Cigarette tax proponents to push cause Tuesday

South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative will address the media Tuesday morning to urge the S.C. House of Representatives to pass a Senate version of the cigarette tax.

The Senate version of the tax, which would raise the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax to 57 cents from 7 cents, would be spend on health care.

The House version of the tax would be used for tax relief.

The collaborative has supported the tax on the grounds that it would discourage some from smoking. It has also advocated proceeds from the tax be spent on health care.

Cigarette taxes will not increase with inflation

The Senate has shot down a proposal that would tie the state's cigarette tax to inflation.

Led by Lexington Sen. Nikki Setzler, lawmakers argued that the General Assembly ought to vote on every tax increase.

Still no alcohol sales on election days

The House has recommitted to committee a bill that would allow the sale of hard liquors on statewide election days, meaning the bill  won't likely survive. 

Right now, state law bans the sale of liquor on election days. 

Alcohol inhaler outlawed by House panel

A House panel has approved a bill to outlaw alcohol inhaler devices which allow people to inhale alcohol instead of drinking it.

Rep. Merle Smith said several other states have outlawed the machines which are increasingly popular at bars.

The machines are a way for people to get drunk faster, Smith said. Rep. Mick Mulvaney argued that the prohibition would be a slippery slope.

"I'm just worried that we're going to outlaw shot glasses next" because they deliver liquor faster to a person's blood stream. The bill next heads to the full House.

What to do with cigarette tax money

The S.C. Senate will begin debating a bill that would raise the state's cigarette tax from 7 cents a pack to 57 cents a pack, which would raise more than $125 million annually.

The question that will likely consume lawmakers today is how to spend the proceeds.

Senate passes bill on Sunday wine sales

A bill that would allow Sunday sales of wine on the premises where wine is produced was approved by the Senate.

The bill would allow vineyards to hold wine tastings on Sunday.

Cigarette tax debate delayed for a week

The Senate will put off debating a 50-cent per pack cigarette tax for another week, but the bill will take top priority the week of April 28.

Group calls on S.C. to end Sunday liquor ban.

A group representing liquor distillers called on S.C. to lift its ban on Sunday alcohol sales Monday.

Now that Colorado has lifted its ban on Sunday alcohol sales, South Carolina is one of 15 states that prohibit hard liquor sales on Sundays.

DUI bill overwhelmingly passes the House

A bill that would toughen the penalties for drunken driving has passed the House by a vote of 109 to 5.

The House and Senate versions of the bill had recently passed a conference committee of House and Senate members. House members passed the measure, which will link tougher penalties for drunken driving to how much alcohol drivers have in their bodies.

Cigarette taxes for health insurance dies

A proposal to raise S.C.'s lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax and spend the money on health insurance tax credits has failed in the Senate Finance committee.

The proposal, which would have raised the tax by 50 cents a pack, failed 8 to 14.

The committee is now debating other proposal to raise the tax, and how to spend the money.

Senate committee passes cigarettee tax hike

A Senate subcommittee has approved a 50-cent per pack increase to the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax.

The tax increase would raise $158 million, to be used for individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance.
Lawmakers and staff are still working out the final details and said they do not yet know exactly how much the health insurance tax credit will be.

No vote on alcohol for soldiers under 21

A House subcommittee took no action on a bill that would have allowed military personnel younger than 21 to buy beer and wine in S.C.

The state's legal drinking age is 21. But Rep. Fletcher Smith, D-Greenville, introduced the measure that would relax the law for military personnel, citing an elevated level of maturity among young members of the armed forces.

Lawmakers agree to wait on smoking ban

A House panel  Tuesday stalled a statewide smoking ban in restaurants and bars. Lawmakers including Rep. Garry Smith said they want to wait and see how the state Supreme Court rules on a smoking ban in Greenville before lawmakers take action.

Several local governments have enacted local bans including Sullivan's Island and Columbia. Columbia leaders are not enforcing the ban until the court rules.

Sanford teams with others to urge DUI reform

Gov. Mark Sanford, 7th Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy and Beaufort Sheriff P.J. Tanner called on lawmakers to pass both DUI reform and a crackdown on illegal immigration.

Pro-cigarette tax group launches ad campaign

A coalition of public health organizations have launched a newspaper and radio campaigned aimed at raising South Carolina's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax.

The S.C. Legislature is considering a plan to raise its 7 cents a pack tax rate to 45 cents a pack.

Sanford praises House amendments on DUI

Gov. Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the House's passage of H.3496, a bill aimed at toughening the state's DUI laws:

"The House on Thursday amended key penalties in the bill back to their original House version, penalties the Senate had sought to weaken.

Budget; teen drinking, sex offender bills on tap today

Lawmakers will meet in both the House and Senate at noon today.

Afterward, in committee, lawmakers will take up bills that stiffen the punishment for those who provide minors with alcohol and a bill that will make it illegal for sex offenders to live within 1,000 feet of a school or park.

Also, budget-writing House Ways and Means Committee will take up parts of the state's budget. 

Cigarette tax hike needs more study, committee says

A Senate committee said Thursday that they need more time to study a proposal to raise the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax.

The committee is considering a, roughly, 45-cent per pack increase that could give businesses a tax credit to purchase employee health insurance. The committee said there are still questions about how they would implement the tax and the health care credits.

Sanford opposes Senate DUI amendments

Gov. Mark Sanford used his Cabinet meeting this morning to voice concerns about proposed Senate amendments that he says would weaken a DUI bill passed by the House last year.

“A person a day dies as a result of drunk driving in South Carolina,” Sanford said. “We can go on debating this for another two weeks, but what that means is another 14 people would be dead in the process.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee this afternoon is scheduled to continue debating the amendments, one of which would make a proposed tiered system of punishments apply only to repeat offenders.

Sanford, law enforcement officials and victim advocates believe the tiered system — which would tie penalties to a driver’s blood-alcohol content and prior DUI record — should apply to first offenders.

Jeff Moore, executive director of the S.C. Sheriff’s Association, said he was informed that Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, wants the committee to pass out the bill today, with the goal of getting it to a Senate-House conference committee by the end of this month.

— Rick Brundrett

rbrundrett@thestate.com

Gov. Sanford unveils DUI video

Gov. Mark Sanford today unveiled a YouTube video about the dangers of drunk driving to push the General Assembly to pass a DUI reform bill that stalled last session.

Watch the video:

Sanford signs underage drinking bill

Governor Mark Sanford signed a bill aimed at cracking down on youth's access to alcohol today, according to a news release.

Sanford also called on the General Assembly to toughen South Carolina's DUI laws. A bill that would have increased penalties for drunken driving stalled in the Legislature.

The bill Sanford signed today, S.213, increases fines and penalties for underage-drinking offenses. The bill will:

• Make it easier for police to find out who bought kegs at parties where underage drinking occurred
• Allow minors to help police by participating in stings of bars and convenience stores
• Require repeat DUI offenders to pay for an ignition interlock system to be installed in their cars.

"While everything in this bill is certainly aimed toward a very laudable goal, let's be very clear - there's much more work to be done if we're going to stop the carnage that occurs on our state's roads because of our anemic DUI laws," Gov. Sanford said in the news release.

"South Carolina consistently ranks near the top in the nation for DUI deaths, and it's largely because of a DUI law that, as one solicitor has said, is tougher to prosecute than a death penalty case.

"Until that changes, and until we get a DUI law that is enforceable to the point where more convictions are possible, these ignition interlocks won't have the impact that they could have.

"But the tragic reality is that there are some in the legislature who profit from the current loopholes in the system, which is why the Senate needs to follow the House's lead quickly next year in passing a bill that prevents so many from being killed on South Carolina's roads."

House, Senate override alcohol intervention veto

The Senate joined the House Wednesday in overriding Gov. Mark Sanford's veto of a bill that provides one-time educational intervention for teens age 15 to 17 who are arrested for first-offense drunk driving. The measure allows county solicitors to set up a alcohol training program for those convicted and provides for the drivers' records to be expunged after completion of the course.

Underage drinking bill gets key House approval

The House today gave key approval to a Senate bill (S. 213) aimed at combating underage drinking.
House members voted 100-0 to approve the second reading of the bill with some amendments that bill sponsor Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, described as mainly technical.
The revised bill will receive an expected third reading in the House before heading back next week to the Senate for reconsid-eration.
Under the bill, youths under 21 could be charged with consuming or attempting to buy alcohol. Current S.C. law makes it illegal only to purchase or possess alcohol.
Underage offenders would face possible jail time and in-creased fines, and also would be required to complete a state-approved alcohol education or treatment program. Minors who participate in undercover police operations would be exempt.
The bill also would increase fines for those who sell or provide alcohol to minors, and convicted store clerks would be required to attend merchant education programs. The bill also would require that beer kegs be registered.

House votes to raise cigarette tax

South Carolina's lowest in the nation cigarette tax would rise to 37 cents a pack, an increase of 30 cents, under a bill passed by the S.C. House late this afternoon.

The increase passed by a vote of 78 to 37.  The amount raised would be offset by a a cut in the sales tax on groceries.  That tax would drop to 1.5 percent, down from 3 percent.

The measure faces an uncertain future in the state Senate, which must take up the bill next. The tax was last raised, to 7 cents, in 1977. The national average is $1.02 a pack.

Cig tax hike survives early test

Supporters of raising the state cigarette tax have fought off an early challenge to the bill during House debate.

The House proposal would raise the tax by 30-cents per pack, spending the money on health care, smoking prevention programs and more. The proposal would also lower the sales tax on groceries to 1.5 percent from 3 percent, saving state residents an estimated $100 million.

Some lawmakers had objected to the bill costing the state budget an additional $100 million to fund the grocery tax cut, and tried to table the bill during floor debate. The House voted 70-45 to continue to debate the cigarette tax.

Among the amendments yet to be debated is one which would create a straight swap, raising the cigarette tax to reduce the grocery tax. Many House Democrats and some Republicans believe any cigarette tax increase should use the money to pay for health care.

Moore, Lovelace join to push cig tax hike

A new coalition has formed to support a cigarette tax increase and other policy changes.

Dumspirospero.org, based on the state motto "While I breathe, I hope," was formed to push politically popular ideas that are receiving little support in the State House.

The group's spokesman Tuesday was Oscar Lovelace, a physician from Prosperity who ran against Gov. Mark Sanford in the 2006 GOP primary. He was joined by Sen. Tommy Moore, a Democrat from Aiken County. Moore also faced Sanford, losing the general election.

The group is supporting at least a 30-cents per pack increase in the cigarette tax. Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate joined Lovelace Tuesday.

"It's costing the state as is," said Sen. Greg Gregory, R-Lancaster. "It ought to be an easy decision for anyone who is a fiscal conservative to raise that tax high enough to cover the cost to the state."

The House will likely debate the tax next week. The measure, advanced by the House Ways and Means Committee last week, faces an uncertain future if passed to the Senate.

Anti-smoking group advocates for higher tax increase with new report

An anti-smoking coalition estimated South Carolinians could save over a billion dollars in future health care costs if state lawmakers increase the cigarette tax by 93 cents per pack.

The South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative released a report Wednesday -- the day a key House committee will vote on a cigarette tax -- that said the state could raise $223 million per year with the tax, keep 60,000 kids from picking up the habit and save 8,400 lives.

The House Ways and Means Committee is considering a 30 cents per pack increase. While that tax is a step in the right direction, the S.C. Tobacco Collaborative said, it does not go far enough. A tax closer to the national average, they said, could raise more money for smoking-related health care costs and cause more people to give up smoking.

Senate vote gives locals control over public smoking

The Senate has approved an amendment that could clear the way for cities and towns to pass local smoking ordinances without being in conflict with existing state law.

Several cities have passed legislation that prohibits smoking in public places including bars and restaurants, but there is a legal question whether those local laws, in effect, trump state law.

The amendment, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Vince Sheheen of Kershaw County, vests the right to enact smoking laws with local governments in South Carolina.

Plan would raise cigarette tax to $1 a pack

Tobacco foes are advocating a 93-cent-per-pack increase in the state cigarette tax, a proposal they say would reduce smoking; would add $223 million to the state budget; and is supported by a majority of South Carolina voters.

The proposal is much larger than the 30-cent-per-pack increase floated by Gov. Mark Sanford and some lawmakers.

Advocates admit the larger increase will be more difficult to sell but say the higher tax would be better for the state in the long run.

South Carolina currently has the nation's lowest cigarette tax at 7 cents a pack.

House Dems propose cigarette tax hike

House Democrats are unveiling their plan to raise cigarette taxes in order to pay for more small business health insurance.

The proposal, the Democrats' top agenda item, is similar to a 2006 plan.

The bill would raise the nation's lowest cigarette tax by 30 cents per pack, using most of the $107 million raised to expand insurance for 173,000 workers.

A second part of the plan would spend $20 million to $28 million to increase the number of poor children covered by Medicaid.

Bill calls for "locks" on drunk drivers' cars

Rep. Garry Smith, R-Greenville, has introduced a bill to require "ignition interlock" devices to be installed on the vehicles of people repeatedly convicted of driving under the influence. The device prevents them from driving drunk.

Current state law allows judges to order the devices for first-time or repeat offenders, but does not require the judge to do so.

A State newspaper investigation last year found that the current law hasn't been implemented even though it passed in 2000.