Our weekly Top Five feature offers big stories or views from the past week with policy and legislative implications.
- AirBnB to collect taxes from S.C. renters, The Post and Courier, May 18, 2016
Beginning June 1, people who rent homes and rooms in South Carolina through Airbnb will pay sales and use taxes, local taxes, and the state accommodations tax. The move, a way to curb criticism that the rental service has an unfair advantage over traditional hotels and inns, may not quell discussions for more regulation.
- Monthly heat records broken for 12th straight month, Associated Press, May 18, 2016
Still don’t believe in climate change? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Earth’s average temperature in April was two degrees higher than the 20th century average. If the Earth’s temperature keeps warming, there will be huge public policy impacts in the years ahead.
- Millions could get pay hikes under new overtime rules, The State, May 17, 2016
A move by the Obama administration would double the minimum cutoff pay for salaried employees before they are required to be paid overtime.
- Justice Department to investigate North Charleston police, The New York Times, May 18, 2016
The North Charleston Police Department will undergo an extensive voluntary review by the federal Department of Justice, an investigation requested by the city a year after one of its own was charged with murder after shooting an unarmed black man in the back during a traffic stop.
- Democrats may gain ground in legislatures outside of South Carolina, Governing magazine,
Columnist Louis Jacobson handicaps state legislative races across the country and finds Democrats may have a chance to take back some House and Senate chambers in states other than South Carolina because of higher expected voter turnout in a presidential year. His conclusion about the S.C. legislature is pretty blunt: “Both chambers are solidly Republican and will stay that way.”
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