Rebate plan panned
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, said this morning that Gov. Mark Sanford's income-tax rebate plan "sounds good," but the state has more pressing needs for surplus money.
Peeler said the state's roads and bridges are in bad shape and its public schools desperately need new buses. Those priorities must come ahead of Sanford's plan to give a $75 tax rebate to each taxpayer.
Peeler said his constituents sent him "down here to spend their money wisely."
A rebate can only work, "as long as we meet our obligations first."
"If we have a surplus," Peeler said, "I'd like to put that toward our secondary road system."
In other news:
- Indians get support. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, and Senate Minority Leader John Land, D-Clarendon, both said this morning that the Catawba Indians should be allowed to open a high-stakes bingo parlor in Orangeburg County.
Both men said that if the Catawbas want to do it and the people of Orangeburg County support it, then it should be allowed. Especially, McConnell said, if the tribe eliminates video poker from its York County facility.
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, however, said he had deep misgivings about the idea. - Toll road eyed. A bill to make the proposed Interstate 73 through northeastern South Carolina a toll road was introduced in both the House and Senate on Thursday. Both bills, which feature bipartisan support, were allowed to skip the committee process and could be considered in both chambers as early as next week.
Interstate 73 would run from the Canadian border in Michigan to Myrtle Beach. The state and federal governments are both now completing environmental impact statements for the highway, which would be the first interstate to reach the Grand Strand. - Payback passes. The full House gave preliminary approval this morning to repaying a $105 million debt created during past lean budget years. The measure could receive final approval on Tuesday. The Senate is considering a similar measure, and repaying the debt is a priority of Sanford.
- Republican plans outlined. House Republicans detailed their agenda this afternoon, focusing on six key areas: property tax reform, economic development, eminent domain, worker's compensation reform, limiting state spending and education programs such as pre-Kindergarten and charter schools.
House members offered few specifics on how they planned to tackle the issues, though House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, introduced worker's compensation reform legislation on this morning. In addition, a special House committee has been preparing legislation that would eliminate about 86 percent of property taxes on owner-occupied homes.
That legislation is expected to be introduced next week.
House Republicans, said Majority Leader James Merrill, R-Berkeley, wanted to "tell you ahead of time what we're going to do and then show you we can get it done."
Gov. Mark Sanford joined the caucus, saying he also supported the proposals.
"If you boil things down," Sanford said, "what you fundamentally see is an agenda tied to competitiveness."
