Saturday, legislators from across the South will be meeting in Charleston for the 64th annual Southern Legislative Conference so that they might return to their respective states with a little better ideas as to how to tackle issues that address the region. Off the top of our heads, some things that have needed attention for years are the neglect of public schools since desegregation, really trying to do more to move beyond manufacturing for a job base and totally restructuring the tax system. Alabama is really bad about this, since its constitution is even worse than ours, but South Carolina is doing things with the Taxation Realignment Commission. Maybe some lessons can be taken from that.
Beyond the event being held in the Lowcountry, South Carolina flavor is all over this year’s conference. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell is the conference chairman, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will speak at the opening plenary session, while U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn will hold court at the closing plenary. The conference, which was paid for by donations from businesses, is expected to generate about $3.5 million for the local economy.
“This event will bring in thousands of new visitors and will create a multi-million dollar economic boost for our state,” Harrell said in a statement. “For many of the conference guests, this will be their first trip to our state and we hope our hospitality makes return visitors out of many of them.”
Part of the conference is indeed showing off local attractions — Charles Towne Landing, the South Carolina Aquarium, Dunes West (which we haven’t been to in 19 years, but it must still be nice, right?), the Culinary Institute of Charleston and nearby museums, among other things. That makes it seem like a relaxing few days in the Holy City, with some meetings in between. Oh, ho, would that be a mistake assumption. A cursory look at the agenda shows that, yeah, this means all sorts of work. Committees here and committees there on every type of public policy, meetings on this, that and the other. They’re going to have to play nine at Dunes West just to readjust.
And — oh, yeah — Darius Rucker is playing.
The S.C. Economic Development Competitiveness Act, chief sponsored by Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell, made it to the end of its long journey this week as the General Assembly adopted the conference committee report. The legislation came out in January as the end result of a committee of South Carolina economic leaders, and passed the House for the first time in March.
It covered all manner of economic incentives, including the elimination of the state corporate income tax (the tax cut was later eliminated). When the bill was introduced, committee member Burnie Maybank explained some other provisions of the new law.
The bill would have counties to be ranked for incentives based on per-capita income and unemployment rates, as they once were. Maybank says the measure would funnel up to $30 million in lottery funds going to the Centers For Excellence to pay for professors at South Carolina’s three major research universities, to support large industry.
Maybank says his group repealed the military base closure provisions, which were written 16 years ago after the Charleston Naval Base closed. The provisions provided that manufacturers that located in roughly half the counties in the state would receive an investment tax credit.
“What we did is make the entire state eligible for an investment tax credit,” said Maybank. “Now a manufacturer in Greenville and Spartanburg is now entitled to it.”
At the time, Harrell said, “This job creation strategy was created by private sector input, because it’s the private sector – not government – that must lead us out of these difficult economic times.”
This week in the House, a couple of bills that had been working their way through the General Assembly found paydirt. One was the bill on warrantless searches, and the other had to do with driver’s licenses and high school dropouts.
Wednesday, it took two tries, but the House overrode Gov. Mark Sanford‘s veto on warrantless searches, 74-37. The idea behind the bill was to allow law enforcement officers to conduct searches of the body and vehicle of people on probation and parole without having to go back to a judge for permission. One part of the bill though, is that it doesn’t allow for searches of a residence. The idea is to stop repeat offenders.
Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell said in a statement:
These searches are completely warranted because convicted offenders on parole are serving out their remaining sentence in the public in lieu of jail. If a convicted criminal doesn’t wish to be subjected to searches as a condition to being released early, they can choose to remain behind bars.
This bill will make sure violent repeat criminals stay where they belong — behind bars. This new crime legislation will give our state’s law enforcement officers another tool to better protect our citizens and make our community a safer place to live.
All too often, we have seen violent crimes committed by repeat offenders who have run unchecked on our city streets. Recent tragedies our community has suffered at the hands of such repeat offenders highlights the need for new, tougher crime laws that defend the rights of law-abiding citizens, instead of protecting those of career criminals intent on doing harm.
Rep. Joe McEachern, in voting for the bill, said to the AP, “I didn’t intend to be the deciding vote on this, but I did intend to vote for it, because of my convictions. Some think of this as giving power to the police. I look at it differently. I believe we are empowering our communities.”
With the Senate already overriding the veto, it now becomes law without the Governor’s signature.
The other bill was one as a stick, rather than carrot, to make sure students don’t drop out of school. Under the bill, students who drop out of school or skip school too often will find their driver’s licenses suspended. If it works, then more students will decided that suffering through Algebra 2 is better than losing one’s right to legally drive.
The bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Tom Young, said in a statement, “The dropout rate perpetuates social ills such as crime, teenage pregnancy, infant mortality juvenile delinquency and high unemployment. This legislation is not the ‘silver bullet’ to the problem but it is a positive step toward encouraging young people to stay in school and get at least a high school education.”
Harrell added, “Dropout rates in South Carolina are far too high and this is a persuasive tool we can use to turn those numbers around. Under this graduation plan drafted by Rep. Tom Young, students will see an immediate consequence for dropping out of high school. Unfortunately, many students do not recognize the long term effect on their lives that dropping out of high school causes.”
The SCDL bill made it before the crossover deadline, so it will move on to the Senate with the expectation of being passed.
The layman could look and see that the 50-cent increase in the cigarette tax passed both the House and Senate, and think that it’s a for-sure thing. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. One major stumbling block is that squawking lame duck, Gov. Mark Sanford. Sanford’s talked a good game about raising the cigarette tax, but he’s always been against whatever had a decent chance of becoming law.
Then there’s the specifics of the bill itself. Coming out of the Senate, it was 20 cents more than the original proposal by the House Republicans. In The State last Thursday, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell said, “At 30 cents, the House was very likely to override a veto. I’m not so sure at 50 cents.”
We’re of a similar mind on it. Rep. Gary Simrill also said that a 50-cent increase wouldn’t survive. And then there’s the money to go to infrastructure along the I-95 corridor. The inclusion of this to the bill was key to getting Democratic support in the Senate, and getting the bill passed with a better than two-thirds majority. Unsurprisingly, the House took that bit out of the bill.
So, here we are, back at the beginning. From the way we look at it, there’s no way the Senate can get enough votes to override the veto without the I-95 corridor funding. And there’s no way the House can vote to override with the tax increase at 50 cents and with the I-95 funding. And Sanford will veto regardless.
Unless legislators pull out some serious compromise vibes, the General Assembly will be returning to this issue next year.
Even though the Senate passed a 50-cent cigarette tax increase, whether it will get out of the House and survive a veto override is increasingly looking in doubt. Fifty cents was a bit higher than what some wanted — 30 cents had looked more likely — and money designated for development of the I-95 corridor could be another weighty anchor.
For far too long, legislators have been unable to agree on the bill, despite solid majorities that want to raise it. The sticking points have always been in how the money is appropriated. Even Gov. Mark Sanford has expressed his support for raising the tax, wanting to veto every bill that would make it out of the General Assembly. Even now, there’s a palpable sense of frustration. House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Cooper said in The State, “I think they are tired of talking about it. Tired of being questioned about it.”
The tripping point appears to lie with Senate Minority Leader John Land, who led the fight among Democrats to get the I-95 money in the bill. What is probably likely is that the bill will be passed by the House without the cash. On the GOP side, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell has been fighting to primarily use the dollars raised to help small businesses afford health care. That would lead to some serious horse-trading when the legislation reaches conference committee.
This bill needs to go through. It’s incumbent on the members of the General Assembly to make whatever compromises are necessary to get it through and organize to override the expected veto.
The tobacco industry has dumped all sorts of money into South Carolina over the past few years to put the kibosh on raising the cigarette tax in this state, which has led to some truly idiotic statements by the S.C. Policy Council, Atty. Gen. Henry McMaster and the child. At least some smarter people — among them, Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell — prevailed, and a vote to remove the 30-cent tax increase from the state budget failed 106-12.
South Carolina’s 7 cents-per-pack cigarette tax is the nation’s lowest and has not changed since 1977. A 30-cent increase would make the tax equal to Georgia’s and still 8 cents-per-pack cheaper than North Carolina’s. Nationwide, the average state cigarette tax is $1.34 per pack, with Rhode Island ranking first at $3.46.
Hopefully the Senate will go along with the proposal, and South Carolina can move on from yet another national embarrassment.
Have you texted while driving? WTF is wrong with you? Talking on a cell phone in the car, taking the wheel while tipsy and getting more baked than a loaf of bread before hitting the roads scares us less than watching someone whip out their phone and start texting in the driver’s seat. H. 4282 was passed by the House on Wednesday by a vote of 98-18, making it a crime to act in such a behavior.
Unfortunately, amendments diluted penalties in the bill (because legislators want to keep texting while driving?), but it’s a good first step in the right direction in a state known for its dangerous highways.
“As technology changes so must our laws,” Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell said in a statement. “Our state’s teen drivers are the most avid cell phone users and the most inexperienced drivers on the road. The combination of the two is a formula for disaster. Multiple studies have clearly demonstrated the dangers of distracted driving — several concluding it to be more hazardous than drunk driving.”
If you would have told us that a tort reform bill would pass a chamber of the General Assembly without a days-long debate and a close vote, we never would have believed you. But, it happened on Wednesday when H. 3489 made its way out of the House with a resounding 104-9 vote. Only Reps. Curtis Brantley, Wendell Gilliard, Chris Hart, Doug Jennings, John King, David Mack, Joe Neal, Todd Rutherford and Seth Whipper voted against it.
Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell, who was the chief sponsor of the bill, said in a statement, “This lawsuit abuse reform bill will provide the same fair balance and results our successful Medical Tort Reform efforts produced a few years ago. Businesses will be able to operate and grow without the constant threat of a costly frivolous lawsuit or overly inflated settlement putting them out of business. With the fair balance this system creates, businesses will still be held accountable and our citizens will be protected from wrongdoing.”
The Senate is always a different kettle of fish from the House, but considering the vote was so much in favor, we’d hazard to guess that the bill will move through the Senate without too many problems.
It was a rough day in the House on Wednesday, when debate about the warrantless search bill, S. 191, chief sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell and championed in the House by Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell, came to the floor and was debated for well on three hours. We’re big proponents of civil liberties, but this bill definitely seems to be needed.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that people convicted of a crime are likely to commit future crimes.
The bill allows warrantless searches for people on probation and parole, including juveniles, and the vehicles they own and drive. It would not allow the searches in their homes.
Officers would have to verify the person is on probation or parole before they search them. Offenders convicted of misdemeanors that carry jail sentences less than a year would not be subjected to the warrantless searches.
The state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services would have to review records of who is searched for any patterns of abuse.
A solid number of representatives approved the bill, which passed 81-26. It should receive easy passage on third reading and sail through the Senate when the upper chamber takes up the House’s changes. Unless something changes between now and the Senate vote, the bill is in position to be signed into law this year.
Upon the passage, Harrell said in a statement, “If a convicted criminal does get probation, that offender should still be subject to searches during this period. These offenders are serving out their remaining sentence in the public in lieu of jail; therefore these searches are completely warranted. Also, if a repeat offender is charged with a new crime, our judges should be able to consider that fact and have the authority to deny dangerous suspects bail.”
The bill is on the calendar for Thursday for third reading.
A tort reform bill sponsored by Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell is one step closer to being passed out of the lower chamber and making progress from groundwork that was lain in 2009. Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee passed the bill out of committee favorably with amendment.
H. 3489, the “South Carolina Fairness in Civil Justice Act of 2009,” is slated to come up Thursday during the second reading of uncontested bills. However, it’s unlikely it will remain uncontested for long and will be reclassified when the time comes up.
