Highlights of recent activity in the General Assembly
Staff reports | There seems to have been more legislative news out the General Assembly in the last three days than … well, we can’t think of another time. Some highlights:
Bathroom bill. A controversial bill to force people to use public bathrooms matching their sex at birth got roundly assailed in two days of hearings overrun with opponents to the proposal by state Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg. Perhaps the most interesting results: Very conservative officials aren’t finding the support they generally count on from businesses and political allies. On the other end of the spectrum, the bill brought together lots of different kinds of people and organizations in new ways that might lead to future collaborations. Bottom line: Don’t look for the bill to do much more than continue to be a circus sideshow.
Roads. The S.C. House altered a $400 million highway funding bill that took weeks for the state Senate to pass. While many might agree the House was right to seek a dedicated revenue source like a gas tax instead of general fund revenues to pay for roads, leading senators and Gov. Nikki Haley now say more road funding — something that an overwhelming number of South Carolinians are clamoring for — may be dead this year. But in this environment, never say never. More.
Ethics. The legislature has been talking about toughening state ethics laws for four years, but broad reforms have been stuck in the Senate. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a measure to require elected and appointed public officials to disclose the sources of their income — but not how much they are paid, which transparency proponents really want. But by Thursday, the amendment got blocked by Democratic Sen. Vincent Sheheen of Camden, who complained it wasn’t tough enough because it didn’t list amounts. The Senate then voted down an amendment that would have required disclosure of so-called “dark money” spent on campaigns without disclosure by political action committees.
Shorter session. The Senate voted this week to give final procedural approval to a bill that would shorten the legislative session by a month. The measure, which passed unanimously April 7 on second reading, is a priority of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce. Its president, former state Rep. Ted Pitts, said in a statement, “South Carolina has one of the longest legislative sessions in the country which has served as a deterrent to many qualified business men and women who would otherwise be interested in joining our citizen legislature. The business community has long supported a shorter legislative session to improve efficiency and to allow individuals from more professions to serve.”
Pastides to retire “someday”
This could be from The Onion, but it is real: University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides told members of the Rotary Club of Charleston Tuesday that he and his wife are going to retire to the area.
“Someday, we will make it our abode,” he said of a new house built on Little Oak Island near Folly Beach.
Someday?
“My goal before we retire is to win the SEC” [football championship], Pastides later explained.
Translation by wags and Clemson fans: It could be a long time from now. But then again, there’s a new coach …
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!