You’ll start seeing a new license plate for cars in South Carolina early next year as a new design is phased in. The plate features a white background with an iconic palmetto tree and crescent design in the center that is a reverse of the state flag. (Some say it’s a crescent moon; others say it’s a gorget.) Nevertheless, the state Department of Motor Vehicles says the new tag also will help the state save more than $800,000 because it will use a single annual sticker, not the two stickers (month, year) used now. The new tag also features an Anglicized version of the state motto, “While I Breathe, I hope.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK of the new tag? Send feedback here. Our reaction: We prefer the Latin version of the motto. And we really like this dark-blue mock-up of a license plate discussed at BradWarthen.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Because holidays fall on the next two Fridays, we’ll publish the next two issues on Thursdays — Dec. 24, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2015.
We hope you enjoy the holiday season and send merriest of greetings. Relax. Have fun. And get ready for some heavy lifting in January.
IN THIS ISSUEPHOTO: New license plate
NEWS: Flag still a problem for S.C. GOP
PALMETTO POLITICS: Don’t Drill lobby puts pressure on Haley
TALLY SHEET: Pre-filed bills go from dam fund to Viagra
COMMENTARY: Time to make smart investments with robust economy
SPOTLIGHT: SouthernCarolina Alliance
FEEDBACK: Send your comments in today
SCORECARD: Thumbs up for Berkeley leadership, down for Wilson
NUMBER: $1 million
QUOTE: On a flag and a princess
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Spanish moss
NEWS
Flag still a problem for S.C. GOP
By Bill Davis, senior editor
DEC. 18, 2015 | Looks like the controversy over taking down the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds earlier this year isn’t over.
Several Republicans in th
e House and Senate — and from both sides of the issue — say it could shape primary races across the state, but primarily in the conservative rural Midlands and Upstate.
With many primaries serving as de facto elections in many districts, the lingering impact of the flag could shape the future of the General Assembly, too.
Over the summer, Gov. Nikki Haley took a bold stance on the flag, which had been flying for years in a prominent place in front of the Statehouse, after a racially-inspired shooting in a Charleston church took the lives of nine parishioners.
Included among those murdered was state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D-Jasper), who was leading a Bible study when the tragedy occurred. In June, Haley called for the flag’s removal, saying it needed to come down in honor of her slain colleague.
Some criticized the governor for allowing the debate to begin after Pinckney’s casket rolled past the flag on a horse-drawn caisson, a tacit victory to those who hold the state blameless for slavery. Others complained the flag stood for the state’s history and served as an honorable reminder of those who fought to protect the state.
Haley won the day. But will her victory cost incumbent Republicans their seats in the upcoming year, especially in an election year during which lawmakers will consider a controversial proposal to raise the state gas tax to cover the costs of huge infrastructure and roads projects exacerbated by this fall’s historic flooding?
Long may it wave, some say
Freshman state Rep. Christopher Corley (R-Graniteville) viewed sending an annual Christmas card to fellow Republicans as an opportunity to stir up the cauldron. The front of the card featured a picture of the flag still flying in front of the Statehouse.
On the back was a holiday message that included the line: “May you have a blessed Christmas, and may you take this joyous time as an opportunity to ask for forgiveness of all your sins such as betrayal.”
Corley this week said he purposefully sent the card to coincide with his pre-filing a bill for the coming legislative session that called for a non-binding referendum on where the flag should be displayed.
Corley said it didn’t matter if his bill ever made it to the floor, or if it died in committee, “because I’ve already made it an election issue” for everyone running for a seat in the legislature.”
In an interview in which Corley said the true cause of the Civil War was economic domination by the North and not slavery, he said that while the flag might not be the “centerpiece” of some campaigns, it will play bigger in the rural Midlands and Upstate races, where conservatives are angry their elected officials “caved.”
Corley claimed many seated GOP members in the House and Senate who voted to take down the flag would see increased opposition as a result.
“Lots of ‘splaining”
Count Florence resident Will Breazeale as one of those rallying around the flag as the centerpiece of his campaign the House District 63 seat currently held by fellow Republican Jay Jordan, who was elected in April.
Returning the flag to the grounds is literally the first plank in his campaign platform, which calls to defend “our Southern Heritage from further attack.”
Like Corley, he’s heard of a handful of names planning to run on a flag-friendly platform against incumbent Republicans, including against Senate leaders like Judiciary Chair Larry Martin of Pickens and President Pro Tempore Hugh Leatherman of Florence, who also chairs the finance committee.
State Sen. Lee Bright (R-Roebuck) says the coming session’s vote on the gas tax, combined with a vote to take down the flag, could spell real problems for his fellow Republicans in the House and Senate.
“Opposition for you will be pretty strong in a primary if you’ve got those two votes on your resume,” said Bright, who opposed removing the flag. “You will have lots of ‘splaining to do.”
Attacked from all sides
Martin voted to take down the flag. This week, with the state facing decades of needed infrastructure funding to shore up roads and bridges, Martin said he’d vote for “some sort of a gas tax” as long as it helped everyone across the state, and not just for big projects favoring one region.
Martin said that “rarely” do single votes cost legislators their jobs, but that combined with other issues, like slack constituent services, it could help topple a leader.
Martin said during the recently completed “holiday parade” season, some constituents yelled out some “not very nice things at me about the flag.” But Martin added, “You can never get every vote.”
Influential political scientist Scott Huffmon said while more candidates may come out of the woodwork angry over the flag issue, it remains to be seen whether they will “truly speak for the majority of conservatives of a district.”
Huffmon said the political calculation surrounding the gas tax might be more dangerous for those representing conservative districts that the flag issue.
“People are not opposed to raising tax money for roads projects in the abstract, but when they get to counting how many cents per gallon, then all of a sudden they’re against it,” said Huffmon. “All [that] a savvy Republican candidate challenging an incumbent has to say is ‘he voted to raise your taxes,’ and you’ve got a built-in primary message.”
Huffmon said that unless “something was destroyed by the flooding or someone they know died, it’s amazing how fast things fade in the public’s memory.”
Except for the Confederate Flag.
Bill Davis is senior editor of Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
PALMETTO POLITICSDon’t Drill lobby puts pressure on Haley
Gov. Nikki Haley is under increasing pressure to come out against drilling or testing for oil and natural gas off the South Carolina coast.
“There is one person who can save the jobs on our coast,” said Conservation Voters of South Carolina Outreach Coordinator Sophie Halpin in an advocacy email. “Governor Haley can ask Washington to remove South Carolina from consideration for drilling. She can say that our pristine beaches and tourism jobs matter more than profits for Big Oil.”
On Wednesday, more than 400 businesses, most of which are located along the coast, offered a letter at a Statehouse press conference in opposition of oil and gas drilling and seismic testing off the coast. Other opponents include GOP U.S. Reps. Mark Sanford and Tom Rice, both of whom represent coastal counties, and more than 20 municipalities.
Haley, who has indicated support for drilling in the past, “believes offshore exploration should be done in a way that doesn’t compromise the environment, ports or tourism industry, but stressed that it was critical to the state’s economic development,” a spokesman said earlier this week.
The DontDrillSC.com website ratcheted up the anti-drilling effort with a petition asking the governor to stand up for the coast.
Stay tuned as this one heats up.
TALLY SHEETPre-filed bills go from dam fund to Viagra
House members pre-filed 65 bills last week prior to the Jan. 12, 2016 opening of the General Assembly. Because of travel, we didn’t offer summaries of major new legislation, but bills you may be interested in include:
Juvenile justice. H. 4526 (Alexander) seeks a study commission to study the need to reform the state’s juvenile justice system, with several provisions.
Dam fund. H. 4527 (Bales) seeks a $25 million state revolving fund to operate a financial assistance program to help dam owners repair or replace dams. H. 4565 (Lucas) seeks more requirements for dams to protect public safety, with several provisions.
Debt-free education. H. 4529 (Cobb-Hunter) seeks a resolution to get Congress to enact legislation for debt-free college education, with several provisions.
School consolidation. H. 4530 (H.A. Crawford) seeks to require each county to have only one public school district, with several provisions.
Repeals. H. 4535 (Goldfinch) seeks to repeal several existing laws, including those related to challenges to fights, seduction, adultery, dance halls operating on Sundays, railroads and pinball.
Abortion. H. 4538 (Hicks) seeks to prohibit use of public funds for abortions, with several provisions.
Bus belts. H. 4543 (M.S. McLeod) seeks to require seat belts for school buses, with several provisions.
“Viagra” bill. H. 4544 (M.S. McLeod) seeks to establish requirements for prescriptions to treat symptoms of erectile dysfunction — a measure intended to make it as difficult for men to get Viagra as women to get an abortion, with several provisions.
Guns. H. 4551 (Brannon) would require criminal background checks to be complete before a gun sale can be completed, with several provisions. H. 4552 (Brannon) is similar. H. 4564 (Jefferson) seeks to require registration of all firearms bought or purchased in the state with the county sheriff’s department.
Right to work. H. 4555 (Cobb-Hunter) seeks to repeal the state’s right-to-work law.
Term limits. H. 4567 (M.S. McLeod) seems a constitutional amendment for term limits for House and Senate members to 12 years total, with several provisions.
Confederate flag. H. 4576 (Tinkler) seeks to create a commission to raise private funds to pay for the display of the Confederate flag. The measure essentially would keep state funds from being used to display it in the Confederate Relic Room.
Lieutenant governor. H. 4579 (Pope) seeks to change state law to allow the governor to appoint a lieutenant governor in case of a vacancy, with consent of the state Senate, with several provisions.
COMMENTARYTime to make smart investments with robust economy
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher
DEC. 18, 2015 | The good thing about budgeting on the conservative side is that when things go well, there’s a little extra money left over.
On a national level, the stock market is relatively robust. Overall growth is pretty steady. The dollar is strong. And the federal deficit is the lowest since 2007. Things seem to be going so well that the Federal Reserve this week finally lifted its benchmark interest rate from zero to 0.25 percent, a long-expected minor rise intended to rein in the economy a little bit.
Why slow it slightly? Because economists, who thrive on steady growth, say too much growth could lead to more volatility, based on the principle of what goes up must come down. By tapping the brakes, there’s an increase in stability — and an increase in flexibility for the Fed in the event of a slowdown. (One of the tools the Fed has to generate growth is to lower interest rates to encourage growth; if the rate is zero, the Fed doesn’t have this tool in its toolbox.)
Economists say they don’t expect the slight interest rate hike to have much impact overall. Rates to borrow money for people to buy homes and cars are still very low and should be offset by growth. Borrowing costs for banks will rise slightly, which could have a little impact on credit cards and credit rates.
But the cost of the Fed not doing something to raise interest rates might have had a more severe impact, said College of Charleston economist Frank Hefner. Continuing to dangle the possibility of a rate hike after a long period of the rate being zero likely would have created too much uncertainty for the stock market. Had there been no rate increase, the market might have dropped, he said.
“It’s not going to affect businesses that much,” he said, adding that other factors in the mix — regulations, Obamacare and the presidential campaign — may continue to fuel some uncertainty.
Economist Bruce Yandle, dean emeritus of the College of Business and Behavioral Science at Clemson University, said growth should continue in the year ahead.
“If the 2015 economy produced happiness in your neighborhood, you should be happy with 2016,” he wrote in a Dec. 1 quarterly report.
By all accounts, things are going pretty well in South Carolina, too. Gas prices here are below $2 per gallon. Retail sales are steady. The construction industry is building again. Housing prices are higher. The unemployment rate is low, out of the double digits found in the Palmetto State during the Great Recession.
According to state government’s 2016-17 revenue outlook, there will be about $1 billion in extra money to spend, including $440 million in real surpluses from the 2015-16 budget year and $562 million in unbudgeted new revenue for 2016-17 budget because of more taxes collected from growing businesses and more people who moved into the state. Add to that an extra $75 million that will go to education for projected growth from the sales tax for education and lottery sales.
With a billion more to spend, there will be predictable calls by Republicans to refund taxes and cut rates. But after years of government agencies and programs being cut, it would be much wiser to invest now to address persistent problems in education, infrastructure and healthcare. If the state makes too many revenue cuts when times are good, it won’t have the capacity for smart investments when crunch time comes.
Three things state lawmakers should consider in the coming session:
- Rural infrastructure: Direct significant funding to help rural communities keep from withering by steering money into a rural infrastructure loan fund and grants to help with capital investments.
- Education: Pay our teachers more to get a better teach-force and build stability in education.
- Roads: Use some of the surplus to fix persistent road and bridge problems, but also raise the sales tax on gas — popular with a majority of South Carolinians — to create a continuing revenue source for long-term, much-needed improvements.
Investing surpluses will create a healthier South Carolina for the future. Ignoring needs will keep us as a red-headed stepchild.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
IN THE SPOTLIGHTSouthernCarolina Alliance
The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Statehouse Report to you at no cost. This week, we shine a spotlight on the Southern Carolina Regional Development Alliance. It builds coalitions with industry and government leaders to sustain and create jobs that will improve the quality of life in its six focus counties: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper.
Through ideals of cooperation and regionalism, this nonprofit economic development organization plays an important leadership role in the region to market these southwestern South Carolina counties both nationally and globally by focusing on targeted industrial clusters, community development and workforce development.
- You can learn more about the exciting opportunities — including the region’s new Promise Zone designation — throughout the six rural counties of the Southern Carolina Alliance online at: http://www.southerncarolina.org.
Send us a letter
We love hearing from our readers and encourage you to share your opinions. Letters to the editor are published weekly. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. We generally publish all comments about South Carolina politics or policy issues, unless they are libelous or unnecessarily inflammatory. One submission is allowed per month. Submission of a comment grants permission to us to reprint. Comments are limited to 250 words or less. Please include your name and contact information.
- Send your letters to: feedback@statehousereport.com
From saving a business to hurting ethics
Thumbs up
Berkeley legislators. Hats off to Sen. Paul Campbell, Rep. Bill Crosby and other Berkeley leaders for working to save hundreds of jobs threatened at Century Aluminum, which has said it will have to shut down if it keeps paying Santee Cooper’s electricity prices. Looks like a deal is close to keeping the plant open through a possible fix in the legislature next year. More.
In the middle
Federal funding. We’re tickled pink the state will get more than $780 million in flood relief through the just-passed $1.1 trillion federal spending package. And you know the state will take it — because it needs the cash to fix roads, dams, houses and farms. But guess what? We should also take federal money offered to expand health care access to the poorest of South Carolinians instead of continuing to caterwaul about Obamacare. If you want to lower healthcare costs for all, let’s get some of the poorest on insurance and the preventive care it offers.
License plates. It’s good we’ll save money by going to one sticker on a new license plate, but we aren’t sold on the beauty of this new piece of metal. It’s kind of boring. The one featured on Brad Warthen’s site is much better.
Thumbs down
Wilson. An ethics opinion issued by state Attorney General Alan Wilson is being viewed as a blow to ethics investigations, further widening the chasm between accountability and business as usual. More.
Beckham. We’re saddened by the sudden death of former Wando High School principal Lucy Beckham, whose leadership garnered national attention. More.
NUMBERS
$1 million
That’s the amount in daily fines that Gov. Nikki Haley says the federal government will face starting January 1 if the U.S. Department of Energy fails to meet deadlines on its MOX nuclear reprocessing facility efforts at the Savannah River Project. More.
QUOTESFlags, Buttercup
Flag on a wall
“I don’t know how people can pray with a symbol of hate and white supremacy and man’s inhumanity to man in the chapel.”
— Rev. Al Sharpton following a meeting with Citadel President John Rosa, on a request to remove a Confederate Naval flag from a campus chapel. Sharpton’s National Action Network has dropped its call for Rosa to step down until an investigation is complete into why cadets were photographed recently wearing white hoods. More.
Homage to a princess
“Ted, getting in bed with Iran and Russia to save Assad is inconceivable. Princess Buttercup would not like this.”
— U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in an undercard presidential forum this week in a comment directed to colleague Ted Cruz, his foreign policy and his love for the movie, “The Princess Bride.” More Graham debate gems.
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIASpanish moss
S.C. Encyclopedia | Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is a gray tree-borne epiphyte native to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. As an epiphyte, Spanish moss gets water and food from the air and does not harm the host tree. It is not a true moss but a relative of the pineapple family in the genus Bromeliaceae. Spanish moss produces small, yellow-green, three-petaled flowers in the spring and early summer. In mid- to late summer seedpods burst and rely on the wind for distribution. Typically they lodge in the bark of rough-barked trees, especially live oaks and cypress. The plants are a tangle of long stems and slender leaves. The individual mosses can extend over twenty feet in length and are host to red bugs and spiders.
Lowcountry colonists sometimes used Spanish moss as insulation in chinking log houses. Its largest commercial use came as a stuffing for furniture after the Civil War, when it was called vegetable horsehair. In the early twentieth century South Carolina had several moss gins. In 1973 scientists studied Spanish moss taken from along U.S. Highway 17 to determine the levels of pollutants in the Lowcountry air. Spanish moss declined dramatically in the state during the 1970s from the effects of a deadly mold, but it has since recovered.
Draped in live oaks and cypress, Spanish moss is a familiar and evocative symbol of the Lowcountry. Some find it restful and comforting, while to others it suggests more mournful feelings.
– Excerpted from the entry by James H. Tuten. To read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina, check out The South Carolina Encyclopedia by USC Press. (Information used by permission.)
CREDITSEditor and Publisher: Andy Brack
Senior Editor: Bill Davis
Contributing Photographers: Michael Kaynard, Linda W. Brown
Phone: 843.670.3996
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!