STATEHOUSE REPORT | ISSUE 23.07 | Feb. 16, 2024
BIG STORY: Bar owners struggle as legislators search for solutions
MORE NEWS: Sunday liquor sales bill heads to Senate
LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: The Antichrist?
COMMENTARY, Brack: Medical marijuana relief needed for sufferers of pain, nausea
SPOTLIGHT: SC Clips
MYSTERY PHOTO: Relaxing place
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
Bar owners struggle as legislators search for solutions
By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse correspondent | Soaring liquor liability insurance costs continue to challenge – and outrage – bar owners across South Carolina. But the quick-fix many were hoping for from the General Assembly appears to have gotten bogged down in the perennial legislative battle over lawsuit reform.
So the question now facing bar owners is whether they can find a way to keep their doors open while the major players in that long-running “tort reform” debate – insurance companies, large corporations, trial lawyers and victims advocates – duke it out in the state legislature.
And for many bar owners, the answer to that question could well be no.
“Unless I’m able to pull some sort of a magic rabbit out of a hat, we may be going down in the next two weeks,” Joe Clarke of Forte Jazz Lounge in Charleston said in an interview this week.
Clarke, who notes that he’s never had a claim against his liquor liability policy, said he’s seen his premiums skyrocket from $6,000 in 2019 to $32,000 today – with the best quote so far for his upcoming March renewal currently at $42,000.
Still, like many others in the industry, Clarke is considering every option to stay open, including the possibility of taking out a loan to cover the cost of the insurance.
“I’m a little too dumb to quit, I think,” he said. “I’m just very passionate about what we’re trying to do here, which is bring live jazz and local musicians up on stage so people can get a taste of the real musicianship we have to offer in Charleston.”
How we got here
Supporters of the stalled legislation – S. 533, or the S.C. Justice Act – tell a straightforward story.
Bars in South Carolina are required to carry a minimum $1 million liquor liability policy. But because South Carolina law allows bar owners to be hit with 100% of the cost of a jury verdict in drunk driving lawsuits – even if they were found to only be 1% responsible for the harm caused by the drunk driver – insurance companies that provide this liability coverage have been losing money. And as a result, they’re now raising rates dramatically to offset those losses. Several companies have opted to leave South Carolina, too, winnowing the number of insurers to a handful.
So the solution, supporters of S. 533 argue, is to reform the system such that bar owners, like most other civil defendants in South Carolina, can only be held responsible for the percentage of harm that they were found to have caused. This is what the bill they’re pushing would do.
“Because of the 1% clause, insurance companies are afraid to go to court,” said Kynn Tribble, the owner of Tribble’s Bar and Grill in Piedmont and a member of S.C. Venue Crisis, a statewide group that’s fighting to lower liability rates. “In no industry should a business have to pay 100% of something they’re not 100% liable for.”
But according to opponents of the legislation, that approach loses sight of the other party in the case – the victim of the drunk driver, who isn’t even 1% responsible for the harm done to her. Why, they ask, should we shift the financial loss from the insurance company onto her?
Chad McGowan, who’s both a plaintiff’s attorney and a partner in Rock Hill’s Legal Remedy Brewing Company, sees the issue from both sides.
And while he’s sympathetic to the plight of bar owners – his own liability coverage at Legal Remedy has risen sharply over the past two years – he’s also seen too many drunk driving cases where the underinsured driver could not pay his portion of the verdict. Under the strict percentage system created by S, 533, that would leave a victim without a way to collect her full damages.
“This is a moral judgment from my perspective,” McGowan said. “When there’s a choice, losses should never be borne by the innocent individual – they should be borne by the person responsible.”
Other opponents of the bill, such as S.C. Mothers Against Drunk Driving Executive Director Steven Burritt, believe it simply ignores the real problem – high DUI rates that frequently land South Carolina in the top ten states in the nation for drunk driving deaths.
“Part of the reason insurance rates are so terrible in this state is because drunk driving is terrible in this state,” he said. “We’re one of the worst states in the country for impaired driving … and we would put that on the table as a priority. There are many ways to get to better outcomes, and we’d like to see one that led to less people dying and being injured on the roads.”
A new option to break the logjam?
New legislation introduced last week in the S.C. House of Representatives, H. 5066, takes a different tack – one that aims to solve the bar owners’ problem without affecting victims’ rights.
Similar in principle to South Carolina’s medical malpractice insurance system, which was created to help doctors deal with rapidly rising insurance costs in the 1970s, the new proposal, dubbed the Fair Access to Insurance Act, would use existing liquor excise taxes to fund state-subsidized liquor liability policies for S.C. bar owners.
And while most bar owners seem to be leery of any solution that doesn’t directly address the 1-percent rule, they’re also open to an approach that would ease opponents’ concerns about victims rights.
“At this point, I’ve been listening to people go back and forth for a year and a half,” said Forte owner Clarke of the new legislation. “And I feel like, yeah, we need to take care of the people who get hurt because of people who are inebriated. That needs to be part of the equation.”
But with costs continuing to rise and fewer insurance options every day, that doesn’t solve his immediate problem.
“All of the insurance companies that everybody depended on have just disappeared, and now all that’s left are the ones that are willing to charge these astronomical amounts,” he said.
Like the $42,000 liability premium Clarke needs to come up with by March 3.
- Jack O’Toole reports on statewide issues for Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Sunday liquor sales bill heads to Senate
Staff reports | The state Senate Judiciary Committee has a just-passed House bill on its calendar after House members on Thursday sent over a measure that would let voters decide on Sunday liquor sales.
The House voted 68-44 Wednesday to approve the bill, which received a perfunctory third reading Thursday and went to the Senate. The proposal would allow local governments to hold referendums on whether to allow Sunday sales.
Supporters say the state’s liquor laws are antiquated and based on a religious value that Sundays should be a day of rest. But with tourists spending more than $20 billion a year in the state, lawmakers say updating the law will help the state’s businesses.
According to the Associated Press, the Sunday sales bill “would join another bill which would allow customers to pick up alcohol when they get their groceries or food order brought out to them in the parking lot.”
Also in recent headlines:
Poll shows 2/3 of likely S.C. voters in GOP primary back Trump over Haley. A new Winthrop Poll released this morning shows likely voters in Saturday’s GOP presidential preference primary will pick former President Donald Trump over former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. While Trump has a 36% lead over Haley among all likely voters, likely independent voters are more evenly split with 42.6 supporting Trump and 42.3% backing Haley. Link to poll below.
S.C.’s open gun carry proposal on the ropes. A proposal to allow anyone who can legally own a gun in South Carolina to carry their weapon in public is struggling to pass through the General Assembly as RepuAssociated Press
ILA rallies against McMaster’s anti-union remarks in State of State. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association gathered at the State House Thursday to protest anti-union statements made by Gov. Henry McMaster.
Clyburn to step down from House Democratic leadership. Long-serving U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, will seek a 17th term in Congress while also stepping down from Democratic leadership, he said in a statement Feb. 14.
Ott announces bid for S.C. Senate seat. State Rep. Russell Ott, D-St. Matthews, officially announced a bid Feb. 13 to take on state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Columbia, in Senate District 26, which runs from the heart of downtown Columbia to rural Calhoun County.
The Antichrist?
Award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail generally has a biting or funny comment about the great state of South Carolina in his weekly cartoon. This week, he focuses his pen on former President Donald Trump.
- Love the cartoon? Hate it? What do you think: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Medical marijuana relief needed for sufferers of pain, nausea
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | People with everything from cancer and rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis and epilepsy will tell you the same thing about medical marijuana – it helps. For many, it helps a whole lot and in ways that traditional treatments don’t.
Taken often as gummies or tinctures, medical marijuana can relieve serious nausea from chemotherapy infusions of life-giving poisons that treat cancer. It can reduce seizures. It can curb chronic pain from arthritis and conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis, nerve damage and more. It often alleviates symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress syndrome.
And medical marijuana can give many suffering from ailments enough relief to be able to rest and recuperate. There’s also evidence that it improves sleep, increases appetite in people with HIV and AIDS, and reduces anxiety.
To not have medical marijuana available for South Carolinians who can really benefit from it is just plain cruel.
“The medicinal benefits are well-known, especially for those suffering from chronic pain,” said S.C. Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, D-Charleston. “We need to give those people opportunities for relief.”
Now there’s a good chance that a bill that passed 24-19 the Senate with bipartisan support on Feb. 14 after 10 years of legislative wrangling can be signed into law. But first, the S.C. House, which put the last-minute kibosh on a similar measure in 2022 because there was a tax problem in the proposal, has a chance to move it forward.
The sponsor of the Senate bill, Republican Sen. Tom Davis of Beaufort, says he likes the chances for final passage of the bill this year. He reportedly removed a 6% fee on medical marijuana sales that caused problems in 2022 that led to the proposal’s failure.
“I can’t think of a bill that has undergone more testimony, more scrutiny and more debate,” Davis said in an Associated Press report.
Davis emphasized that his “Compassionate Care Act” doesn’t seek to allow recreational marijuana use, and that under his newly passed bill, smoking marijuana would still be illegal. Patients would instead use oil, salves, patches or vaporizers. Illnesses that can be treated with marijuana products are also specified, including cancer, sickle cell anemia, autism and some post-traumatic stress disorders.
Another benefit of the bill is that it could throw a roadblock in the power that the state Department of Health and Environmental Control has over product labels for legal hemp-infused beverages. A recent crackdown has some businesses feeling threatened.
House members like Pendarvis say they’re cautiously optimistic of the chances of passage in the conservative House where Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 2-1 margin. A blend of Democrats, moderate Republicans and the libertarian-influenced-but conservative-Freedom Caucus seem to have enough votes to send the bill to Gov. Henry McMaster.
But there are opponents, including some in law enforcement and the House Family Caucus. It is a group of conservative Christian lawmakers who many fear will try to delay a vote on the measure by drawing up hundreds of amendments. The House only has so much time to debate this spring because it soon will have to take up the state budget.
Davis told reporters earlier this month that the House’s leadership is key to moving everything forward.
“It’s got to take leadership over there, saying to the members, ‘it’s been 10 years, we deserve a vote on this,’” he said. “Obviously that’s up to the speaker to decide whether to do that. I hope that he does.”
If South Carolina lawmakers approve use of medical marijuana for some patients, it would become the 39th state to legalize its use, according to S.C. Public Radio.
Let’s hope common sense prevails to put the proposal to a vote so that everyone retching from chemo treatments and dealing with pain can get a little relief.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
SC Clips
Statehouse Report is brought to you weekly at no cost thanks to our underwriters. In the spotlight today is SC Clips, an affordable, daily information digest that provides you with the South Carolina news you need every business day. Subscribers receive a daily email news round-up before 10 a.m. that provides a link to each day’s edition of SC Clips.
Each issue (click for sample) provides a concise summary of dozens of the latest newspaper and television reports of news with statewide impact, politics, business and local stories. Readers also are linked to key opinions by South Carolina’s editorial writers.
- Learn more about this great news service that will save you time — which saves you money.
- Get a trial run at no cost.
Relaxing
This guy is enjoying the bubbling water in the minimalist park fountain. Where was this photo taken? Know anything about the park? Send us your guess as well as your name and hometown to feedback@statehousereport.com.
David Lupo of Mount Pleasant quickly identified last week’s mystery photo, “Tidy building.” He writes: “That would be the Latta Library in Latta, SC. In 1911, the Rev. W.C. Allen began a movement to get a public library in Latta. The town approved the creation of a library association, which applied to Andrew Carnegie for funding for a library. With the contribution of a lot by Latta resident C.F. Bass and the approval of a tax to fund upkeep, Carnegie provided the funds for construction. The building was designed by Columbia architects Wilson and Sompayrac. It now serves as the base of the Dillon County Library, and it is one of five out of the original Carnegie libraries in South Carolina still operating as a library.”
Hats off to a host of other regulars who correctly identified the library: Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Jay Altman and Elizabeth Jones, both of Columbia; Gwen Strickland of Marion; Bill Segars of Hartsville; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Frank Bouknight of Summerville; and Pat Keadle of Wagener.
We also give a special shout-out to Segars for challenging us (that’s a first) to identify the domed building in the right rear of the photo. (It’s the local Baptist church!).
- Send us a mystery picture. If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
Send us your thoughts
We encourage you to send in your thoughts about policy and politics impacting South Carolina. We’ve gotten some letters in the last few weeks – some positive, others nasty. We print non-defamatory comments, but unless you provide your contact information – name and hometown, plus a phone number used only by us for verification – we can’t publish your thoughts.
- Have a comment? Send your letters or comments to: feedback@statehousereport.com. Make sure to provide your contact details (name, hometown and phone number for verification. Letters are limited to 150 words.
- ORDER NOW: Copies are in Lowcountry-area bookstores now, but if you can’t swing by, you can order a copy online today.
- Now available as an e-book!
ABOUT STATEHOUSE REPORT
Statehouse Report, founded in 2001 as a weekly legislative forecast that informs readers about what is going to happen in South Carolina politics and policy, is provided to you at no charge every Friday.
- Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
Donate today
We’re proud to offer Statehouse Report for free. For more than a dozen years, we’ve been the go-to place for insightful independent policy and political news and views in the Palmetto State. And we love it as much as you do.
But now, we can use your help. If you’ve been thinking of contributing to Statehouse Report over the years, now would be a great time to contribute as we deal with the crisis. In advance, thank you.
Buy the book
Now you can get a copy of editor and publisher Andy Brack’s We Can Do Better, South Carolina! ($14.99) as a paperback or as a Kindle book ($7.99). . The book of essays offers incisive commentaries by editor and publisher Andy Brack on the American South, the common good, vexing problems for the Palmetto State and interesting South Carolina leaders.
More
- Mailing address: Send inquiries by mail to: P.O. Box 21942, Charleston, SC 29413
- Subscriptions are free: Click to subscribe.
- We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from Statehouse Report, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to the bottom of the weekly email issue and follow the instructions.
- Read our sister publication: Charleston City Paper (every Friday in print; Every day online)
- © 2024, Statehouse Report, a publication of City Paper Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
Pingback: How much does Liquor Liability Insurance cost in Grants Pass, Oregon?