By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The South Carolina General Assembly, among the reddest of the conservative red legislatures across the country, is getting credit for being progressive.
Twice.
First, our lawmakers were the first in the nation to require use of body cameras by police, according to the State Innovation Exchange (SiX). The law came about after the much-publicized shooting death of Walter Scott in North Charleston after a traffic stop. A police officer, no longer with the city’s department, is charged with murder.
Second, lawmakers voted to remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds less than a month after nine people were shot to death while in Bible study at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The shooting galvanized the world after victims’ families, all black, forgave the white man now in jail on murder and hate crimes charges.
“And with the stroke of a pen, a state-sanctioned symbol of racism is now a step closer to once more
becoming a relic of the past,” said a report by SiX, whose mission is to serve as a “resource and strategy center that supports state legislators to advance progressive policies across the country.”
Recognition for taking two major progressive stances certainly is an odd twist of circumstance. But it’s sad to reflect neither measure likely would have passed in South Carolina had there not been such media attention to the 10 people who died in the two tragedies.
So what now is important for all South Carolina leaders — conservatives, moderates and progressives — is to realize that by working together to move forward as they did this year, progress can be had for all. Indeed, there might be kernels of progress around the corner where you’re not looking — or expecting — them.
Therefore, it’s instructive to take a look at some of the ideas being implemented across the country that the Exchange highlights:
- Keeping guns away from abusers and stalkers. The report didn’t give South Carolina legislators credit for a new law that toughens domestic violence penalties, including some controls on guns in the hands of abusers. The report, however, suggests more can be done.
- Closing the wage gap. It’s well documented that women make far less than male counterparts, despite a federal pay equity act passed more than 50 years ago. Some states, such as New York, Connecticut and Oregon have enacted pay equity legislation to close the gap by strengthening laws to mandate equal pay for equal work and raising penalties for recalcitrant employers. Why not here too?
- Expanding access to higher education. Tuition at colleges has been skyrocketing for the last 30 years as hourly wages have declined. Oregon made history, the Exchange said, by becoming the second state to enact free community college. With South Carolina’s technical education system the envy of states for how it integrates education with business needs, doing more to make it available to more makes sense.
- Cutting carbon emissions. States like Vermont and Hawaii are on the leading edge of reducing carbon emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired plants, as mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. South Carolina’s power generators are working to add more nuclear power plants and cut down on coal-fired plants, but lawmakers can do more to promote renewable energy strategies to reduce emissions further.
- Modernizing voter registration. As courts look more in-depth at controversial voter identification laws thought by some to curb voting, states like Oregon, California and New Jersey have passed measures to automatically register citizens to vote when they interact with other state agencies, such as when someone gets a driver’s license. Other ways states are working to expand access are online voter registration.
Additional ideas promoted by the Exchange included accommodating pregnant workers and new mothers so they don’t have to pick between their jobs and children; helping students tackle their education debt; allowing millions of workers to earn sick leave; repealing the death penalty ( which won’t happen in South Carolina); and increasing police accountability.
If we don’t start looking at ideas that are working elsewhere, we will just have more of the same here. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!