Capitol Information Affiliates, LLC
Volume XXVII Issue 5
February 12, 2016
Senate Consumed by Roads
Nicholson Point of Personal Interest
Orangeburg Massacre
Senator Nicholson took the Senate floor Tuesday on a point of personal interest regarding the
anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre. He was a freshman at SC State when the shooting occurred.
He said he entered politics to make sure this never happened again.
Exceptional Needs Children Tax Credit
The Senate Judiciary amended and passed H.4633 regarding tax credits for exceptional needs children
Tuesday. The committee changed the application date from February 15 to May 1. The bill was returned
to the House of Representatives.
Kimpson Point of Personal Interest
Housing & Minimum Wage
Senator Kimpson took the Senate floor Tuesday on a point of personal interest regarding the price of
housing and minimum wage. He said he had just sent three introductions to the Senate Finance
Committee. He said in Charleston the median price of housing rose 15% last year. Kimpson said, “With
wages remaining stagnant, we have to do something to increase the minimum wage.” Senator John
Matthews noted the average family income in South Carolina can’t afford a home. Kimpson said the
problem was in the cities and moving to the rural areas.
McElveen Point of Personal Interest
Veterans
Senator McElveen took the Senate floor on a point of personal interest regarding Veterans Week which
begins February 14. He invited members to join him at the VA Hospital next Tuesday.
Department of Transportation at Senate Finance Committee
The Senate Finance Committee met Tuesday afternoon and heard from Department of Transportation
Chairman Mike Wooten and Secretary Christy Hall. Wooten began by saying the agency is “greatly
underfunded.” He also cleared the air saying there had been no horse trading of projects since he has
been on the commission. Wooten told the committee that the DOT budget had been flat for 8 years. He
added that people get confused between the DOT, the COGS and the State Infrastructure Bank. He
addressed the stability of the agency saying he was honored to serve the organization. Senator Cleary
asked Wooten how long a commissioner should serve. Wooten thought six years would be beneficial.
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The committee’s attention turned to I-73. He said there would be no federal or state money used for I-73
but there may be some federal grant money. Senator Setzler asked, “Out of $3.8 billion, no money will
be used for I-73?” Wooten responded that I-73 had been in the works for 25 years and only earmarked
monies and grant monies have been used for I-73. He referenced a tolling study the commission
conducted. He said the road maintenance would fall back on the tolls. Senator Davis asked Wooten if he
knew Cindy Scoppe to which he replied, “Unfortunately.” He reiterated that the commission follows
ACT 114 and that there is no horse trading. Davis asked how other states handle their DOT structure.
Wooten said every state is a little bit different. He added, “Right now the Governor appoints the
Secretary. I believe the commission should elect the Secretary. Governors come and go and the
commission is a stable body.” Senator Grooms and Wooten discussed the commissioner’s screening and
appointments. Grooms has heard the commission is “unaccountable.” Senator Setzler asked Wooten
about enlarging the commission. Wooten said size did not matter. Senator John Matthews asked about
priorities and I-95. Wooten indicated they were pursuing federal funds for I-26 right now and added that
they needed a long term funding plan. Davis said commissioners will be influenced by constituents
because of the way they are elected. Wooten said senior staff “shouldn’t have to deal with problems like
pot holes or deer in the road.”
Leatherman then switched the committee back to DOT. Christy Hall gave an overview of the agencies
budget saying they have changed how they shape their budget. Their first priority is maintenance with
50% of the budget followed by capacity and operations improvements at 30% and 1% for new roads.
Senator Sheheen asked about her role within the agency and she answered, “My role is to carry out the
policies of the commission and handle the day to day functions of the Department.” Davis asked Hall
about constraints and she answered, “Does the commission need to be at a policy level or operational
level? The structure we have now has neither body in control.” She added that the legislature could look
to other states for information. Senator Peeler told Hall that nothing was being done to widen I-85. She
told Peeler that there were multiple agencies deciding on projects. Senator Sheheen asked if Hall could
provide a list of duties that could be performed by the agency versus the commission. He also said
having 3 agency directors in 5 years had not kept the agency stable. Setzler came back to I-73 funding.
Hall answered originally $116 million. Senator Verdin asked if anyone at the DOT served in an at-will
status. Hall said her deputy secretary was at-will. Hall later said their revenue is stagnant and the longer
the legislature waits, the more costly the repairs. Peeler asked Hall if he gave her $500 million to address
pot holes could she do it. She said they would use it for pot holes and bridge repairs. Senator Scott asked
about the district engineer’s ethnicity and was told there are no African American district engineers.
Setzler asked about qualifications of the Secretary of Transportation but other Committee members
interjected and the question went unanswered. Leatherman and the DOT staff discussed yearly funding
requirements.
Civil Jurisdiction of Magistrates Court
Representative Pope attempted to amend H.4457 regarding the civil jurisdiction of a magistrate’s court
Tuesday afternoon. The amendment raised matter handled by the court from $15,000 to $25,000. The
current possible pay-off is $7500. “The magistrate’s court is a civil court. People can go to the
magistrates court with the matter of 25,000,” said Pope. Representative Murrell Smith spoke against the
amendment saying, “It would be truly tried by ambush. There is no discovery in a magistrate’s court.
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This is very dangerous.” Representative Bamberg asked about subpoena powers and Smith said you
could subpoena a witness but not documents. “My issue is due process and a lack of discovery in the
court.” After further discussion the amendment was tabled. The bill passed the House of
Representatives this week.
Eminent Domain
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday and gave a favorable as amended report to S.868
regarding eminent domain and a favorable report to S.1065 regarding a pipeline study committee.
Subcommittee Chairman Young said the subcommittee met 3 times and took testimony from 60 people.
He said the amendment places into the legislation clarification that a private for profit non-regulated
company may take property from citizens. The amendment was adopted. Young also indicated he would
like to combine the bills. Senator Hutto pointed out that they may need more amendments to address
other pipelines. He later added there is one petroleum pipeline in the upstate. The pipeline affected by
the bill comes from the lower part of the state. Hutto said, “They have 90% of the land they need after
negotiating privately with the landowners.” He thinks this may end up in litigation. He said that natural
gas pipelines are regulated and therefore have eminent domain powers. Senator Malloy asked why they
needed a study committee. Young said they needed a study committee to look at bonding and other
broader issues.
Hutto raised the 24-hour point of order on the bill Thursday.
Campbell & Cleary Point of Personal Interest
S.139
Senator Campbell took the Senate floor Wednesday on a point of personal interest regarding S.139
regarding coastal zones critical areas. He said they needed to look at the scientific facts. “If we don’t
adopt my amendment the state may be liable at some point,” said Campbell.
Senator Cleary took the Senate floor Wednesday on a point of personal interest regarding S.139
regarding coastal zones critical areas. He announced to the Senate that he is pulling his amendment “to
fix the line where it is now.” Senator Sheheen asked how the bill came out of committee and Cleary
responded that his amendment fixes it for the line drawn and there was no reason to attack Senator
Campbell. Senator Campsen said he supported the amendment and was sad that Senator Campbell had
been attacked. Cleary agreed saying, “Personally attacking the Senator is not the right thing to do.”
Campsen said his amendment was the same as Cleary’s. Senator John Matthews also supports the
amendment.
H3579 - Roads
Senator Cleary explained the Cleary/Lourie perfecting amendment to H.3579 to Senate members during
their Wednesday session. He said the amendment had 4 parts: DOT funding, DOT Reform, the State
Infrastructure Bank and issues regarding tax reform. Senator Lourie reviewed for the Senate new
revenue: Increase the gas tax 4¢ a gallon each year for 3 years will give the state (after the third year)
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$442.6 million each year; In 5 years, the cost of a driver’s license will be $25 raising $16.5 million a
year after year 5 of the increase. The bi-annual motor registration fee will be $26.6 million per year after
the 5th year of implementation. Alternates and hybrid car fees will generate $2.2 million per year after 5
years. They plan to raise the car sales tax to $600 for additional revenue. They addressed how
the revenue would be distributed. They said the SC Trucking Association had also volunteered a road
user fee which would result in $15 per year after the 5th year. When asked about income taxes, Lourie
responded saying if people are paying income taxes then their brackets would be expanded. Senator
Peeler said it needed to be called the Leery amendment and he said it would not pass. Lourie asked the
Senate to study the amendment. Senator Thurmond asked Lourie if he had ever seen Senate Republicans
raise taxes and Lourie responded, “We have reached a crisis mode.” Cleary explained the reform of the
SIB. He said they hoped the money from car sales would go to DOT but be funneled to the SIB. He
added the “Trucker’s Association wants their roads fixed.” He also added that with the gas 29% was
from out of towners. Campsen said he wanted to see new revenue sources. He said a spread sheet would
help them digest and understand the proposal. Senator Davis asked, “What virtue is there to have a
separate SIB?” Cleary said projects come to them and they use the criteria to decide on projects. Davis
said they should take $65 million (per Hall’s request) and give it to the DOT. Cleary said that would not
cover bridge repairs. “We will create funding that DOT can rely on year after year. SIB needs a
statewide plan that they don’t have now.” Senator Gregory said they needed a combination of general
revenue and recurring funds. There was general discussion on the topic. Lourie explained the DOT
reform in the bill. Appointments of commissioners would change from Congressional districts to COGs.
Each COG would submit 3 potential names to the Governor and she would choose one. They would be
screened and then go before the Senate for confirmation. The Secretary would be chosen by the
commissioners.
SC Transportation Infrastructure Bank at Senate Finance
The Senate Finance Committee met Wednesday to hear testimony from the SCTIB. Chairman Vincent
Graham told the committee that all projects require a match. Their criteria recommends a match for local
projects. Chairman Leatherman asked about the criteria saying interstates would be given higher
priority. Graham said they prefer to work on interstates without a local match. Debra Rountree said there
were 7 members on the SIB board and that public input in important and weighted. Senator Rankin
asked what would make the agency run better. Graham said recognition is knowing that transportation is
more than roads. Leatherman said that over time there have been different levels of local requirements.
Graham responded they are using a 1/3 match. Leatherman said the Ravenel Bridge was a 50% match.
Senator John Matthews said his industrial corridor in his area has become a bottleneck and he can’t get
the money to fix the road. Senator Davis said 31 states have SIBs. He added that South Carolina’s bank
is the only one in the country like it. Graham said the South Carolina SIB was the largest in the country.
Davis referenced Christy Hall’s presentation yesterday saying, “We have a lot of different decision
makers.” James Holly said they have years of experience issuing revenue bonds. She added that the
Secretary of Transportation sits on their board. Senator Coleman asked about the SIB projects. Senator
Scott said it shouldn’t take two years for a board to make a decision on a project. Senator Lourie said
they should get additional information from board reports. Graham said funding was his reason behind
developing a strategic plan. Setzler asked for Graham’s recommendations on how to help the agency.
Graham reiterated that they needed to step back and take stock of what needs to be done. Senator Peeler
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also asked how they could make things better. He asked why they could not merge the DOT and
Graham’s board. Holly said it would cause practical issues. Peeler said he was interested in I-85 and
what could they do to help? Graham said they would send the strategic plan to Peeler. Davis seemed to
support the SIB. Cleary said they had to keep a distance from the SIB for bonding purposes. Setzler said
they needed to have the DOT and SIB work more collaborately together. Matthews said the Senate
could not leave without fixing the roads and I-26 had to be in the mix. He said they had to be some
restructure to the agency.
Back to the Department of Transportation at Finance
When the Senate Finance Committee completed their work on the State Infrastructure Bank, they
switched back to Christy Hall and the Department of Transportation. Senator Cromer asked if there was
any way to move the timeline on the Malfunction Junction on I-26. Her response was that a project of
that magnitude has to be built in phases. A DOT staff person said they had to get environmental permits
which takes two years. He added that the federal government likes to see money set aside and that right
now the agency had $100 million of a $1billion project. Hall said by 2019 they would be in the position
to ask the SIB for funding. Rankin asked about the money given to the DOT last year and was told it
was funneled to local governments. She reviewed their spending priorities.
Coal Ash
The House of Representatives passed H.4857 regarding coal ash this week. Chairman Hiott said all coal
ash must be place in a level III (hazardous and toxic) landfill. Representative Hill said coal ash was
similar to lime. Representative McKnight said he support the bill. He mentioned that Williamsburg
County had the last unlined landfill in the United States. Representative Finlay asked about on-site
storage. He also said this issue should be in the Pollution Control Act and moved to recommit the bill to
the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. His motion was tabled. The Senate sent the bill to the
Senate Judiciary Committee.
Palmetto Farm Aid
Former Representative Harry Ott addressed the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday in support of
H.4717, a bill to establish aid to SC farmers who lost their crops during the October flood disaster. Ott,
recently elected president of the SC Farm Bureau, asked the committee to consider the uniqueness of the
agricultural industry and the devastation caused by the recent drought and flood. He explained that
farmers lost the equivalent of two years - since they spend 9 months of the year prepping, buying seeds
and planting and the remainder harvesting. They lost their investment which was from the previous
years’ profits and they lost their harvest from which the profits would have gone to the purchase of seeds
(investments) for next year. “Not only does this put our farmers at risk”, Ott explained, “it puts the rural
economy at risk.” Farmers buy virtually everything local: seeds, chemicals, fertilizers, tractors, and
trucks – a symbiotic relationship in which everyone is dependent on the other. The recent disaster,
according to Ott has put the farmers and rural communities in a quagmire of debt. H.4717 would create
the SC Farm Aid Fund that could assist farmers who suffered at least 40% loss of commodities as a
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result of a natural disaster. The bill crafts the Farm Aid Board who would administer the funds and
outlines the eligibility, criteria and grant amounts that are capped at $100,000. Ott concluded his
remarks, “I know you have limited resources, and it is hard to set priorities with the huge needs in the
state. But, I ask that you recognize that agriculture is the number one industry in the state and please
help our Plan-it-Forward by supporting this bill.” The Federal Omnibus bill has $300M set aside for
Texas, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Ott said $200M is designated for South Carolina and the
remaining $100M will go to Texas and Oklahoma; but none of the money can be captured until the
Governors develop and submit plans.
Representative Bingham questioned why a farmer would need $100,000 if it is not enough to cover his
losses and he will file bankruptcy anyway. Ott explained the grants were for planting not for paying off
debt. Representative Neal said his farmers’ problems go back to the drought that started a couple of
years ago. Representatives Cobb-Hunter, Clemmons, Clyburn and others questioned how the funds
would be used to stimulate the economy and whether farmers who lost less than 40% would get relief.
Representative Pitts explained their extensive study of the issue and offered Chairman White’s strike
and insert amendment. The Committee adopted the White amendment and reported the bill to the House
as favorable with amendment.
Davis Point of Personal Interest
Money
Senator Davis took the Senate floor Thursday on a point of personal interest regarding money. He spoke
about the budget process in the House of Representatives. He believes the money should be used for
roads and bridges. He said they needed to respond to the Abbeville law suit and K-12. He said there is a
“disconnect between spending and the results.” He has an amendment to appropriate $65 million per
year for 10 years. He added that interstate grid is critical to the state. Senator Setzler responded to Davis
saying he was glad Davis was finally on board. Setzler believes they should use the extra cash on roads.
He said they have to determine priorities. He added that the reform of the DOT will not solve the
problem. “We have to work together in a bipartisan manner. We have to address the entire highway
structure in this state,” said Setzler. Senator Thurmond said Setzler said that Davis held up the Senate.
Setzler said, “I said Davis filibustered for 3-4 weeks.”
Bennett & Davis Point of Personal Interest
Roads
Senator Bennett took the Senate floor Thursday on a point of personal interest regarding state roads. He
said he would not support the Davis amendment. “His amendment does not even come close to fixing
our problem,” said Bennett. He also said the amendment micromanages the DOT. He wants to fix the
rods with dedicated funds and reduce the taxation on the taxpayer. He said the surplus money should
fund local government at 100% and they really needed to look hard at the EFA. In another point of
personal interest, Davis said Bennett was right that the money he suggested would not solve all the
problems. Setzler agreed with Davis on reform of the SIB. Davis said he wanted the SIB and DOT
together.
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Grooms Point of Personal Interest
Roads
Senator Grooms took the Senate floor Thursday on a point of personal interest regarding the roads. He
said, “This is a strange way to debate this bill. There are good points being made in points of personal
interest.” He said that perhaps they needed to examine the criteria and the weight. He said he hoped
there would be no filibustering.
H.3579 Part II
When the Senate went into session Thursday afternoon, there were 326 amendments to H.3579 on the
desk. Of those amendments, 8 amendments are perfecting amendments to the committee amendment.
Senator Davis had the desk pull down all of his amendments except for 5. The Senate proceeded to
Perfecting Amendment 1 by Senator Lourie which he had previously discussed. Senator McElveen
asked about a recession. Lourie said they needed to pass a road bill that is dedicated to roads with or
without a recession. Senator Peeler asked Lourie to consider moving to S.561 regarding DOT reform.
Lourie did not respond and the Senate adjourned for the week.
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