TALLY SHEET: Roads and more
Few major bills introduced this week. Four in our listing focus on roads, grandparents and animal abuse.
View ArticleBRIEF: Backing the USSR
State Rep. Jim Merrill called for the Universal Service Fund (USF) to be changed to the “Universal Super-Secret Remittance” tax. Or, in Merrill’s tongue-in-cheek words, “the U-S-S-R tax.”
View ArticleBRIEFS: Middle class shrinking; SCDP has new director
A startling new report this week by the Pew Research Center highlighted how the middle class has gotten smaller in about nine out of 10 metropolitan areas in the United States. The story is much the...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Budget conference, ethics awards
House and Senate budget conferees are scheduled to start meeting to work out compromises between differing provisions of the state’s $7.5 billion budget. Also: Martin, Finlay receive ethics awards.
View ArticleBRIEFS: Senate considering roads again, high gun deaths in S.C.
Staff reports | The state Senate may not concur with a House bill for $2 billion in borrowing for roads after the House amended a Senate bill that took two years for the upper chamber to approve. Also...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Lawmakers say goodbye to chamber
Staff reports | More than a dozen state lawmakers said goodbye over the last week as the General Assembly wound down its regular session.
View ArticleBRIEFS: On S.C.’s police culture, governor’s vetoes, residency
Staff reports | A series of four national opinion pieces critical of the state’s police culture has led to a rebuttal from the head of the State Law Enforcement Division. Also in Briefs: Gov. Nikki...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Whole lot a-shakin’ up goin’ on
While the “throw all the bums out” ethos hasn’t quite hit the Statehouse, some incumbents are still biting their fingernails. Here’s a rundown of what’s ahead June 28 during primary runoffs: In the...
View ArticleBRIEFS: On politics of abortion; outsider’s election analysis
Staff reports | Although the U.S. Supreme Court this week reaffirmed the constitutionality of abortion in a 5-3 decision described as the most sweeping in more than 20 years, don’t think that the...
View ArticleNEWS: State Senate will be a different place in January
News analysis by Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Next year’s South Carolina Senate will be different from any convening of senators in recent memory. Not only will there be eight new senators --...
View ArticleBRIEFS: News on tax reform, higher ed board spending
The ad hoc House committee on tax reform will meet for its second meeting at 11 a.m., Sept. 13, and likely will hear from state agencies on the impact of various tax reform alternatives. The meeting...
View ArticleNEWS: Remembering John Drummond
Staff reports | A lion of the state Senate, former Sen. John Drummond, died over the weekend at age 96, a number that is the same as his hometown, Ninety Six. For 44 years, he represented his community...
View ArticleNEWS: New data-driven website highlights health challenges
Staff reports | A robust new data-driven website collaboration offers tools to help people visualize the huge problems that South Carolina faces related its high rates of obesity and diabetes. It’s the...
View ArticleNEWS BRIEFS: On South Carolina’s business tax climate, voter registration
Staff reports | The Palmetto State’s business climate ranks 37th out of the 50 states, according to a framework of 2017 rankings from the Tax Foundation. The best overall ranking went to Wyoming, while...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Public input sought on tax policy; voter registration extended
Members of the public can give testimony at 11 a.m. Oct. 11 to the special House Tax Policy Review Committee in Room 110 of the Blatt Building on the Statehouse grounds in Columbia. Also inside: A...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Legislature to organize; New mystery’s S.C. political connection
The state Senate will meet Dec. 6 for an organization session following the November elections in which all 46 of state Senate seats are up for grabs. At least eight new state senators are expected to...
View ArticleBRIEFS: Allison, Hipp to be honored by Riley Institute
State Rep. Rita Allison, R-Spartanburg, and Liberty Fellows founder Hayne Hipp will receive leadership awards from Furman University’s Riley Institute at its annual January dinner named in honor of...
View ArticleBRIEFS: How did he know? And when did he know it?
By Bill Davis, senior editor | One of the biggest Republican winners from this week’s general election wasn’t even on the ballot: Lt. Gov. Henry Dargan McMaster. McMaster became the state’s most vocal...
View ArticleNEWS BRIEF: Bernie gives shout-out to S.C. progressives
Staff reports | U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent who ran a wildly-popular grassroots campaign for the Democratic nomination for president this year, gives a shout-out to South Carolina...
View ArticleBRIEF: Constitutional showdown over the next lieutenant governor?
Staff reports | Looks like there might be a showdown over how the state might get its next lieutenant governor if the current one, Henry McMaster, becomes governor when Gov. Nikki Haley is confirmed to...
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