Updated 12/28/2018
On Jan. 9, 2009, Statehouse Report outlined 11 sweeping South Carolina policy objectives to provide lawmakers with a guide of how it could make significant changes for the people of the state. From the original proposal for the Palmetto Priorities:
“If you don’t have a policy map for where you want to be headed, you will flounder in proposal after proposal. Therefore, today we highlight 11 broad continuing objectives for state legislators to consider and use as a bipartisan guide to creating a better South Carolina.”
During the last decade, we’ve removed two priorities that were accomplished – increasing the state’s cigarette tax to $1 a pack to curb smoking and associated health risks, and increasing voter registration to 75 percent. Here is the most recent list (2018) of Palmetto Priorities for South Carolina:
GUN REFORM (new): Close the “Charleston loophole” in 2019 to extend the waiting period for purchasing a gun to at least five days to allow federal examiners more time for background checks. Consider other reasonable reforms to reduce gun violence in South Carolina.
POVERTY. Develop a broad-based anti-poverty agenda by 2020 that includes the jobs, education and health care components listed below to help lift the almost one in five South Carolinians in poverty into better conditions.
JOBS. Approve a Cabinet-level post by 2020 to add and retain 10,000 small business jobs per year. Politicians talk about helping small businesses. This would force them to.
EDUCATION. Cut the state’s dropout rate in half by 2020.
HEALTH CARE. Ensure affordable and accessible health care that optimizes preventive care for every South Carolinian by 2020. Expand Medicaid. More people need to be on health insurance, not less.
ENVIRONMENT. Adopt a real state energy policy that requires energy producers to generate 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.
TAXES. Overhaul and stabilize the state’s antiquated tax structure by 2020 through reforms that broaden the tax base and lower rates. This should include reimplementation of reasonable property taxes and removal of hundreds of millions of dollars of special-interest sales tax exemptions.
CORRECTIONS. Cut the prison population by 25 percent by 2020 through creative alternative sentencing programs for non-violent offenders.
ROADS. Develop and implement a plan that creatively taps several sources to generate more millions of dollars every year for investment in the state’s crumbling system of roads and bridges, and start pigeon-holing money for significant investments in public transit.
POLITICS. Have a vigorous two- or multi-party political system of governance, i.e., abandon gerrymandering of election districts.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!