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...
Building Stronger Counties for Tomorrow
Issue 04-06,
February 3, 2006
Issue
05-06, February 10, 2006
Issue 06-06, February 17, 2006
Issue 07-06, February 24, 2006
(Other 2006 Reports)
The Friday
Report will be published online around 1:00 p.m. every Friday
while the South Carolina General Assembly is in session.
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1. |
EMINENT DOMAIN / TAKINGS-
H. 4502
and
H. 4503
H. 4502 and
H. 4503 combine
extremely costly changes to
current eminent domain and
regulatory takings law into the
same bills. H. 4502 is a
Constitutional Amendment and
H. 4503 implements
the Constitutional Amendment.
Both bills are on the contested
calendar in the House and will
probably be debated on Tuesday,
February 28.
Rep. Scarborough is offering
an amendment to delete the
regulatory takings provisions of
each bill. PLEASE
CONTACT HOUSE MEMBERS
IMMEDIATELY TO ASK THAT THEY
SUPPORT THESE AMENDMENTS.
The takings language in
H. 4503 will severely
restrict your ability to address
citizen concerns involving
zoning and other land use
regulations. There are a few
exemptions from the regulatory
takings provision of
H. 4503, such as
ordinances enacted prior to the
current owner’s acquisition of
the property claimed to be
affected and uses prohibiting
sale of pornographic material
and nude dancing, but they
clearly are not comprehensive
enough to protect our
communities.
The eminent domain provisions in
H. 4502 Change the
definition of “just
compensation” to include damages
for business losses, business
re-establishment expenses,
temporary inconvenience, and
leasehold contract damages. This
is far more than the existing
law. Private utilities and DOT
plan to put up an amendment to
create exclusions to keep them
from these costly provisions,
leaving local governments as the
primary subject of the eminent
domain revisions. This is the
“billboards” formula applied to
local governments again.
ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO
SUPPORT THE AMENDMENTS TO SEVER
THE REGULATORY TAKINGS
PROVISIONS FROM
H. 4503 FOR
FURTHER STUDY. HOME RULE IS
UNDER ASSAULT.
SCAC
CANNOT MAKE CAMPAIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS OR CONTRIBUTE TO
PACS. ALL WE HAVE
IS GRASS ROOT SUPPORT. IF LOCAL
OFFICIALS DO NOTHING, BAD THINGS
HAPPEN. |
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2. |
PROPERTY
TAX RESTRUCTURING IN THE SENATE
A. Millage Rate Cap
Constitutional Amendment -
S. 969
The Senate spent a good deal of
time looking at amendments to
S. 969
this week. One amendment
sponsored by
Sens. Hayes and
Leatherman to allow a 3/4
vote of the governing body to
exceed the millage cap without a
referendum was defeated on a
20-20 tie vote broken by the Lt.
Governor. This leaves no
effective manner to override the
millage caps in the event of a
compelling and unforeseen
situation, because of the timing
issues inherent in a referendum
being held five months into the
fiscal year. The State does not
pass a budget without knowing
that the funding for their
expenditures are there. Why
should local elected leaders be
put in that position?
The roll call vote is below for
your review. We will make
another run at adding an
amendment to allow We will make
another run at adding an
amendment to allow an override
vote, so contact your members to
let them know this is needed.
The amendments to
S. 969 adopted this week
were:
• an exception to the millage
rate cap for unfunded state or
federal mandates
mandates by Sen. Hutto;
• an exception to the millage
rate cap for plant closures
which reduce property tax
revenue by 10% by Sen. Sheheen; and
• a provision to allow the
school millage rate cap to be
exceeded by a referendum.
During the debate it was stated
over and over again that the
millage rate caps are necessary
to prevent cities and counties
“rushing in to raise the millage
in the vacuum of lower school
millage after a tax swap.” This
is putting the cart before the
horse when no tax swap proposal
has been adopted by the Senate
yet. This coupled with a
substantial movement within the
Senate to exempt all classes of
property from school operating
property tax (precisely SCAC’s
policy on this issue) caused the
Senate to adjourn debate on
S. 969 until the
details of any sales tax for
property tax swap can be worked
out in Senate Finance Committee.
B. Sales Tax for Property Tax
Swap Legislation -
H. 4449
A Senate Finance subcommittee
received a detailed explanation
of House passed bill (H.
4449) and will take
it bill up again next Tuesday.
This is the subcommittee which
will consider the proposal to
exempt all classes of property
from school operating property
taxes and replace them with a
state funded formula. SCAC
will, as requested, offer
testimony on the contents of
H. 4449 and advocate
the SCAC policy to exempt all
classes of property from school
operating taxes.
The merits of this
approach are:
• It avoids a shift of the
property tax burden from one
class of property to another.
• It avoids numerous problems
with the Index of Tax Paying
Ability and state
funding formulas.
• It does away with the problem
of statutory school millage rate
drivers
(maintenance of local effort) compounding school millage rates ever
higher year
after year.
• Greatly simplifies school
funding formulas across the
state, so that members of the
General Assembly can more easily understand and predict the results of
proposed
school funding changes.
The most likely source of
replacement revenue is an
increase in the sales tax by 2
or 2.5% with additional sources
or exemption changes or even
state general fund
appropriations. The distribution
among school districts would
probably be through a weighted
pupil unit formula with a hold
harmless funding level for
current state funding to
individual districts.
NOW IS
THE TIME TO CONTACT THE
MEMBERS OF THE SENATE FINANCE
COMMITTEE, ESPECIALLY
THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS, TO
ADVOCATE THE SCAC POLICY
POSITION TO EXEMPT ALL CLASSES
OF PROPERTY FROM SCHOOL
OPERATING MILLAGE AND REPLACE
THE FUNDING WITH A STATE REVENUE
SOURCE. |
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3. |
HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE
CONTINUES TO WORK ON THE BUDGET
The House Ways and Means
Committee will continue their
work on the budget into next
week. It was anticipated that
the committee would complete
work on the budget this week,
but the process was delayed by a
revised BEA estimate of
additional money available. The
Governor wants to limit state
spending to CPI plus population,
repay trust funds which were
utilized to balance the budget
in years past, and send the rest
of the money back to taxpayers.
Some House members want to spend
the additional money on state
needs and infrastructure. This
debate would seem to call into
question the need for the
proposed proviso which will
increase the per diem paid by
local governments for juveniles
housed by DJJ from $25 to $50.
If the state already has
additional money why do they
need to charge property
taxpayers MORE money for the
housing of juveniles?
ASK YOUR HOUSE MEMBERS
TO
DELETE THE $25 INCREASE IN DJJ
PER DIEM. |
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5. |
STATEWIDE CABLE FRANCHISES -
H.4428
Has been referred to the Senate
Judiciary Committee. As reported
last week, the bill has some
major flaws:
● The definition of gross
revenue.
● Unilateral termination of
existing cable franchise
agreements.
● Does away with any effective
way for consumers to get service
complaints
addressed.
● Undermines the encroachment
permit system used to protect
public rights of way
used by utilities.
This is being proposed under the
guise of competition. But if it
is going to be such a good deal
to the consumer, why are the
cable companies the main
proponents? Please examine
the impact of
H. 4428 on county
franchise fees, encroachment
permit systems and consumer
complaint handling procedures
and communicate that information
to
your Senators. Hearings
will begin shortly. |
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6. |
WORKERS' COMPENSATION REFORM -
H. 4427 &
S. 1035
H. 4427 was given a
favorable report by a House LCI
subcommittee and sent to the
full House LCI committee for its
meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The amendments included:
1) Sunset the Second Injury Fund
(SIF) no later than 2012.
2) Codify a decision allowing
the claimant himself to testify
as if a medical expert.
3) Cap defense attorney fees to
$4,500 per case.
The first amendment is needed.
The other two amendments
mentioned make the system worse.
Item 2 allows a commissioner to
rely on the claimant’s testimony
over the expert testimony of a
medical doctor. Attorney fee
caps are a problem because
employers are required to have
an attorney anytime they appear
before the commission. Capping
defense attorney fees may
require employers to hire an
additional or new attorney in
the middle of a case.
Please contact your
representative,
particularly
members of the House LCI
committee, to support
the bill and oppose the other
two items mentioned above
relating to expert medical
testimony and caps on defense
attorney’s fees. Members of
the LCI Committee are: Reps
Cato (chairman),
Dantzler,
Bales,
Bingham,
Bowers,
Brown,
Chellis,
Emory,
Hamilton,
Huggins,
Leach,
Mack,
Perry,
Phillips,
Sandifer,
Scarborough,
Thompson and
Tripp. |
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7. |
OTHER ACTIONS OF INTEREST TO
COUNTY OFFICIALS
A. Poll Worker Immunity -
S. 370.
A House Judiciary subcommittee
gave a favorable report to
S. 370. The bill
gives poll workers immunity from
civil liability for any act or
omission made in good faith and
which does not constitute gross
negligence or willfulness.
S. 370 has been sent
to the House Judiciary
committee.
B. Runoff Primary Date -
H. 4658 &
S. 1145. A House
Judiciary subcommittee adjourned
debate on
H. 4658 to require
that a runoff party primary be
held four weeks (instead of two
weeks) after the first primary.
The legislation is in response
to a request by the US
Department of Justice to ensure
that overseas voters have an
opportunity to vote in a runoff
election. The Senate companion
bill,
S. 1145, is in a
Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
C. Poll Managers -
H. 4356. The House
Judiciary gave a favorable
report to an amended version of
H. 4356. The bill was
amended to prohibit 16 or 17
year olds from being more than
1/3 of managers in a polling
place.
H. 4356 also allows a
poll manager to be a registered
voter anywhere in the state
instead of just the respective
county in which he is appointed
to work. The bill has been
placed on the House calendar.
D. Local Accommodations Tax -
S. 985. A Senate
Finance subcommittee voted to
allow the use of 20% of the
local accommodations tax (A tax)
revenue for operation of tourist
facilities regardless of the
amount of state A tax revenue
collected instead of dropping
the threshold of state A tax
collected.
S. 985 will be before
the full Finance Committee next
Tuesday. There is discussion of
using local hospitality tax
revenue in some combination with
local A Tax revenue.
S. 985 will be on the
Senate Finance Committee agenda
next week.
E. Landfills -
H. 4545;
H. 4546;
H. 4574. Have been
carried over in a House
Agriculture sub committee until
next week. The subcommittee has
discussed an amendment that
would treat private and public
landfills differently. Please
see discussion on
H. 4556 below.
F. Spartanburg County Landfill -
H. 4556. A Senate
Medical Affairs subcommittee
adjourned debate on this local
bill, but plans to take up an
amendment that has statewide
implications at its next
meeting. The amendment would
prohibit privately owned
landfills from expanding or
constructing new landfills
unless demonstration of need
requirements are met and no
variances for privately owned
landfills could be granted. At
this point, the amendment does
not affect local governments
ability to grant variances for
publicly owned landfills in
their solid waste plans.
G. Voting Centers -
H. 4417. The House
Judiciary Committee tabled
H. 4417, which would
have authorized a pilot program
testing the establishment of
vote centers in which a voter in
a county may vote outside of the
precinct in which he resides.
H. Filling Office Vacancies -
H. 4559. The House
Judiciary recommitted
H. 4559 to
subcommittee. The bill provides
for a uniform method of filling
vacancies in an elected or
appointed office when a person
moves his residence outside of
the area from which he was
elected or appointed.
I. Notification to Mortgagees -
S. 490. The House
Concurred in the Senate
Amendments to
S. 490 and the bill
has been enrolled for
ratification.
S. 490 now provides
that mortgagees must receive
notice 45 days prior to a tax
sale. A tax collector is only
required to send this notice if
the mortgagee has filed a list
of mortgages with the tax
collector. The legislation also
amends §12-51-90
to state that a tax deed is not
contestable on procedural or
other grounds 24 months after it
is issued. |
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8. |
SCAC Lobby Days Schedule
Please mark your calendar and
plan to come to Columbia on the
following Tuesday for the
designated Lobby Day. This is
open to all county officials,
just let us know you are coming
so we will be prepared with
enough briefing materials. We
start at 10:30 a.m. in the SCAC
office with the briefing on the
issues being discussed, how you
can best reach your members of
the General Assembly, and the
meetings being held that day and
adjourn to make visits at the
State House for the rest of the
day.
THESE MEETINGS ARE MAKING A
DIFFERENCE. These events
have been well attended and the
communications made by the
participating county officials
are making a difference in the
debate. You may certainly come
on a different or additional
Tuesdays if your schedule allows
or requires it.
February 28 Florence,
Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton,
Williamsburg |
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9. |
SCAC MID-YEAR
CONFERENCE - March
8, 2006
The SCAC Mid-Year
Conference will be held at the
Embassy Suites Hotel in
Columbia, on Wednesday, March 8,
2006. Registration information
has been mailed and is available
on our
Web site or by calling the SCAC
office at 1 (800) 922 - 6081.
Check out the conference
highlights!
The Mid-Year Conference will
be held on Wednesday, March 8,
2006. The program will
provide a briefing on
legislation affecting county
government before the General
Assembly and give county and
state officials an opportunity
to discuss those issues. Now is
the time to start arranging
meetings with members of your
delegation. SCAC will also
host the General Assembly at a
reception Wednesday evening,
March 8th at Embassy Suites
Hotel.
The Institute of Government
classes will be held on Tuesday,
March 7. These informational
courses are open to all county
officials. Information has been
mailed and you may call SCAC at
1 (800) 922 - 6081 or check our
Web
site.
Mail in your registration
or
Register on-line by February
24th or call the SCAC
office at 1 (800) 922 - 6081. |
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Newly-Introduced
Legislation
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Note: If you would like copies of any of the bills or if
you would like to offer comments to the SCAC staff, please call us toll-free at
1-800-922-6081 or fax us at 1 (803) 252-0379 or email us. Or, you can
view or download bills by clicking on the bill number.
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HOUSE BILLS
H. 4681
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Permits local
governments to regulate the
sale, use, transportation and
public brandishment of firearms
during times of insurrection,
invasions, riots or natural
disasters.
H. 4687 -
Provides that intensive
supervision services are among
the community-based programs DJJ
provides.
H. 4691
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Permits a county in which less
than $900,000 a year in state
accommodations tax is collected
to use not more than 50% of the
previous year’s local
accommodations tax revenue for
the maintenance and operations
purposes allowed by law.
H. 4693 -
Makes it illegal for a person
under 18 to drive while using a
cell phone.
H. 4702 -
Requires the Budget and Control
Board to establish a statewide
planning and mapping system for
public buildings in this state
for use by agencies responding
to acts of terrorism or related
emergencies.
H. 4704 -
Requires DMV to issue driver’s
license decals to individuals
who are exempt from the seatbelt
law.
H. 4706 -
Provides that when a lienholder
receives notification from a
towing company, storage
facility, garage, or repair shop
that a vehicle is being sold,
the vehicle must be released to
the lienholder responsible for
paying towing and storage costs.
H. 4709 -
Prohibits a governmental entity
from accepting a proposal,
goods, or services in connection
with a project from a person or
entity who consulted or
conducted a study of that
project.
H. 4715 -
Permits DOT to acquire real
property from the state or its
entities without compensating
the governmental entity.
SENATE BILLS
S. 1159 - Establishes a surface
water withdrawal permitting
program in DHEC.
S. 1160 - Provides that an
employer who may self-fund
workers’ compensation coverage
is authorized to write coverage
directly through a captive
insurance company.
S. 1162 - Provides that the
State Fire Marshal shall
establish fees for fire
equipment licenses and permits.
S. 1167 - Constitutional
amendment eliminating property
taxes for school operating
purposes.
S. 1168 - Constitutional
amendment creating a menu of
assessment options for counties
to choose from.
S. 1175 - Revises the
definition of “distribution
facility” as it relates to the
targeted job tax credit and
property tax exemptions.
S. 1182 - Enacts the
First Responder Interoperability
Act, providing for the
establishment of a statewide 800
MHZ communications network
allowing state and local first
responder public safety entities
to communicate across a single
mobile network.
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House
Billboard Bill Override
Vote
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H. 3381
(02/22/06)
A
No Vote is a Vote
Supporting Home Rule
A Yes Vote is a
Vote for Special
Interests and
Opposes Home Rule
The
question was put, shall
the Act become a part of
the law, the veto of his
Excellency, the Governor
to the contrary
notwithstanding, the
yeas and nays were taken
resulting as follows:
Yeas 78;
Nays 25
Those who voted in the
affirmative are:
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Allen |
Altman |
Anderson |
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Anthony |
Bailey |
Barfield |
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Branham |
G. Brown |
J. Brown |
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Cato |
Ceips |
Chalk |
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Chellis |
Clark |
Clemmons |
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Clyburn |
Coates |
Cobb-Hunter |
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Coleman |
Cooper |
Davenport |
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Delleney |
Duncan |
Edge |
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Frye |
Govan |
Haley |
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Hamilton |
Hardwick |
Harrell |
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Harrison |
Haskins |
Hayes |
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J. Hines |
Hinson |
Hiott |
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Hodges |
Hosey |
Howard |
|
Huggins |
Jefferson |
Jennings |
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Kennedy |
Leach |
Littlejohn |
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Mack |
Mahaffey |
Martin |
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McCraw |
Merrill |
Moody-Lawrence |
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J. H. Neal |
Neilson |
Norman |
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Ott |
Perry |
Phillips |
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E. H. Pitts |
M. A. Pitts |
Rhoad |
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Rice |
Rutherford |
Sandifer |
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Simrill |
Skelton |
F. N. Smith |
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G. M. Smith |
G. R. Smith |
W. D. Smith |
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Talley |
Taylor |
Thompson |
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Townsend |
Tripp |
Vick |
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White |
Witherspoon |
Young |
Total--78
Those who voted in the
negative are:
|
Agnew |
Ballentine |
Bannister |
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Battle |
Bowers |
Brady |
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R. Brown |
Cotty |
Emory |
|
Funderburk |
Hagood |
Kirsh |
|
Limehouse |
Lucas |
McLeod |
|
Miller |
J. M. Neal |
Rivers |
|
Scarborough |
D. C. Smith |
J. E. Smith |
|
Toole |
Umphlett |
Weeks |
|
Whipper |
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Total--25
So, the Veto of the
Governor was overridden
and a message was
ordered sent to the
Senate accordingly.
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Visual
Pollution (Billboards)
Senate motion to override the
veto -
H. 3381
(02/22/06)
A
“No” vote is in support of Home
Rule.
An
“Aye” vote is in support of
special interest legislation and
opposes Home Rule.
Ayes 28;
Nays 13;
Abstain 1
AYES
Alexander Anderson
Bryant
Cleary Cromer Elliott
Fair Ford Grooms
Hawkins Knotts Land
Leatherman Martin Matthews
McConnell Moore O'Dell
Patterson Peeler Rankin
Reese Ritchie Ryberg
Scott Thomas Verdin
Williams
Total--28
NAYS (Supported
the local government position)
Campsen Courson
Drummond
Gregory Hayes Hutto
Leventis Lourie Malloy
McGill Richardson Sheheen
Short
Total--13
ABSTAIN--1
Setzler
Total--1
The necessary two-thirds vote
having been received, the veto
of the Governor was overridden,
and a message was sent to the
House accordingly.
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RollCall
Vote on
Whether the County Governing
Body Should Have the Ability to
Vote to Exceed Millage
Limitations with a ¾ Vote
A
No Vote Favors Home Rule
An Aye
Vote is Anti-Home Rule
AYES
Alexander
Bryant
Campsen
Cleary
Courson
Cromer
Elliott
Fair
Gregory
Grooms
Hawkins
Knotts
Martin
McConnell
O’Dell
Peeler
Ryberg
Short
Thomas
Verdin
Total--20
NAYS
Anderson
Hayes
Hutto
Land
Leatherman
Leventis
Lourie
Malloy
Matthews
McGill
Moore
Patterson
Pinckney
Rankin
Reese
Richardson
Ritchie
Setzler
Sheheen
Williams
Total--20
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By HARRY STILLE
Guest columnist
As
you consider the
debate over property
tax relief, keep
this fact in mind:
At least 50 percent
of the local
property tax
increases during the
past five years are
the result of
actions by the state
Legislature.
The South Carolina
Constitution
requires the state
to allocate the
equivalent of 4.5
percent of the
previous year’s
state budget to “aid
to subdivisions.”
(About 84 percent
goes to counties and
16 percent to
municipalities.)
Eight
years
ago, the
Legislature
took the
$520
million
it
spends
on tax
relief
programs
“off
budget.”
That’s
the
money
that
pays for
the
residential
property
tax
rollback
for
school
operations,
inventory
tax
rollback,
homestead
exemption
for
those
over 65
and
manufacturers
depreciation.
Since
this
reduced
the
official
size of
the
budget,
it
reduced
state
funding
for
local
governments
by about
$22.5
million
per year
— or a
total of
$180
million
for the
past
eight
years.
Greenville,
Richland
and
Charleston
counties
each
lose
about
$1.2
million
per
year.
This
left
more
money
for the
state to
spend,
but left
cities
and
counties
to raise
tax
millage
elsewhere
to cover
this
lost
revenue.
As if
this was
not bad
enough,
in 2003
the
Legislature
capped
the
total
amount
of money
it sends
back to
local
governments
to pay
for
school
property
tax
relief,
but
still
required
counties
to give
tax
relief
on the
first
$100,000
of every
home’s
value.
This
meant
that the
county
taxpayers,
and not
the
state,
were
paying
for this
“state”
tax
relief
for any
new home
or
renovation
eligible
for this
school
tax
relief.
This
forced
counties
to
increase
taxes by
$60
million
to $70
million
per year
to
comply
with the
state
law the
state
wasn’t
paying
for.
Greenville,
Richland
and
Charleston
counties
had to
raise
taxes
about $3
million
per
year.
The
Legislature
made
itself
look
good in
the eyes
of the
voters,
at the
expense
of the
local
officials.
If
lawmakers
want
these
tax
relief
programs,
they
should
provide
funding
for all
of them.
Another way the Legislature has hurt local government is by reducing the portion of an automobile’s value that is taxed, from 10.5 percent to 6 percent. Legislators wanted this for their re-election benefit, but they did not fund it. The locals had to raise property taxes to make up for this loss of auto tax revenue — $100 million this year, and $400 million total since the reduction started. In Greenville, Richland and Charleston counties this year, the local taxpayer picks up this reduction to the tune of about $5 million through higher tax rates on all property.
Unfortunately, there is a disdain among many state legislators toward local government officials. The philosophical problem is many legislators want to run all governments in South Carolina. He who holds the money holds the power.
This whole question of tax relief becomes one of trust. Remember — these are the same legislators who gave us the TERI plan that put the State Retirement System in jeopardy. They are the ones who spent $177 million that the state didn’t have a few years ago. They are the ones who gave us National Board-certified teachers, at a cost of $45 million per year, which their own study says brings little value to student learning. They are the same ones who cost us our AAA credit rating by excessive spending and not protecting our agency savings accounts. (The state still owes these agencies $173 million.)
In
all these devious
ways, the
Legislature has cost
local governments
about $185 million
per year, leaving
them to cut services
or raise taxes by
that much. Since
these shifts
started, the
Legislature has
caused at least $820
million total in
lost revenue for
school and county
operations that the
locals have had to
make up the only way
they can: by raising
taxes on
residential, rental,
business and
industrial property.
This
in no way exonerates
the local
governments and
school boards for
wasteful spending,
but I hope it shows
the Legislature is
the primary culprit
in our current
property tax
dilemma.
The real question to
answer: Do we, as a
matter of trust,
want these devious
people intent on
their own
re-election agenda
to reform our tax
structure?
Dr. Stille, a
retired Erskine
College professor,
served in the House
for 12 years.
|
Let communities
decide what their
taxes should be
|
CITY
AND
COUNTY
councils
don’t
always
make
the
best
spending
decisions.
The
Columbia
City
Council
pours
money
into
the
3
Rivers
Festival.
The
Lexington
County
Council
buys
an
airport
it
doesn’t
need.
And
who
can
forget
Air
South?
But
can
any
rational
person
honestly
believe
that
the
General
Assembly
could
do a
better
job
deciding
what
each
community
in
South
Carolina
needs
and
doesn’t
need?
You
know,
the
General
Assembly
that
hides
money
for
a
legislator’s
pet
projects
and
dares
the
governor
to
find
it
and
veto
it.
The
General
Assembly
that
pays
the
overhead
to
maintain
10
separate
state
health
agencies.
The
General
Assembly
that
committed
$380,000
to
lure
a
bowl
game
to
Charleston
when
it
couldn’t
put
enough
troopers
on
the
highways.
Yes,
this
General
Assembly
figures
it’s
done
such
a
great
job
spending
the
state’s
money
that
it
should
tell
the
people
in
Forest
Acres
and
West
Columbia
and
Kershaw
County
and
each
individual
city
and
county
in
the
state
how
much
money
they
can
spend
on
roads
and
police
and
fire
and
garbage
service,
and
on
every
other
smart
or
dumb
investment
they
might
want
to
make.
The
House
has
already
voted
to
do
this,
as
part
of
its
overreaching
tax
swap
legislation.
But
while
senators
won’t
go
for
the
whole
package,
they
are
picking
off
individual
pieces
of
it
for
approval.
This
week,
they’re
debating
the
plan
to
bar
cities
and
counties
from
increasing
taxes
by
more
than
legislators
say
is
OK.
In
theory,
the
legislative
cap
will
allow
communities
to
continue
to
provide
the
same
level
of
services
as
they
currently
do.
But
if a
community
decides
it
wants
to
increase
the
level
of
services,
or
add
new
programs,
it’s
out
of
luck.
And
yes,
there
are
communities
that
want
more
services.
This
emasculates
voters.
As
it
is
now,
if
the
city
or
county
council
raises
taxes
too
much
or
underfunds
important
programs,
voters
can
kick
the
bums
out.
And
they
do
that.
They
cleaned
house
on
the
Lexington
County
Council
a
few
years
ago.
But
if
the
Legislature
won’t
let
Richland
County
raise
taxes
to
pay
for
programs
the
public
wants,
there
is
no
recourse.
Voters
could
kick
out
all
11
House
members
and
all
four
senators
from
Richland
County;
they’d
still
be
left
with
159
House
members
and
42
senators
who
are
making
bad
decisions
about
their
community.
Supporters
argue
that
their
proposal
actually
empowers
local
communities,
by
letting
voters
override
the
Columbia
cap
in a
referendum.
And
that’s
better
than
having
no
local
say.
But
our
nation
wasn’t
founded
on
the
idea
of
government
by
plebiscite.
The
American
ideal
is
representative
democracy:
We
elect
representatives
to
study
the
issues,
debate
them
with
representatives
who
see
things
differently
and
come
to a
much
more
nuanced
decision
than
voters
can
when
they
are
forced
to
say
“yes”
or
“no”
in a
referendum.
Forcing
that
vote
undermines
the
deliberative
process,
which
best
serves
the
interests
of
the
entire
community.
And
more:
It
makes
it
more
likely
that
spending
opponents
will
prevail
even
when
they’re
in
the
minority,
since
they’re
more
likely
to
turn
out
to
vote
than
supporters.
Local
voters
already
have
the
tools
they
need
to
keep
spending
in
check.
They
don’t
need
artificial
spending
caps
that
impose
the
Legislature’s
will
on
their
communities.
The
Senate
should
send
this
proposal
to
the
trash
heap
along
with
the
other
House
plans
to
centralize
decision-making
in
the
State
House.
|
|
|
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY
24,
2006
12:00
AM
Shameful vote on billboards
The
General
Assembly
believes
that
the
free-spending
billboard
industry
deserves
special
treatment,
and
at
the
expense
of
local
government.
Its
override
of
the
governor's
veto
on
the
billboard
bill
is a
triumph
of a
special
interest
at
the
expense
of
local
taxpayers.
The
Legislature
should
be
ashamed.
Gov.
| | | |
