By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | Motorists in South Carolina — which has the lowest average price per gallon of gasoline — will see an increase in their price per gallon of gasoline beginning July 1.
South Carolina passed a big infrastructure bill in 2017 that incrementally increases the state’s tax on gasoline from 18 cents per gallon to 28.75 cents per gallon by 2022. Starting July 1, the state will charge 20 cents per gallon to help pay for infrastructure improvement and maintenance around South Carolina.
But don’t feel left out: Oklahoma and Tennessee will also experience a tax hike for fuel. And our gas receipts will still be among the cheapest in the nation.
In other news:
Child welfare improves. South Carolina has achieved its highest-ever ranking from an annual report that looks at child welfare. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT report listed South Carolina at No. 38, up one spot from last year. Several declining metrics helped the state improve on child welfare. Those include declining rates of the number of uninsured children, number of teen births, percentage of students not graduating on time and number of children living in a single-parent home. Read more about the report here.
Veto overrides. The General Assembly got enough of its members on the same page this week to override two gubernatorial vetoes at the end of its 2017-2018 session. One of those laws now cuts South Carolina Electric and Gas customer rates by 15 percent. Gov. Henry McMaster followed through on his pledged to veto any bill that did not completely rollback the full 18 percent rate increase for SCE&G customers that pays for the defunct $9 billion nuclear reactor project. The House and Senate differed at first on how much to roll back rates: the House agreed with McMaster and the Senate wanted only 13 percent cut. But the bodies compromised this week and then overrode McMaster’s veto. In the other override, a new law now provides leniency to those convicted of low-level, nonviolent crimes. The law allows for expungement of records in a move aimed at helping boost the state’s labor pool by tapping into those released from prison. McMaster vetoed the bill saying employers have a right to know a potential employee’s past, but the General Assembly had the votes to make the bill law.
Lackey to retire. AT&T South Carolina President Pamela Lackey will retire June 30 after decades in the field. Lackey is a member of the State Ports Authority and has been a major business leader in South Carolina for years.
“I have been privileged to work on communications policy issues for much of my career and it has been exciting to see how South Carolina policymakers have consistently understood how their decisions can help move our state forward economically,” Lackey told Statehouse Report.
Ervin named new Public Service Commissioner. Former circuit court judge Tom Ervin has been sworn in as S.C. Public Service Commissioner for Greenville and Spartanburg counties. Ervin, who ran for governor in 2014, was elected to the four-year post by the General Assembly. The Public Service Commission regulates utilities in the state. It is expected to be in the limelight in the months ahead in dealing with the Summer nuclear fiasco.
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