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Legislators slowly
churn through proposed bills
By Andy Brack
SC Statehouse Report
APRIL 27, 2003 - - By any objective measure, the SC General Assembly
hasn't done much this year.
After working almost four months, lawmakers have passed only one
major statewide bill - - a measure to exempt broadband Internet
services from regulation by the Public Service Commission, which
has already spurred millions of dollars in investment by communications
companies.
More than five dozen other measures have become law, but they're
mostly local school, administrative or other matters that don't
yield big change that affects the lives of most people in South
Carolina.
But a closer look at what's going on in Columbia shows lawmakers
have been busy. In the toughest budget year in memory, the House
has produced a $5 billion budget that includes measures for new
revenues. The Senate, which is expected to start debate on its version
of the budget in the coming week, is discussing a flurry of other
revenue measures to protect Medicaid recipients and more fully fund
schools, which face the loss of thousands of teachers.
While the budget, as usual, hogs the limelight, there has been
significant movement on several other measures.
The House, for example, has passed a major piece of legislation
just about every week of the session so far - - from reforms to
the Department of Commerce and Division of Motor Vehicles to lowering
drunken driving levels and Medicaid reform.
The Senate, where bills naturally move slower because of rules
that allow senators to stall legislation, has approved measures
to protect folks from predatory lenders, and reforms to the state
Public Service Commission and campaign finance laws (the House approved
three similar measures too.)
"Sometimes the mark of a successful session may be what didn't
pass, rather than what did," SC Sen. Tom Moore, D-Aiken, noted.
Often in the first year of a two-year session, as lawmakers currently
are in, the first year is spent getting legislation on track or
through one chamber. If controversial, it often moves slowly to
allow lawmakers to consider various ramifications. By the second
year, like next year, election-year politics often takes over and
may speed through legislation that's been stalled awhile.
"We've got two years to get the job done," noted Rep.
Harry Cato, R-Greenville. "Why get in a rush the first year?"
It's a guess to predict what will happen during the five weeks
left in this year's session, but look for major measures to pass
both houses and become law to include rules to curb predatory lending,
Public Service Commission reform, establishment of a state venture
capital fund, realignment of higher education supervisory administration,
and, perhaps, revised campaign finance rules. There likely will
be some increases to state revenues, but it's unclear whether that
will come in the form of a cigarette tax hike, sales tax hike or
refinancing of tobacco bond monies.
Next year, major initiatives on the front burner that may get legislative
approval include Gov. Mark Sanford's restructuring initiatives,
multiple education initiatives, a bill to allow bars to dispense
alcohol from bottles other than minibottles and more.
Other measures appear to face more hurdles, including tort reform,
DMV restructuring and an employment at-will measure that would codify
court standards to allow companies to hire and fire at will.
"Next year's an election year for everybody, so that might
be part of the strategy too," said House Judiciary Chairman
Jim Harrison, R-Richland.
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