News
Legislative roundup: The 4th week of the legislative session
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The fourth week of the legislative session:
TEXTING-DRIVING: South Carolina could join a growing list of states that ban texting while driving, but in a state that relishes personal freedoms, legislators said the effort will hit a road bump if they also try to bar drivers from chatting with a phone at their ear. The measure approved unanimously Wednesday by a House Education subcommittee would prohibit drivers from sending text messages or using a hand-held cell phone. Legislators will try to separate the issues when full committee meets. Under the bill, offenders could be fined up to $100 and get two points on their license. School bus drivers who text or use a cell phone would face harsher penalties and lose their school bus certification. While the bill exempts hand-free devices, lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Legislature long have balked at telling people what they can hold while in their vehicles.
UNEMPLOYMENT: Legislators want the three commissioners running the state Employment Security Commission removed after a series of flaps, including news that the jobless benefit agency faced nearly $1 million in penalties for not paying income taxes withheld from unemployment checks. The state Revenue Department cut the $950,000 tab in interest and penalties to $25,000 on $16 million in unpaid withholdings from February to May 2009, but the commission said Thursday it has no idea how much the Internal Revenue Service may assess. The commission hasn't tried to figure out independently what the penalty might be. Some legislators want the agency made a part of the governor's Cabinet and the commissioners' roles curtailed. Both are central to legislation the Senate expects to take up next week.
VOTER ID: South Carolina voters would have to bring photo identification with them to polling places under a measure that cleared the Senate on Wednesday, sending it back to the House. The bill likely will end up in a conference committee to work out differences between the two versions. South Carolina voters aren't required to have a photo ID when they vote now. Under the proposal, they would have to show a state- or federal-issued ID starting in 2012. Democrats had opposed the measure as potentially discriminatory. They conceded when Republicans agreed to allow early voting, with no excuse required, for two weeks before an election, and to allow adults to get ID cards for free. Voters could still cast a ballot in person up to a month early if they provide an excuse for why they can't vote on Election Day.
SENTENCING REFORM: South Carolina needs to reduce the number of people going to jail for minor offenses and let more people out on parole, a legislative panel reviewing the state's sentencing policies said in a report released Tuesday. Sentencing policies of the past 10 years have sent more people to prison for nonviolent crimes, making those offenders account for nearly half the state's 25,000 inmates, reported the Sentencing Reform Commission. That reduces the number of beds available to house the most violent offenders. South Carolina spent almost $400 million on prisons operations in 2008, up from less than $65 million in 1983. The report said South Carolina could save more than $300 million over the next five years by not having to build new prison space if the recommendations are enacted. It projected another $92 million could be saved in operating costs.
CIGARETTE TAXES: South Carolina's schools chief called on legislators Thursday to increase the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax to the national average, and put half of the additional revenue toward education to stop looming teacher furloughs. Leaders of anti-tobacco and education groups joined Superintendent Jim Rex to ask legislators to add $1.27 to the per-pack tax, which as been unchanged at 7 cents since 1977. Increasing the tax will prevent youth from picking up the habit, encourage adults to quit and reduce health care costs, said the Democratic candidate for governor. Rex wants half of the new money, projected at $239 million, to temporarily go to education, until state spending returns to 2008 levels. He proposes that most of the rest go toward Medicaid. A 50-cent tax hike proposal is in the Senate.
WARRANTLESS SEARCHES: Legislators have tweaked a bill allowing officers to conduct warrantless searches by requiring them to first verify the person is on probation or parole. The House Judiciary Committee approved the measure Tuesday that allows officers to bypass going to a judge for a warrant before searching people on probation or parole. They can search the person, the vehicle the person owns or is driving, and any possessions, such as a purse. Democratic Rep. Todd Rutherford of Columbia said verification is needed to prevent officers from searching anyone they wanted, using the excuse they thought he was on probation. The bill moves to the House floor. The Senate approved it last year.
TEACHER SALARIES: South Carolina would scrap incentive pay for teachers earning a prestigious national certification under a cost-cutting measure given initial approval by legislators. A House Ways and Means subcommittee voted Tuesday to halt the $7,500 annual stipend for teachers earning national board certification, limiting it to those who already hold the certificate or are in the process of obtaning it. South Carolina would suspend new loans that pay upfront application fees for teachers and not pay stipends for teachers renewing their certificate for 10 more years. Kathy Maness, director of the Palmetto State Teachers Association, said she fears that phasing out the program will cause many of the best teachers to move into administration to earn more money.
DOT AUDIT: The state Department of Transportation has made many improvements after a 2006 audit found the agency wasted tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and lacked accountability, but more work is needed, according to a report released Tuesday. The follow-up audit noted the agency is losing ground on one goal. Rather than speed how long it takes to negotiate and sign contracts, the agency now takes longer: an average of more than 44 weeks in 2009, up from 34 in 2006. Contracting delays can cause the state to lose money, according to the report by California-based MGT of America Inc. The report also found the 2007 law designed to fix problems has led to inefficiency and possibly higher costs. It said requiring the agency to report on and seek approval from the commission on each project — including low-cost, low-risk projects — is time-consuming for staff and burdensome for commissioners wading through the paperwork. It also said the agency's interpretation of the law has it seeking approval from its seven-member governing board at least three times during the contract process.
PROPERTY TAXES: Legislators are weighing whether communities should lose tax dollars or gain potential property sales. State senators are considering a proposal to offer a business and homeowner real estate tax break. Real estate agents said a property tax law that shields homeowners from dramatic tax increases as values rise hurts sales because new buyers get slammed with the increase. They said the problem is worse for commercial property. But local governments could lose $44 million under proposals to keep tax bills from rising when property is sold.
