Ports Authority bill passes Senate, moves on to House
Wednesday, the Senate passed Sen. Larry Grooms‘ bill to restructure the administration and governance of the State Ports Authority, effectively stripping the Governor of most of his power over the SPA and providing greater legislative oversight.
The bill mandates that gubernatorial appointments to the nine-member board meet certain qualifications, provides for seats for a number of community and industry interests that are involved with the ports and requires that the Governor show cause if removing a member of the board.
“Change is coming,” Sen. Glenn McConnell said in a statement. “Let’s not look back at old political battles. Let’s be about the businesses of creating opportunity, hope, and quality of life. Our port has distinct advantages and unique features that make it attractive to customers across the globe. We’ve refocused the port and set it on a new course where professionalism is the rudder.”
In addition, there are provisions that have the SPA continue in creating the North Charleston container port and a port in Jasper County.
Gov. Mark Sanford has repeatedly said that he does not support this bill, and reiterated his case when the bill passed second reading on Tuesday.
“For all the talk in the Senate about the importance of accountability at the Ports Authority, it’s hard to imagine something doing more harm to the responsiveness and transparency of that agency than this change,” Sanford said in a statement. “It’s very interesting that the very same people who make the argument that the Ports Authority needs a change of direction are the same people who want so much to take away a governor’s role in indeed making those changes. On the other hand, we’d give great credit to Sens. [Tom] Davis, [Chip] Campsen, [Mike] Rose and many others who stood firm for the idea of accountability and clear lines of authority. To that end, we’re hopeful that Rep. [Jimmy] Merrill’s idea of getting rid of the board structure entirely and simply having a governor appoint the director of the Ports Authority advances on the House side.”
