The South Carolina Policy Council

Taking the Power Back

The citizens of South Carolina aren’t in control of their own government. Politicians are. It’s time to change that, and here’s how. (1) Restore judicial independence. The public deserves confidence that judges rule independently of the legislature whose laws they judge. South Carolina is the only state in the nation in which the legislature unilaterally [...]
UPDATE: The House version of the DOA bill

The House of Representatives has finally unveiled their amendment to the Department of Administration bill – after crafting it behind closed doors for more than two months. It sailed through the House in record time and has already gone back to the Senate. This House proposal finally eliminates the Budget and Control Board. The trouble [...]
An Interstate Compact: Serious option or political gesture?

State legislators eager to escape Obamacare’s restrictive mandates have united behind the interstate healthcare compact, a single piece of state legislation they expect to free them from having to obey federal law. S 836, recently passed in the Senate, would make South Carolina an official member of the interstate healthcare compact and associated advisory commission. [...]
School Choice in South Carolina: A (Very ) Short History

There are essentially two strategies in diplomatic negotiations. One is to ask for more than you know you’re likely to get, then to demand a portion of it and claim you’ve “compromised” on your original demand. The other is to make very modest demands and hope they’re met in full. Neither strategy has worked for [...]
The House Tax Plan: True Reform or Something Else?

As we’ve reported in the past, South Carolina’s tax rates are among the least competitive in the nation. Middle class families pay an inordinately high top rate, manufacturers are crippled by the state’s property tax (one of the highest in the nation), and our state’s byzantine system of exemptions keeps sales tax artificially high. And [...]

The Nerve

We created The Nerve because there isn’t enough independent reporting on government and the politicians who run it. We hired veteran South Carolina investigative reporters to cover the big stuff in Columbia. They’re very, very good. What makes The Nerve even better is the volunteers from all over the state who are our Citizen Reporters. They’ll [...]

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Our Declaration

Because the power of South Carolina’s government is concentrated in the hands of a few while accountability is diffused beyond citizens’ reach; and Because the heavy hand of government has caused our once-prosperous state to descend into poverty; and Because our state is heavily dependent upon the federal government for funding that comes with [...]

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Join us!

Membership in the South Carolina Policy Council is an investment in the future of South Carolina. The Policy Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that accepts no government funding. Instead, we rely on donors from across South Carolina — individuals, large and small businesses, and foundations — to support our work. Your contribution is tax deductible [...]

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About

Since 1986, the mission of the South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation has been to promote freedom, to protect freedom, and to prove that freedom works. We are dedicated to restoring citizens’ power and prosperity through limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty and responsibility.

No other organization can match the Policy Council’s success in assembling top national and state experts on issues affecting the taxpayers of South Carolina. That ability – the ability to bring new ideas to bear on policy debates and to create a broad base of support for market-based reforms – makes the Policy Council our state’s leader in turning sound ideas into optimal state policies.

The Policy Council was founded by one of South Carolina’s most admired and successful business leaders, the late Thomas A. Roe of Greenville. Tom envisioned an institution that could introduce the principles of limited government and free enterprise into current political debates by supplying elected leaders with credible and up-to-date research, ideas, and analysis.

The Policy Council is still committed to that goal. Over the past several years, SCPC has been at the center of debates over how to bring market-based reforms to South Carolina state government. Indeed, even the opponents of limited government and economic freedom concede that the Policy Council is the premier research institution advocating those principles.

Commentary

Unemployment has fallen – but why?

Eat Your Vegetables!

The Best and the Worst of the Executive Budget

State Government Charges for Public Information

Freedom of Information Not Quite Free

Pointless DoT Restructuring?

Government De-Structuring?

Government restructuring – Reform or status quo?

I-95 Agency Meets Its Fate?

Let the Spending Begin!

Unemployment has fallen – but why?

Well, we’ve seen an uptick in employment, or a downtick in unemployment – however you want to think about it. With an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, South Carolina now ranks at number 42. Over the next several weeks, therefore, you’re likely to hear South Carolina politicians crowing about how their efforts at job [...]

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Eat Your Vegetables!

Most of us remember a time when our parents encouraged us to eat healthy things like fresh vegetables, and discouraged us from eating too much processed and otherwise “fast” food. Now, with obesity constantly in the news and culinary celebrities like Jamie Oliver publicizing the ills of unhealthy eating, government officials are beginning to pressure [...]

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The Best and the Worst of the Executive Budget

The law stipulates the governor write the budget and that the General Assembly amend this document. Therefore, the governor is responsible for outlining the state’s spending priorities. Instead of curbing the unsustainable growth of government South Carolina endured over the last decade, the governor proposed the largest budget in state history. The governor’s budget increases [...]

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State Government Charges for Public Information

Despite constant proclamations from state officials about their commitment to transparency, the Policy Council and The Nerve have thoroughly documented how difficult it is in South Carolina to get state employees to turn over public documents. The more deeply that citizens get involved in state government, the more critical it is that they have access to the information mandated by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Freedom of information is the only thing that can keep lawmakers directly accountable to private citizens, journalists, and other entities that serve the public interest.

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Freedom of Information Not Quite Free

See the Nerve’s Rick Brundrett discuss South Carolina’s FOIA laws on WCBD. Read his latest article on the subject here!

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Pointless DoT Restructuring?

With all of Columbia abuzz about government restructuring, H.4625 has passed through the House Judicial Committee without incident. As the Department of Transportation’s budget woes have come to light, state lawmakers have decided that the time has come to fix the Department’s structure of governance (though no move has been made so far to actually [...]

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Government De-Structuring?

Yesterday the Senate passed what many are calling the most significant restructuring plan this state has seen in decades. By a vote of 44-0, the South Carolina Senate passed H.3066 – a bill creating a Department of Administration and dissolving the anomaly that was the state Budget and Control Board. Unfortunately – and despite all [...]

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Government restructuring – Reform or status quo?

South Carolina elected officials claim to be restructuring government, but is anything changing? Are we moving toward real separation of powers, or is the status quo being preserved? Below are the major problems with the current plan, and the solutions that would finally make South Carolina’s government fully accountable to the citizens. Bonding authority Problem: [...]

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I-95 Agency Meets Its Fate?

What should be done about poverty along the I-95 Corridor? Last year a handful of state lawmakers had a bright idea: What the “Corridor of Shame” really needs is another state agency. They passed a bill creating the I-95 Corridor Authority, but the governor vetoed it – leaving the Authority in limbo. SCPC gave our members [...]

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Let the Spending Begin!

The state budget process gets into full swing, according to state law, on January 10th. That’s the date by which the governor is required to submit her executive budget to the legislature. The Senate and House appropriations committees, in turn, are required to hold joint open hearings on her budget five days later. But in [...]

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