Capitol Information Affiliates, LLC
Volume XXVII Issue 16
May 9, 2015
Senate Completes Work on H.3701
House Committees Focus on Environmental Issues
Senate on the Budget
Monday
The Senate began budget deliberations Monday afternoon. Chairman Leatherman made opening
comments. He applauded Chairman White and the members of the Ways and Means committee for their
work. He indicated that members on the House floor caused a problem with education. “Our state is at a
turning point in funding education. Technology has changed things. Outstanding student loans are
higher than national credit card debt now. The classrooms of yesteryear just won’t cut it.” He spoke
about training the state workforce. He said the bond bill provides for higher education and National
Guard armories. He added that they had a reasonable budget plan and added, “This budget is a
compromise. Compromise is not a dirty word.”
Chair Reports
Senator Hayes presented the K-12 education budget. There were no questions. Senator Courson
presented the higher education budget. Senator Massey asked about salary increases for several
university presidents. Courson said salary increases were not discussed. Massey commented that pay
increases and lobbying go hand-in-hand. Courson again said he had no discussions on salary increases.
Massey point out which university presidents were receiving pay increases. Senator Thurmond asked
Courson how he felt about the Bond Bill and said it seemed to him that “We are putting the cart before
the horse.” Courson said the House Bond Bill collapsed and indicated it was because the House bill had
become a “Christmas tree.” He pointed out the Senate bill was only higher education and armories.
Thurmond said, “We don’t have confidence that this bill will pass.” Courson said there were lines in the
Appropriations Bill if the Bond Bill does not pass. Thurmond asked if he was comfortable knowing that
the Governor will veto the Bond Bill. Courson said he did not know how the Senate would vote or how
the House would react. Senator Matthews presented his report. He explained the portion of the funding
from the automobile sales tax increase that would go to the Department of Transportation to be given to
the State Infrastructure Bank. The money would be leveraged to provide maintenance for roads and
bridges. Massey clarified that there would be no new projects. Senator Cromer had a death in the family
so Senator Nicholson made his Cromer’s report. Senator Fair made his committee report.
Amendments
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Very few amendments were adopted Monday. Senator Leatherman offered an amendment which was
adopted to clarify the order for funding items with surplus revenue. Senator Hayes offered an
amendment which was adopted to include autism funding under the Education Oversight Committee.
Senator Alexander offered an amendment which was adopted on PEBA funding of specific employees.
Senator Grooms offered an amendment for a new proviso which was adopted. It allows the Department
of Public Safety to continue partnering with the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy program. A technical
amendment was adopted. Many amendments were carried over for various reasons.
Second Reading
Senator Leatherman made the motion to give the bill second reading carrying over all amendments to
third with all members reserving their rights. Senator Bright objected. Senator Malloy made the same
motion adding the right to raise points of order regardless of the degree. Bright objected.
Senator Fair offered an amendment on cell phone interdiction and retrieval which was adopted. Multiple
amendments were carried over. The Senate receded for 15 minutes. Senator Grooms offered an
amendment to reinsert the definition of abstinence accidently struck by the House. It was adopted.
Senator Peeler amended the bill striking proviso 117.129 on bingo. Bright offered an amendment which
was adopted. This new proviso requires approval of local government on refugee placements in South
Carolina. He said a refugee center had just been approved for Spartanburg. He said the FBI would not
guarantee the absence of terrorists.
Malloy made the motion to give the bill second reading carrying over all amendments and until third
reading with all members reserving the right to raise any points of order and to offer further amendments
without regard to questions of degree and that the Senate stand adjourned. His motion passed.
Tuesday
DOT Sunset
Senator Shane Martin offered an amendment which was adopted. The amendment allows school districts
to use state money for reading coaches. Several amendments were carried over before Senator Larry
Martin offered an amendment to sunset the Secretary of Transportation this year. “If this doesn’t pass,
the commission will have to appoint an executive director. The best way to address this is to suspend the
statute,” said Martin. Senator Sheheen raised the point that the amendment does not raise or spend
revenue. Martin said the DOT spends money and thus the amendment was germane. Lt. Governor
McMaster overruled the point of order. Larry Martin spoke on the amendment. Shane Martin also spoke
saying if the amendment does not pass they will go back to commission appointments. Larry Martin said
the governor’s office needed to remain in charge. He called the amendment “a rifle shot at the sunset
provision.” Senator Cleary said they did not debate the issue in committee because they wanted it to be
debated on the floor. Senator Davis supported the amendment. He said he did not think there was a lot of
confidence for DOT reform. He said there were many functions in the state that should be under
executive management. “This is probably the only chance we will have this year to deal with this,” said
Davis. Senator Leatherman was bothered that Davis cast aspersions on the Finance committee. Senator
Setzler said there was no amendment offered in committee from either side of the issue. Shane Martin
speaking on the Davis amendment said that they needed to see more DOT reform. Senators Scott,
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Campsen and Larry Martin discussed the lack of restructuring and the possibility of reverting back to the
2007 commission system. Martin said, “If we vote this down, we will send a message out that we don’t
want reform.” Martin said he could not vote for the bill without this provision. Senator Gregory asked
for clarification on what would happen without the proviso and Martin said the commission would
appoint the Secretary of Transportation instead of the Governor. Gregory said that would be highly
political. Setzler said they should adopt the amendment and set the road bill for special order. The bill
was carried over.
The Senate returned to the amendment Thursday and adopted it.
Other Funds Oversight
Senator Massey offered an amendment to allow all Senators to serve on the Other Funds Oversight
committee. Senator Setzler said there was a “tremendous amount of knowledge in Finance that other
Senators would not understand.” Massey said they should all have input. Senator Malloy said, “I don’t
have a problem with your amendment but I do have a problem with meddling. I stayed on Judiciary
because of redistricting.” The amendment was adopted.
Capitol Bonds Study Committee
Senator Peeler and others offered an amendment to create a Capitol Bonds Study Committee. The
committee would be comprised of 3 Senate members, 3 House members and 3 appointees by the
Governor. They would study bonding needs and report back to the General Assembly in January 2016.
Peeler said he offered the amendment because he wanted to be more reasonable. Senator Sheheen said
Peeler wanted to be a “kinder, gentler Senator.” He spoke at length and asked is they passed the
amendment, would the Bond Bill be discussed. He said his experience is that study committees are a
waste of time. Senator Davis spoke about input by the public on the bonding issues and said he could not
support it. Peeler said he had received many calls to support the bond bill. Sheheen said his community
wanted improvements to education buildings. Senator Lourie asked Peeler if his business borrowed
money for infrastructure and Peeler said yes. Senator Hembree said the amendment created a process for
bonding and added that last week they heard about secret meetings. This prompted Peeler to say the
amendment “opens up the sunshine.” Senator Thurmond said they needed to make sure bonding was a
necessity and signed on as a co-sponsor of the amendment. Senator Bryant said he had never seen such
discussion on a study committee and signed on as a co-sponsor. The amendment was adopted.
Park for Children with Special Needs/Roads
Senators Cleary and Rankin offered an amendment to use surplus funds for a Myrtle Beach park for
special needs children. Senator Leatherman said the supplemental list will be adopted in the order it was
taken up. Senator Bright said they needed to use that money to fix the roads. Senator Davis pointed out
that surplus funds increase every year yet they are talking about a “massive gas increase.” Bright called
it a bad budget. Cleary spoke in favor of the amendment saying their mayor had requested the park.
Senator Thurmond said the park had been turned down by the House Ways and Means and the Senate
Finance committees. Senator Davis said most taxpayers were not aware of how surplus dollars were
spent. Senator Setzler spoke against the amendment. The amendment was tabled. Senator Sheheen
moved to reconsider the tabling of the amendment. He then moved to carry over his motion to
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reconsider. The vote on the motion to carry over reconsideration was 22-22. Lt. Governor McMaster
voted no thus tabling the carry over motion. The motion to reconsider was then tabled.
Employee Pay Bonus/ Judicial Salaries/Roads
Senator Sheheen and others offered an amendment for a state employee pay bonus for a total cost of
$25.5 million. The debate took up a large portion of the afternoon and was not resolved. Senator Bright
spoke against the amendment in terms of road funding. There were a number of failed procedural moves
to move off of the amendment. The Senate finally adjourned Tuesday with Bright retaining the floor.
Bright resumed the debate Thursday afternoon. Senators Shane Martin and Bryant joined in
conversation with Bright on road funding. Bright said he was prepared to go on for 20 hours. The Senate
did carry over the amendment for Senator Malloy’s judicial salary increase amendment. Malloy and
Senator Jackson debated which would come first – the judicial salaries or the state employee salaries.
Senator Leatherman spoke about the study on judicial salaries and said the Malloy amendment was a
13% salary increase and he felt more comfortable with an 11% increase. The amendment was carried
over. Bright returned to the podium. He moved to carry over the amendment in order to move forward
but Sheheen was against the motion. The Senate voted to carry over the amendment. Sheheen said the
motion was to carry over the section not the amendment. The Lt. Governor said that motion would
require unanimous consent. The Senate stood at ease until there was confirmation that the motion was,
in fact, to carry over the amendment.
As the Senate completed their budget debate, Malloy came back with another amendment to provide an
11% pay increase for judges. He spoke about the South Carolina court system. Senator Peeler spoke
against the amendment. He spoke about how people offered themselves for public service. He spoke
about the “pittance of a bonus for state employees” debate they had heard and talked about all day. He
said he was tempted to filibuster but would not. The Malloy amendment was adopted by a vote of 23-19.
Wednesday
The Senate failed to note the motion to meet at 10:00 am Wednesday. Budget debate was delayed until
their normal Wednesday meeting time. Senator Bryant made a motion to expedite debate. The motion
was adopted to skip section 118.14 (the Sheheen amendment) with Senator Bright retaining the floor on
the amendment. Senator Cleary took a point of personal interest on his failed park amendment. Multiple
amendments were carried over.
Free Technical College
Senator Hutto and others offered an amendment to allow South Carolina high school graduates or GED
students to attend technical college without tuition or fees for a specified time. The Commission on
Higher Education would oversee the process. Senator Massey moved to table “the Obama education
plan.” The Senate refused to table by a vote of 14-30. The amendment was adopted.
Amendments
An amendment was adopted to require an affirmative election by consumer to participate in Health and
Human Services Healthy Connections program. An amendment was adopted to allow DHEC to issue
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permits for seawall reconstruction or repairs for one year. An amendment was adopted to allow the
Conservation Bank to use funds for the conservation of isolated wetlands and Carolina Bays. An
amendment was adopted directing the Department of Commerce to allow any unexpended, unallocated,
or undistributed funds appropriated in prior fiscal years for Regional Economic Development
organizations be made available to Regional Economic Development organizations and any remainder
shall be transferred to the Rural Infrastructure Fund at the Department of Commerce.
Senator Johnson offered an amendment on indigent defense which was carried over after extended
debate. A number of amendments were carried over or ruled out of order. An amendment was adopted
to instruct the Department of Transportation to provide safety enhancements for an intersection in
Charleston. An amendment was adopted to have the Department of Transportation publish the project
priority list on their website. An amendment was adopted to ensure that DOT funds would not be used
for DOT engineers who have out of the agency for less than a year.
Thursday
Senator Bright offered an amendment to cut K-12 education which was carried over. Senator Shane
Martin opposed the amendment and there was extended debate. Bright offered an amendment which was
tabled to move higher education funds to economic development. Multiple amendments were carried
over or withdrawn.
School Bus Crazy Voting
Senator Thurmond’s school bus advertising amendment came back up for debate. There was much
discussion before a voice vote to ban ads on activity buses was adopted. Members then began to ask to
be recorded as a “no” vote until there were 20 no votes. Senator Shane Martin asked that all votes except
for Thurmond’s vote be recorded as a no. Senator Bright pointed out he could support this going into
the budget. Senator Peeler, having voted on the prevailing side, moved to reconsider the vote and asked
for roll call. The amendment failed by a vote of 8-37.
Amendments/Senate Recedes
Senator Setzler offered an amendment which was adopted to bring Baby Net into compliance with
federal regulation. Senator Bright offered two amendments on discrimination. The first amendment was
adopted and addressed campus behavior and misconduct that could be construed to be discrimination
based on race, gender or sexual orientation among other things. The second amendment failed. It
removed sexual orientation as a basis for discrimination. An amendment that allows PRT to send money
to the Medal of Honor Bowl was adopted. An amendment passed to split the proceeds from the sale of
the Union bus shop between the school district and county. Other amendments were carried over or
withdrawn. An amendment passed for website transparency on local government investment pool fees.
Another amendment was adopted to restore the Bureau of Statistics inadvertently left out during
restructuring. An amendment was offered and adopted to use crime victim funds to help pay for body
cameras. Amendments were carried over and withdrawn. Technical amendments were adopted. An
amendment was adopted to improve job workforce programs. An amendment was adopted to require
school districts to post health education materials on their websites.
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Amendment 92
The Senate receded for 20 minutes which was actually 2 ½ hours. Senator Leatherman said members
had a sheet on their desks which they needed to check yes or no. The Lt. Governor said this would
constitute third reading (members read from their sheets and turned them in for verification). Senators
Setzler and Massey were recognized to explain amendment 92. Amendment sponsors were Senators
Sheheen, Leatherman, Peeler, Setzler, Massey, Hutto, Matthews, Bright and Jackson. The amendment
addresses supplemental money. $23 ½ million will go to the employee pay bonus. $4.1 million will go
to counties to help pay for the 2014 winter storm. Approximately $27-28 million would go to C-funds
for counties to use for road resurfacing. $5 million will go to technical colleges for STEM funding. The
amendment was adopted by a vote of 45-0. The Senate then pulled down all amendments in Section 118.
Leatherman made the motion for staff to make technical changes to the budget. His motion was adopted.
Last Amendments
After amendment 92, 4 amendments were tabled, 2 carried over, 1 withdrawn and 1 tabled. An
amendment was adopted to place Planned Parenthood last in the family planning fund. An amendment
was offered and adopted to provide a separate line item for body cameras. Senator Grooms also finally
got his amendment adopted passed on commercial drive time for construction drivers. He acknowledged
there needed stand-alone legislation next year. Senator Bright offered an amendment to give physicians
who dispense pharmaceuticals the same sales tax break received by pharmacists. The amendment had no
fiscal impact. Senator Larry Martin said it could cost millions. Bright withdrew the amendment and said
he would file a bill.
SC State
The Conference Committee met on H.3663, SC State University Board of Trustees, on Tuesday
afternoon and continued their debate Wednesday. Senator Hutto was elected Chair and Representative
Merrill was elected Vice-Chair, the other members included Senators Hayes and Jackson and
Representatives Bingham and Cobb-Hunter. On Tuesday, the House and Senate worked out technical
amendments, but came back to finish their debate on the number of Board of Trustee members. Tuesday
ended with the Senate wanting five members of the board and the House wanting seven members (one
nominee from the Governor, two nominees from Senate, two nominees from House, with the addition of
the Comptroller General and State Treasurer. Prior to adjournment both House and Senate agreed to add
two non-voting members to the board: the President of the Alumni Association and the President of the
Student Body. On Wednesday, Hutto informed the committee that Senate could consider having seven
members. Merrill said “We have tried this. The Senate has tried this. The Blue Ribbon Committee was
a try of the Senate and it failed. We don’t want to play politics with this.” Bingham said, “We have been
very straight forward on our position. We have already compromised.” Hutto reminded the committee
that everyone was supposed to return with an open mind and Bingham said the House has compromised.
Hutto argued saying the House has not compromised. Jackson asked what the House had compromised
on from Tuesday to Wednesday, and Bingham said they did not have to compromise. Representative
Cobb-Hunter said, “We have been dealing with this quite some time. I think it is important to show
some history here and why we aren’t enthralled by the Senate’s decision.” Cobb Hunter continued,
“This reminds me of the days of separate but equal. I am tired of people looking away because they
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don’t want to be called racist. At the end of the day, we need to not hold SC State to a different
standard.” Hutto said, “The Senate has agreed with everything to this point. The big hurdle was getting
rid of the board. Now we are at the small hurdle of how many people to put on the board.” After a brief
meeting behind closed doors, Hayes stated that their new compromise was to add the Superintendent of
Education. Hutto clarified that the board would consist of seven nominators: Superintendent of
Education, the Governor, the Treasurer, House Chair of Ways and Means (White), House Chair of
Higher Education and Technical Colleges Subcommittee (Merrill), Senate Chair of Finance
(Leatherman), Senate Chair of Finance Higher Education Subcommittee (Courson) and two non-voting
members, President of the Alumni Association and President of the Student Body. The House
appointees agreed to this compromise. Staff was asked to get this ready for immediate signatures and
Hutto said the clerks needed to be informed for immediate ratification to be sent to the Governor.
H.3663 was favorable as amended.
On Thursday, Hutto and Merrill asked their respective bodies for free conference power on H.3663 and
free conference was granted by both.
Speaker on the Senate
During session on Tuesday, Speaker Lucas addressed the body about the lack of movement in the
Senate. Lucas said, “We have 15 legislative days left to find solutions.” He continued to say that he was
proud of the House members and their work for making tough decisions in the course of their
deliberations on various issues this session. He then commented, “We cannot say the same for the
Senate.” Lucas spoke about the Senate’s inability to address “dozens of House bills,” especially ethics
and infrastructure.
Pollution Control Act Amendments
S.229, the Pollution Control Act, was referred to the House Judiciary committee Tuesday. The House
Judiciary General Laws Subcommittee met Thursday and gave a favorable as amended report to S.229.
Representative McCoy stated that the bill was very complicated and he was still
trying to learn. An environmental attorney from Greenville testified before the subcommittee about a
lawsuit regarding cleanup of coal ash storage that his firm had filed. The attorney commented that coal
ash in his region is dangerous and it is only held back by dikes that often times leak. He also discussed
lawsuits going on in neighboring states. He finished by stating that South Carolina is in a good place and
this legislation would “mess it up.” McCoy continued to ask questions to better understand coal ash and
how the PCA would affect bodies of water in the state. The subcommittee then discussed the Senate
amendment to the bill. Representative James Smith stated that he was in opposition but he would save
his opposition for full committee and the floor. Smith said, “This bill is un-American—it violates our
environmental heritage.” He said he would draft amendments for full committee. Representative Murrell
Smith said South Carolina has inadequate funds for when there is a leak. Representative Finlay offered
an amendment that would eliminate reference to anything other than coal ash. McCoy stated that he was
“not 100% comfortable” with Finlay’s amendment but still wanted to move it forward. The Finlay
amendment was adopted.
Storm Water Management
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The House Agriculture Environmental Affairs Subcommittee I met Tuesday and gave a favorable as
amended report to H.4016, Storm Water Management and Sediment Reduction Act. The bill establishes
that the Department of Health and Environmental Control or other state agencies to bypass the
applicable provisions and procedures contained in the Administrative Procedures Act. Joe Jones, SC
Society of Professional Land Surveyors, testified in favor of the legislation. Jones said that Greenville
County has a problem with surveyors and plats because the county has stopped plats from being
registered. Jones said land is being divided by heirs and treated as subdivisions. Bobby Foster, a
surveyor in Greenville, SC, said that subdivision regulations are a big process in Greenville. He said the
bill came from the Greenville delegation in an effort to simplify subdivision rules. Representative Kirby
asked if this was a statewide issue. Foster responded that most counties don’t read it this way.
Representative Ott stated the issue was complicated due to the nature of dividing property and the
permitting process. A representative from the Homebuilders Association stated that they were in favor
of the legislation. Representative Dillard said that the bill as drafted needed more clarification. Staff
confirmed that the bill as drafted only applied to state agencies and that the subcommittee could change
the language to also apply to counties. The amendment to add in the county language was adopted and
the bill was passed out favorably as amended by a vote of 4-0.
History Education
The House amended and passed this week H.3151, Study of the US Constitution and History.
Representative Taylor spoke on the bill and informed the body that it would update and modernize the
1920 law. Representative Loftis said that this bill would allow for teaching the essentials of the US
Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the thinking differences of the founding fathers in public
high schools and public colleges.
Representative Neal questioned how they would enforce this requirement. Taylor responded that the
Board of Education and the colleges and universities themselves would be responsible for enforcement.
Taylor offered the committee amendment and it was adopted.
Representative Garry Smith offered amendment two. Smith said his amendment would require the
Superintendent of Education to fine university presidents if the teaching of US History is not enforced at
their institutions. The Smith amendment would also take out the requirement to pledge allegiance to the
United States after completing the course. Representative Henderson questioned the difference in
requirements for two year and four year colleges. Representative Clary cautioned that the bill might
incur additional costs for students at schools at that more technical in nature. Clary made a motion to
table the Smith amendment and by a vote of 58-42, it was tabled.
Garry Smith also offered amendment three that would take the bill back to the existing statute, providing
that there be one year of instruction in US history instead of only 6 credit hours. Representative Allison
commented that the bill had gotten very convoluted. Representative Tallon made a motion to adjourn
debate but the motion was tabled and amendment was adopted.
Amendment four was introduced by Representative Cobb Hunter. The Cobb Hunter amendment ensures
that students will learn about Native and African Americans. Taylor commented that this is already
taught in the third grade. Cobb Hunter responded that it was not mandatory and the amendment was
adopted.
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Body Cameras
The House of Representatives placed S.47, body cameras for law enforcement, on the contested calendar
Wednesday. There was an indication of a pending amendment. It is in adjourned debate status on the
calendar as of Thursday.
Surface Water Withdrawal
The House Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs Subcommittee adjourned debate
Wednesday on H.3564, Surface Water Withdrawal Registration. Representative James Smith spoke on
the bill and stated that the bill would eventually become law. He said, “It is only a matter of when it will
become law.” Smith urged the subcommittee that responsible action is needed now. Smith said he
understood that this bill would impact farmers but he did not want large companies from the west to
come here. He used the potato farm based out of Michigan as an example. He said, “We don’t want the
companies to come and not have to ask permission to empty a river and not pay a cent.”
Representative Hodges said he viewed the bill as a “pro-farmer bill” because it protects small farmers
and their livelihood. Representative Ott had concerns about pitting small farms against larger farms. Ott
said, “If this bill goes into effect, larger farms will benefit because they have deep pockets to hire
attorneys to get the permits needed.”
South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers addressed the subcommittee and said he
shared the concern of balancing withdrawal of river water. Weathers also stated that the bill may have
unintended consequences. He commented, “We can all agree we want to maintain our rivers but acting
on this bill now would be premature. When DNR can give us more information, that’s when the work
can begin.”
Representative Toole commented that this bill was a milestone in South Carolina agriculture and the
House must get it right.” More than 30 farmers from across the state packed the hearing room and asked
the subcommittee not take away their use of river water for irrigation. Many testified that this practice is
vital to producing food for the public of South Carolina. SC Farm Bureau supporters asked the
subcommittee not to support a bill that would more tightly regulate large withdrawals of water from
rivers for agriculture. Jeff Wilson, a farmer from rural Chester County, said, “I know what it is like to
have to deal with bills and all this regulation—it’s tough on a farmer.” Most of the people that testified
identified themselves as family farmers worried about excessive regulation on their businesses. There
were also supporters who identified themselves as small farmers and said that the legislation is needed to
keep the rivers from being drawn dry.
SC Medical Marijuana Program Act
The House 3M Occupational Regulation and Licensing Subcommittee met Wednesday and gave a
favorable report to H.4037, SC Medical Marijuana Program Act. Representatives Horne and King
informed the subcommittee about their time on the Medical Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee and gave
compelling examples of testimony heard at the many public forums held last year. Many individual
citizens and groups testified in favor of the bill. Two veterans who suffered from head injuries and
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PTSD testified that medical marijuana would help to improve veterans’ quality of life. Parents of
children who suffered from severe epilepsy testified to the subcommittee that cannabis was often the
only medication that did not put their children in a sedated state. SLED and the Sheriffs Association
testified in opposition to the bill. Chief Keel, SLED, commented that professional medical associations
state that cannabis is a public health concern. A representative from the Sheriffs Association discussed
the CDB oil bill passed last year and that people in South Carolina already had access to the drug. A
hospice nurse testified in favor of the bill. She said the only option people have at the end of life legally
is opioids and such drugs diminish quality of life in their final days. Representative Ridgeway cautioned
the subcommittee against passing the bill as it currently stands. He said, “All physicians aren’t good
people. We also don’t know the fiscal impact this bill would carry.” Ridgeway continued to discuss the
situation in Colorado and offered an amendment to limit medical marijuana to treatment of seizures.
Horne asked Ridgeway if they could work on an amendment before full committee because seizures
were not the only medical issue that medical marijuana could address. Representative Hart commented
that he did not want to leave out veterans with brain trauma or PTSD. Ridgeway stated that he could not
vote for the bill as it stood but would withdraw his amendment with the understanding that he will work
with Horne on an amendment that would address concerns before full committee.
Senate Republican Road Plan
The Senate Republic Caucus held a press conference Thursday morning announcing a comprehensive
infrastructure improvement, tax reduction, and Department of Transportation reform plan for South
Carolina. The Caucus said the plan would provide much needed long-term funding to fix the road
system in the state as well as providing permanent across the board income tax cuts and restructuring at
DOT. The road funding portion would include a balanced set of sources and multi-year phase-in
approach. The gas tax increase would be phased in over 3 years and would never be higher than
neighboring states. The income tax relief portion would reduce the personal income tax rates in each tax
bracket by one full percentage point over five years. The value of relief would increase from
$120,000,000 in year one to $709,000,000 in year five. The final portion of the plan, DOT reform,
would restructure DOT governance with an improved commission plus Secretary Model. The
commission would be based on congressional districts and would provide more scrutiny in the selection
process for Commission members by requiring potential candidates to be deemed qualified by the Joint
Transportation Review Committee and then confirmed by the Senate. The Secretary of Transportation
would be hired by the commission and confirmed by the Senate.
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