 percent tax, any price over $1 per gallon results in a tax increase. Low as gas prices are right now, they are still considerably more than $1.)

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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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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

S.C. House Road Plan Will Accomplish Nothing

A plan being discussed in the S.C. House to transfer state roads to counties will accomplish nothing in the way of improved maintenance.

Put forward by Rep. Gary Simrill who is chairing the House Transportation, Infrastructure, and Management Ad Hoc Committee, the plan would transfer approximately 50 percent of currently state maintained (or unmaintained as the case may be) roads to county responsibility.

Simrill’s proposal has some talk about fully funding the local government fund and increasing “C” funds, which are a small percentage of state gas tax revenues given back to the counties through County Transportation Committees.

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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

Interesting S.C. House Rule Changes

A recent organizational meeting of the S.C. House unanimously approved rule changes which could lead to interesting changes in the way that body operates.

Foremost among those changes is creation of a new Legislative Oversight Committee. This new committee will conduct oversight of the activities of all executive and Cabinet level agencies.

Newly elected Speaker Jay Lucas said the committee will allow the House to require true accountability from the many state agencies and spot potential problems before they rise to crisis levels. (Watch out DSS)

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Ethics Reform – Not So Fast

Ethics Reform House Committee Meets Monday

A specially appointed S.C. House Ethics and the Freedom of Information Act Study Committee met again Monday to continue discussion of ethics reform.

Two areas of concentration on the agenda are campaign finance reform and independent investigation of ethics complaints.

Limiting mileage and travel reimbursement and prohibition against immediate family members being hired by a campaign were discussed along with a prohibition against using campaign funds to pay fines, fees or other charges imposed by the ethics commission, ethics committee or criminal court.

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S.C. House to Review & Recommend Changes to How it Operates

(Columbia, SC) – Today, House Speaker Pro Tempore Jay Lucas – under his authority as Acting House Speaker – announced the formation of a new Ad Hoc Committee to review and recommend changes on how the House currently operates and manages itself. Comprised of 17 House Members, The House Rules & Procedures Review Committee will examine current practices and rules, hold public meetings, seek input from House Members and the public to identify ways the Legislative Body can be more transparent and accountable.

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Ethics Reform – Not So Fast

Watered Down Ethics Reform Bill Nears Approval

A very watered down ethics reform bill was reported out of conference committee Wednesday and received an overwhelming vote of yeas in the S.C. House yesterday.

The bill must be approved by the Senate before going to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk for signature.

But, the key measure needed for real ethics reform in South Carolina was left behind by the conference committee.

South Carolina’s legislators just can’t allow themselves to be at the mercy of an independent ethics commission, so the House and Senate Ethics Committees remain as the investigatory bodies for the state’s legislators.

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Ethics Reform – Not So Fast

Another Ethics Reform Failure

There is no ethics reform this year for South Carolina politicians because the S.C. Senate wasn’t interested in changing the way the ethics of its members is monitored.

Last summer, Gov. Nikki Haley ran around the state, accompanied by Attorney General Alan Wilson, trumpeting the need to tighten ethics laws in the state and overhaul the way in which ethics oversight is accomplished.

That no bill was passed in the General Assembly this year says everything that needs to be said about the way in which the state is governed.

The 1895 Constitution, which governs the state, places all real power in the General Assembly. If it doesn’t want to act, no force on earth can make it.

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Bill Fixes Election Filing Requirements

The South Carolina Senate moved quickly in this new session to clear up candidate election filing requirements so that, hopefully, another filing disaster, like the one that occurred for the 2012 general elections, will be avoided.

Under the new rules, incumbents and challengers both must file a Statement of Economic Interests electronically with the S.C. Ethics Commission prior to filing a Statement of Intention of Candidacy or Nomination for Petition.

A party executive committee may not accept a SIC unless the committee has verified that the candidate has electronically filed a SEI.

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