Ports Authority bill steams out of the harbor

After getting approval in subcommittee on Monday, Sens. Larry Grooms‘ and Glenn McConnell’s bill to restructure the State Ports Authority got the OK from the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

As reported here previously, the bill brings significant changes to the SPA, including requirements for serving on the board and mandating that a board member could only be removed for cause.

Another change is the addition of an advisory committee, which will act as the eyes and ears of the public and report back to the General Assembly.

“The S.C. Senate realizes that we need to run the SPA more like a business with the strictest accountability, stability, and transparency,” Grooms said in a statement. “This restructuring bill ensures that we have a long-term strategic plan to create jobs for South Carolina.”

As for Democratic support once the bill hits the Senate floor, that is still up in the air.

“We’re still kind of going through it,” Phil Bailey, of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said. “Everybody agrees that there’s a massive problem with the State Ports Authority. There’s some thought, even within the Democratic Caucus, that privatization might be an answer. There’s other thoughts floating around that the entire board just needs to be scrapped and be replaced.”

Bailey said that the Democrats are waiting for a plan from the stakeholders in the port before they move on a position.

The bill still has a long way to go. Gov. Mark Sanford has already expressed his displeasure with the proposals, and if the bill makes the long journey to his desk, it could set up another veto fight.

“Whatever the issues are with the port, taking away the governor’s ability to fire board members doesn’t fix anything and makes it potentially worse,” Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said to The Post and Courier.