Reform and Restructuring

Passing Bad Provisos into Permanent Law

S 418: This bill has already received a favorable committee report, in spite of the fact that it doesn’t yet have any content – literally. Expect legislators to stuff it full of pet projects and pork before it hits the floor in 2012 – and all those bad provisos we report on every year will simply disappear into the permanent code.

 

Putting the Governor and Lieutenant Governor on the Same Ticket

H 3152: Several restructuring bills introduced this year would strengthen the Executive Branch – a much-needed reform in a state dominated by the Legislature. This joint resolution would initiate the process of amending the state constitution so as to provide for the joint election of the governor and the lieutenant governor.

 

 Governor Appoints Superintendent of Education

H 3070: This joint resolution would initiate the process of amending the state constitution so as to authorize the governor to appoint the superintendent of education. Legislators introduced similar bills aimed at reducing the number of elected constitutional officers, such as H 3071 and H 3072.

 

Creating an Office of Inspector General

S 258: This bill would statutorily establish the position of inspector general. The inspector general would be appointed by the governor for a four-year term and tasked with “investigating and addressing allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, misconduct, violations of state or federal law, and wrongdoing in agencies.” The law gives the inspector general authority to conduct investigations and offer policy recommendations aimed at rooting out government corruption and waste. It also requires him to report all alleged crimes to the governor and law enforcement. This law would apparently supersede the governor’s own executive order establishing the Office of Inspector General.

 

Shortening Session

H 3889 and H 3890: South Carolina has the longest legislative session in the Southeast (we’re tied with Tennessee), and the sixth longest in the nation (tied with seven other states). Longer sessions mean legislators spend more face time with lobbyists and less with constituents, and they mean higher administrative costs and more per diem expenses. The first of these measures would shorten session by one month, from the first Thursday in June to the first Tuesday in May. The second would initiate the process of amending the constitution in order to move forward the start of session from the second Tuesday of January to the second Tuesday of February. Both measures failed to emerge from committee.

 

Biennial Session

S 173: This joint resolution would begin the process of amending the constitution to implement a biennial session.

 

Prohibiting Taxpayer Funded Lobbying

H 3175: This bill would prohibit every agency from using state funds to engage in lobbying activities. In the meantime, the General Assembly passed a budget proviso (90.20) that forbids agencies from using General Fund appropriations on lobbying activities. Agencies may still use Other Funds revenue for such purposes. A related bill, H 4309, would prohibit school board associations and similar bodies from funding lobbying activities.

 

Eliminating the Budget and Control Board

H.3066:  Originally, this bill would have created a Department of Administration, created three new sub-agencies to take over some of the Budget and Control Board functions, and yet kept the Board intact – thus duplicating government rather than consolidating and limiting it. But the Senate radically amended the legislation to include a measure abolishing the Board altogether. Details aside, eliminating the Budget and Control Board is a significant step in the right direction. But much remains to be done. As our report on the subject showed in more detail, abolishing the Board should also mean requiring the governor to write a robust executive budget, forcing the Legislature to take responsibility for making targeted budget cuts and authorizing bond debt, and requiring more transparency and better fiscal impact analysis from the Office of State Budget.

*Update 1/20/12*  See our updated report regarding this legislation.

 

Limiting the Influence of Lobbyists

4660:  This bill, aimed at stamping out the influence of money and lobbyists on politics, prohibits the following:

1. The Governor, any constitutional officer, any member of the General Assembly, or executive directors from organizing political action committees.
2. Lobbyists from giving contributions to General Assembly or statewide constitutional members during the legislative session, and prohibits lobbyists from ever contributing to a state official if he/she lobbies that person’s office or public body.
3. General Assembly members or statewide officials from accepting any contribution during the legislative session. It adds new disclosure requirements, by requiring statewide or GA candidates to disclose campaign contributions online within 5 days of receiving them.

The bill increases the individual contribution limits from $3,500 for a statewide election and $1,000 for another office to $5,000 and $2,500. Lobbyists in this state have far too much power. Restricting their ability to influence politics with money is one step, but another idea would be to strengthen restrictions on former lawmakers becoming lobbyists themselves.

 

Campaign Gift and Donation Reform

H. 4673:  This bill proposes a series of reforms regarding campaign gifts and donations to public officials while those officials are in office. It requires that officeholders disclose gifts of air travel (or any other thing of value above $25/day) if the gift was given because of the office held, because the giver is seeking a state contract, or because the officeholder oversees business regulated by the state.

This bill also increases the amount of time that a public official must wait after leaving office before they can begin lobbying the agency they served in or worked with, from one year to three years.

Lastly, the bill restricts any donation to a committee or ballot measure committee that is 1) made under threat of job reprisals, 2) made as a condition of employment or union membership, 3) solicited without informing the employee of its use, or 4) solicited by any organization that is not the committee itself. It also makes it illegal for any public official or appointee to make a donation to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, a member of the general assembly, or other statewide officer during the official’s term (or up to one year after their term is over).

These are all critical reforms that will help keep financial self-interest out of political decision-making. When officeholders can coerce public employees into making donations on their behalf, or accept large gifts from donors who are angling for business with the state, there’s very little reason to believe the lawmakers are making decisions in the best interest of citizens.

 

Changes to the Appointment Procedures for the Rural Infrastructure Authority

H. 4664:  This bill makes minor modifications to the appointment procedures for the Rural Infrastructure Authority. If passed, the six county representatives on the board (appointed by various public officials) may reside in or represent part of the counties that they represent on the board, and may be members of the general assembly, serving on the board ex officio.

 

Stripping DHEC’s Authority over the Savannah River

H.4627:  This bill strips the Department of Health and Environmental Control authority from decisions related to the use of the Savannah River because the authority of the Savannah River Maritime Commission supersedes that of DHEC.  Decisions related to the Savannah River should lie in the Executive branch, not with a Maritime Commission comprised of twelve politicians.