Lawmakers agree for date to return

The House and Senate have agreed to a plan to end the legislative session today but return June 19-21 to deal with unfinished business, which might or might not include a state budget.
By 3 p.m. Thursday, two hours before the mandatory 5 p.m. adjournment, no state budget had been adopted for the 2007-08 fiscal year beginning July 1.
But lawmakers finally agreed to return in two weeks, and again June 28-29, if necessary. The Senate also agreed to ratify acts with the House at 4 p.m. today, clearing the way for enactment of a resolution that would allow state government to continue to be funded at current levels into the new fiscal year.

Survey lauds state's property rights laws

South Carolina's property rights laws rank among the best in the country, according to a survey of eminent domain laws released Wednesday by the Virginia-based Institute for Justice.

Eminent domain laws can allow state and local government to seize private property for use in building roads, redevelopment or to eliminate blighted areas. A 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling loosening standards for seizing land sent many states scrambling to protect property rights.

According the survey, South Carolina's constitutional amendment, approved by voters last November in response to the court's ruling, is "the most effective way to stop the abuse of eminent domain." The amendment says that eminent domain can only be used for a public use, and not for economic development.

South Carolina's grade of B+ ranks it behind only six states -- Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota -- all of which rated an A or A-. Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Rhode Island were the lowest-rated, scoring an F.