By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | For the coming 2020 legislative session, the past may prove to be prologue. Here are some of 2019’s stories that will likely play out beginning Jan. 14, the second year of a two-year session:
What will happen to Santee Cooper?
Perhaps the biggest question of the 2020 session will be the fate of state-owned utility Santee Cooper. In 2019, lawmakers kicked around a bunch of ideas, ordered reports and debated a bit on its fate.
By the end of January, lawmakers should have a new report from the S.C. Department of Administration detailing bids that will include options selling it to a private entity, such as Duke Energy or NextEra; or having a company like Dominion Energy manage it; or keeping the utility as a state-owned asset that is restructured
- Read about how this topped lawmakers’ list of ‘spooky’ things for 2020 (Beware, this Halloween-themed story may clash with the reds and greens of this season).
Energy and the environment
The first year of the 2019-2020 legislative session concluded as a “surprising” year for environmental causes, such as laying a pathway for renewable energy in the state. Lawmakers said they wanted the state’s utilities to be locked into contracts for at least 10 years with renewable generators, and to pay fair prices for that energy. Read the end-of-session story here for more details.
But more legislation is likely in the works for 2020. One of the biggest issues that cropped up in the off-session is how the state’s utility regulator, the state Public Service Commission, is enacting the S.C. Energy Freedom Act. Some say a December decision that locks rates to a 10-year contract but at nearly a third less than previous rates will be a “doomsday” for solar, but PSC regulators say that’s hyperbole. Read about how lawmakers are eyeing changes on the PSC or scrapping the entire model of how the state regulates utilities. Last week, an email exchange between a commissioner and a conservation nonprofit led to lawmakers asking for a legal and ethics review. Read more.
In the off-session, Statehouse Report also looked at two issues for the state: carbon emissions (they’re dropping but state could take bigger steps) and offshore wind power (the state has an enormous untapped resource).
A surplus, the budget and pensions
For a second consecutive year, state budget writers missed the mark on projecting revenues by more than 2 percent. That means the 2020-2021 budget will include a $350 million surplus from this year’s budget that will likely go mostly to one-time, pet projects. Read the story.
In the current budget cycle, lawmakers chose to dole out $50 household rebate checks from the previous year’s $177 million surplus.
In addition to the previous year’s surplus, budget forecasters have projected another $1.8 billion in extra revenues for the 2020-2021 budget — likely bringing the state’s annual budget to about $11 billion. This is on top of S.C. economists warning lawmakers to invest wisely as growth is expected to “soften.” Read more.
Expect big budget fights, pay raises for teachers (some of whom are still unhappy about proposed education changes), but some are saying nothing additional will be put toward state employee pensions.
Speaking of pensions, that could become a priority as libertarian think tank Reason lobbies lawmakers to change the system into more of a 401(k)-styled system that puts all the retirement investment risk on individuals, with no guarantee of a pension from the state. Read more.
Vaping regulations
Dire headlines about teen use of electronic cigarettes and cases of vaping-related illness and deaths have led to a plate of regulations being pushed by a bipartisan group of House members. Read more the effort to regulate vaping in the state. Look for a large omnibus package in 2020.
Education overhaul and more
Educator groups in the state are still trying to pump the brakes on a massive education bill that tweaks a number of state public education laws, including giving teachers a bigger starting salary. The Senate is primed for debate beginning in January, jumping ahead on the calendar before it gets mired in the Santee Cooper decision and then the budget. Already, Gov. Henry McMaster has set the stage — with support from House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Hartsville — for a $3,000 pay increase for teachers out of the state budget.
In 2019, educators staged a “walkout” that threatened to undo lawmakers’ goodwill. Now, the same group, SCforEd, is demanding lawmakers to agree to a list of demands before March 17. Another teacher rally could be in the works, organizers said.
And while no other major legislation is expected in 2020 outside of funding from the budget and the overhaul package, the Senate has also tasked a panel to begin examining how the state funds public education. Much of the panel’s work will happen in the coming session. Read the story here.
Taxes examined
In 2019, Republicans in the House began a multi-year push to begin reforming the state’s tax system. Think: getting rid of exemptions but lowering the rates overall. It’s all about “broadening the base,” they told Statehouse Report. Read the story here.
And a Democratic-led bill would bring an additional state incentive and more oversight to the federal opportunity zones. Opportunity zones were introduced by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and included in the federal massive tax overhaul of 2017. Its critics say it enriches the wealthy by allowing them to take investment earnings and re-invest in impoverished areas tax-free, without much transparency or community input. Charleston Rep. Marvin Pendarvis is looking to “super charge” the tax breaks. Read more here.
Opioid response continues
As class-action and other government litigation continues over local and state government responses and expenses from the opioid crisis, South Carolina received praise from federal officials in 2019 for its response so far to curbing the epidemic. Read the story here.
More legislation is likely in 2020. S.C. Rep. Russell Fry, R-Horry, has prefiled a bill that requires prescribers to offer a prescription for opioid-overdose antidote Naloxone to a patient under certain circumstances.
Plastics, plastics, plastics
South Carolina appears at a crossroads as more local governments seek to curb single-use plastics and the state’s officials appear to encourage more plastic industry to locate here. Read the story here about the strange push and pull of plastic in the state.
There is also a push at the Statehouse now to soften regulation of a plastic recycling process that promises to reduce waste and bring in jobs. But some lawmakers and environmental advocates say the heat method is dirty and would be worse for South Carolina. Read more.
A few extra reads
While you’re waiting for the in-laws to leave or avoiding cleaning up the kitchen, here’s a deep-dives of past stories you might want to read to get ready for a big legislative year:
- SAFETY: ‘Negative outcomes’ for kids linked to push for school safety
- HEALTH: Hundreds in S.C. died without Medicaid expansion, experts say
- BOARDS: Whites, males comprise big majority of state university governing boards
- PAYDAY: Big money being made off low-income earners in S.C.
- THE COUNT: 2020 Census could bring budget hits to most S.C. counties, RFA reports
- Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!