The Good, the Bad, the Improvable, & the Shockingly Egregious
PRE-FILED LEGISLATION, ROUND 1 GOOD: Prohibiting Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying H.3152 would make it unlawful for a state entity to spend public money on a lobbyist. Taxpayer-funded lobbying is one of the key drivers of budget increases as it essentially gives money to people who in turn use that money to try to influence an increase in [...]
Best & Worst of the General Assembly
IT’S HERE! The 2012 edition of The Best and Worst of the General Assembly, our annual guide to the legislature’s accomplishments and misadventures, is here. In it, we highlight the year’s most important legislation and give each bill a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” We base our judgments on a single criterion – whether or not the bill [...]
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 [...]
What to watch in 2012
The new legislative session has officially begun, and scores of bills are scheduled for consideration. Here are just a few we’re keeping our eyes on. TRANSPARENCY H.4432 wouldn’t kill the “incentives racket” whereby well-positioned companies lobby for, and get, millions in taxpayer-supported favors that don’t apply to their competitors. What it would do is bring [...]
Best & Worst of 2011
With the official end of the 2011 legislative session, we’re releasing the third installment in our annual series chronicling the best and worst legislation of the year.
The South Carolina General Assembly takes up a bewildering array of bills every year, and it’s beyond the capacity of even informed citizens to keep up with them all. With that in mind, the Policy Council provides here a review of significant bills and resolutions for the 2011 session. Our list isn’t exhaustive – and, for the sake of readability, is briefer than in past years – but it does cover major legislation on spending, taxation, economic development, education, health care, and government reform and restructuring.
Best and Worst of the 2011 Session Prefiled Bills
With a new session comes more opportunities for the General Assembly to pass legislation impacting the lives of South Carolinians. As the stimulus money comes off the books this year, the legislative session is expected to focus on how to fill the gap. As can be expected, there are a variety of good and bad bills that attempt to fix that problem.
Best & Worst Preview: 2010
In preparation for the release of our annual Best & Worst legislative review next week, here is a preview of the best of the best and the worst of the worst of 2010. If anything, legislators outdid themselves in 2010 by increasing spending, refusing to record votes and raising taxes. They also failed to pass any form of education or health care reform.
The Way Too Early Best and Worst of 2010: A Look at What’s Ahead in the Senate
Last week, we indicated which prefiled bills in the House deserved special mention. Now, we turn to the Senate. Perhaps because it’s an election year, or perhaps because they’ve been paying attention, senators prefiled a variety of good bills that merit consideration in 2010. Still, there are more than enough bad bills to be wary [...]
The Way Too Early Best and Worst of 2010: A Look at What’s Ahead in the House
Christmas comes early every year in the Statehouse, as legislators who just can’t wait until January start prefiling bills. Like most of the ideas in the General Assembly, there are a whole lot more bad than good. But it’s interesting to look at what bills were prefiled as the 2010 House session begins today. [...]
The Best and Worst to Come: A Review of Restructuring Legislation for 2009-2010
As we review the best and worst restructuring legislation of 2009, it’s also time to begin to consider what ideas are likely to resurface during the 2010 session. “Restructuring” generally refers to reforms designed to bring about a more equitable balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of state government. In South Carolina, the legislative [...]