Research

  • SCPC, partners win Heritage Innovation Prize for joint education project

    A project led by the S.C. Policy Council and partner think tanks that serves student-focused school board members received a prestigious honor this week. Our initiative – the Carolinas Academic Leadership Network (CALN) – was awarded the Heritage Foundation Innovation Prize on Monday before a packed house of conservative leaders in...
    Bryce Fiedler

    Written by
    May 22, 2024

  • 2024 session review: Making headway on much-needed reforms

    As we close out the second half of the 2023-24 regular session, South Carolina is pressing forward with changes to advance liberty, provide tax relief, and increase government transparency, among other improvements. Several of these measures are now signed into law, while others are just shy of the finish line.  ...
    Bryce Fiedler

    Written by
    May 18, 2024

  • SCPC, SCPIF respond to Commerce’s spin on Scout ethics complaint

    MEDIA RELEASE May 16, 2024 The following is a joint statement issued by the South Carolina Policy Council and South Carolina Public Interest Foundation in response to a recent opinion column submitted by S.C. Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey to at least two news outlets in the state:
    Bryce Fiedler

    Written by
    May 16, 2024

  • Statehouse Update May 7-9

    Update 5/10/24: Adjustments were made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred during the week. This marks the final week South Carolina’s regular legislative session. With the exception of matters allowed by this year’s sine die resolution, such as the budget or legislation sent to conference committee, bills that...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    May 08, 2024

  • Getting the most tax relief out of the FY25 budget

    Update 6/21/24: After weeks of negotiations between House and Senate leaders, a budget conference committee on Friday advanced a compromise FY25 state appropriations bill that will accelerate this year's income tax reduction, taking the top rate from 6.4% to 6.2%. However, the House proposal to provide one-time property tax credits,...
    Bryce Fiedler

    Written by
    May 07, 2024

  • Statehouse Update Apr 30-May 2

    Update 5/2/24: Several adjustments were made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred during the week. It is the second to last week of South Carolina’s regular legislative session. The big topic ahead is judicial reform, as a bill offering numerous improvements to our state’s judicial selection process is in...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    April 30, 2024

  • Poll: SCPC readers strongly favor tax and judicial reforms, expanding school choice

    Major policy reforms sit at critical junctures in the S.C. Statehouse. With less than two weeks left in the regular 2023-24 legislative session, we found that many have the strong support of South Carolinians hoping to see them cross the finish line.  The data comes from an internal survey of...
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    April 30, 2024

  • Release: SC Policy Council, SC Public Interest Foundation file ethics complaint against Scout Motors

    MEDIA RELEASE April 29, 2024 The South Carolina Policy Council and South Carolina Public Interest Foundation have jointly requested that the S.C. State Ethics Commission investigate whether Scout Motors Inc. violated state ethics law in connection with the nearly $1.3 billion state appropriation last year for the company’s assembly plant...
    Bryce Fiedler

    Written by
    April 29, 2024

  • Open enrollment bill would increase student opportunity, parental choice

    It is no secret that South Carolina lags behind much of the nation in education. A recent ranking by the U.S. News & World Report put our school system at 42nd in the United States. With the influx of people moving into the Southeast from other states, work must be...
    William Morton

    Written by
    April 26, 2024

  • EVENT: School Board Candidates and Community⁠⁠ Primer

    *Calling all school board members, candidates, and concerned Carolinians!*  Do you care about the state of education in your school district? Are you concerned for the students who are being brought up in A Nation At Risk? Whether you are a seasoned school board member, a new-to-advocacy community member, or anything...
    Bryce Fiedler

    Written by
    April 26, 2024