As a conservative, I start any budget with the premise that we are not spending the government’s money, we are spending your money.
There is one stark fact about our state’s budget this year: There is less tax money coming in to the state this year because of the slow economy, and we still must fund important functions like education and healthcare that are based on complex formulas.
The challenge is finding the best way to deal with that conflict.
The first thing everyone must remember is that the General Assembly is not Congress. We must approve balanced budgets and we have no way to print money to cover shortfalls. We may spend only what comes in from tax revenues.
So when our state is facing another major cut in revenue, we must make cuts in spending.  We have cut more than $1.5 billion over the last three years, causing many of my Republican colleagues to seriously examine an important question:

 “What are the core functions of state government?”

 
Raising taxes to cover higher budget requests is the easy way out, but history has shown that states that raise taxes during recessions wind up with slower rates of recovery.  That is not acceptable.  Plus, in a time when neighbors – such as North Carolina – are furiously raising taxes, it puts our state in a much more competitive position if we leave our taxes low.
Cutting programs is not always popular.  We know that.  But in lean times, our conservative philosophy dictates that government should live like a family – you have to tighten your belts and spend less. However, that is not the philosophy shared by all of the members of the House.
We will make tough choices about the best places to spend your tax dollars.  We are doing everything we can to push every available dollar to public schools and our healthcare system.  Those are two of the most critical functions of state government. 

But these are the targeted cuts that we believe are the correct way through this difficult time. While the budget cuts might be painful in the short term, they will make South Carolina a better, more stable place to live and work in the long term.
Two other major items of note this week:

 First, the House and Senate agreed on the ESC reform legislation that will drastically overhaul the agency. This is a top agenda item that we believe will go a long way toward streamlining government and boosting  job creation and job placement.
Second, the House and Senate finally came to terms on the anti-“Employee Free Choice Act” constitutional amendment.

This amendment will guarantee employees the right to a secret ballot in union organizing elections in our state, and was an item on our Unfinished Business list earlier this session.

You will have the right to vote on this constitutional amendment during the November election.

I was proud to be the legislator who brought this idea to the table in Columbia.

Protecting this fundamental right for South Carolina workers is a must.

 I look forward to leading the effort on this important ballot measure and I plan to go to every corner of South Carolina to ensure its passage.

As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 864-230-7044.

God Bless

The end of the corporate income tax in our state, and true tort reform.
My Republican colleagues and I have worked for years to improve the business climate here in our state, and as our state climbs out of recession, we are seeing the fruit of our labors.  Last fall’s announcement that Boeing was locating a major manufacturing facility in North Charleston was a boon for the state. Proterra’s decision to make a revolutionary new bus in Greenville was a second major boost for our economy.
But we can’t rest on those laurels. Every day, businesses looking to relocate examine the business climate in South Carolina versus other states – and other countries around the world.  Every day, one of our neighbors starts a new company that they hope will bring their family financial security.
If our jobs bill is approved by the Senate, the phased-in elimination of the corporate income tax means South Carolina would become the fifth state to completely eliminate the corporate income tax (joining Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, and Nevada).
The elimination of the tax is a major step in allowing corporations, large and small, to put money back into their businesses. This will make it easier to grow and expand, hire more workers, and become the next great corporation.

Democrats criticized it as only helping large corporations, but with the ease and low cost of starting a corporation these days, many people running companies as small as one employee are corporations. This bill will start putting money back into their pockets.
Critics also claimed during the debates this week that the House hasn’t done enough for small businesses.  They couldn’t be more wrong. 

The Tort Reform bill we approved on Wednesday will help small businesses even more than large corporations. 
Many small businesses operate in fear of an unfounded lawsuit that could sink their company.  They can’t afford a legion of attorneys to protect them.  A single unfounded lawsuit could cripple your local boutique owner, the bike shop on the corner, or your favorite family-owned restaurant. Tort reform will protect them and hopefully bring down the cost of the insurance they carry.
The bill also protects you. 

It still ensures you have the right to litigate if you have been hurt through no fault of your own and will allow you fair compensation for any damages inflicted on you. 

Our legal system needs to protect everybody.  It’s too bad that some people out for a quick buck could destroy years of your neighbor’s hard work.
Both of these pieces of legislation will help every business in South Carolina grow faster as the economy begins its recovery.

That will create jobs and ensure that our business community – whether it is Boeing or your favorite local Italian restaurant – will remain strong through the next inevitable downturn.
That will make South Carolina a better, more stable place to live and work in the long term.
As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 864-230-7044.

God Bless

Several pieces of legislation moved through the House this week that will change our state.

First, the House Judiciary Committee passed a sweeping lawsuit abuse reform (or Tort Reform) legislation. Tort reform legislation was a critical piece of the Republican Caucus agenda this year since it will dramatically improve our state’s legal climate for businesses – a crucial thing that businesses look at when locating or expanding in our state.

The legislation approved this week includes five major reforms:

First, it limits punitive damages to 3 times the amount of compensatory damages or $350,000 whichever is greater. This will limit out-of-control awards that significantly drive up the cost of insurance in this state. The second major reform is establishing a cap on the bond a business must post to file an appeal in a civil lawsuit. If approved, the cap will be $25 million for large businesses and $1 million for small businesses. The legislation also reforms what is known as the Statute of Repose. The language assures that building code violations do not constitute fraud, gross negligence or recklessness, but such violations may be introduced as evidence. The fourth reform is limiting the attorneys’ fees an outside attorney can collect outside when employed by the Attorney General or a solicitor. The new system will establish a sliding scale to fairly compensate the attorneys while not adding a burdensome cost to the taxpayers. And finally, this legislation will repeal the statute that currently makes it impossible to show someone failed to use a seat belt.

The second piece of conservative reform approved this week is a measure that will give voters the power to make the Secretary of State appointed by the Governor rather than elected. The Secretary of State’s office primarily deals with paperwork, and it is not an office that needs to be independent to accomplish its work, such as the Attorney General. This is not a change that the Republicans can make on our own, but we believe it is important to give the voters the chance to make this decision. This dove-tails with our previous approval of another constitutional amendment that would have the Governor and Lieutenant Governor run together on the same ticket.

Third, we overwhelmingly approved the creation of a “Sunset Commission” this week. This commission – approved three previous times by the House Republicans this decade – will examine government agencies and programs to ensure they are effective. President Reagan famously said that “a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Unfortunately, this is generally true, but conservatives hope that this commission will put to bed programs and agencies that are not performing or woefully out-of-date.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t briefly discuss the budget. The House Ways and Means Committee also finalized its version of the state budget this week. I’ll write more about that after I’ve had time to digest the numbers. What we do know is this: Conservatives such as myself are adamant about not raising taxes during an economic downturn to plug a hole in the budget. The result is a budget that funds the essential services of government and ensures we are getting our money’s worth from government programs. As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia. If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 864-230-7044.

God Bless

Last fall, my fellow House Republicans met in locations across our state to discuss the issues that you told us are important.
In January, we unveiled an agenda focused on job creation, government reform, improving education, and protecting state’s rights – all items our conservative constituents said are important to them.
This week, we took action on three of those four items.
The most important item was our economic development bill that was approved in committee this week and will be on the House floor next week. 

This bill has one goal: to create jobs. 

To do that, the legislation includes several tax and regulation changes businesses told us are necessary to help them create jobs. 
The chief reform in the bill is the elimination of the corporate income tax.  Eliminating that tax will entice more companies to locate here.  Unfortunately, we don’t have the wiggle room in our state budget right now to eliminate it in one year, so it phases out over 10 years.  We did accelerate that for any company that moves its headquarters here by including a provision that will immediately eliminate the corporate income tax for those companies. 
We also approved a sweeping reform of the Employment Security Commission just three weeks after an audit that revealed widespread mismanagement.
The reforms approved Wednesday include creating a new Department of the Workforce in the governor’s cabinet, and moving several workforce and unemployment responsibilities from the ESC and the Department of Commerce to the new agency. The legislation also abolishes the board of the ESC and puts an executive director in charge.
The audit, released at the end of January, showed the ESC did not warn the General Assembly that the unemployment system was running out of money and that the agency did not properly investigate mismanagement – among many other findings. From 2000 until today, the Unemployment Trust Fund plummeted from an $835 million surplus to an $800 million deficit.
This is the second ESC reform bill to be approved by the House this year. The first was a series of procedural reforms that included restricting state payments to employees fired for gross misconduct or drug use and restricting claims by employers who cost the system more than they contribute.
Our actions this week are more examples of the Republican Caucus moving quickly to reform government once problems are discovered.  The Republican majority has a 15-year track record of similar action, and I’m proud of our work this week.
Finally, we shed more sunlight on campaigns and elections by approving a major expansion of online campaign finance reporting. Now, all local officials must file their campaign disclosures online – so anybody can see exactly who is funding their campaigns and what they are spending money on.  Currently, only state-level candidates are required to file online.
This bill is all about transparency and allowing the voters to see who is funding campaigns at all levels.  With the technology available today, there is no reason that local candidates shouldn’t follow the same online reporting requirements that state officials follow.
As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 864-230-7044.

 The government should get out of the way and do whatever it can to help the private sector create jobs.   I and the other House Republicans took action this week to get the government out of the way and let the private sector flourish and create jobs.
Spurring us to action was this week’s Legislative Audit Council report on the Employment Security Commission. It was an audit that went far beyond the assumptions and allegations of mismanagement that the General Assembly was working with. 
ESC reform is a top priority for me and the House Republican Caucus, and a committee led by House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham is working on a sweeping package of reforms.  Two weeks ago, the House approved several systemic changes that arose from the committee’s hearings, including restricting state payments to employees fired for gross misconduct or drug use and restricting claims by employers who cost the system more than they contribute. 
The audit revealed many shocking facts:
·         The commission did not warn the General Assembly that the unemployment trust fund balance plummeted from a $835 million surplus 10 years ago to an $800 million deficit today.
·         That the agency did not properly investigate mismanagement. 
·         S.C. workers fired for misconduct collected $171 million over three years – equating to 10 percent of the jobless benefits paid during that three years.
·         While the ESC is charged with helping South Carolinians find jobs, the audit found that only 40 percent of the jobs available in our state are listed with the agency.
 
This week’s audit shows that it is vital that we reform the ESC from a check-writing agency to a job placement agency that helps businesses find the employees they need to grow the economy. I hope this audit spurs the quick reform Republicans want.
The House Republicans also filed two pieces of legislation this week that we hope will get government out of the way of business as the economy begins to recover.
House Speaker Bobby Harrell, introduced economic development legislation written from the recommendations of a panel of South Carolina’s business leaders.   The panel was comprised entirely of private sector industry leaders, the economic development group worked closely with business leaders, industry experts, the Department of Commerce and other economic development entities to address this unified goal of growing our state’s economy. 
Some of the major recommendations included in the bill are the elimination of the Corporate Income Tax, Restoration of the Closing Fund and various improvements to our economic incentive tools.  The economic development group also expressed their support for other legislative initiatives being sought by the House this year — Tort Reform, ESC Reform and Dual Rail access at the Port of Charleston. 
These are private sector solutions, not government solutions, and the kind of solutions that will move our state forward.
The second piece of legislation was filed by Republicans Dwight Loftis and Ralph Norman ( I too am a co-sponsor).  It extends the expiration dates of development permits due to the slow economy.  The legislation extends the life of any permits issued by the state for development through 2010 and applies retroactively to permits applied for since 2008. It covers statewide permits by various state agencies such as the Department of Transportation and the Department of Health and Environmental Control. 
Typically, permits expire after a certain amount of time if work has not started on a project.  Once permits expire, applicants must re-apply for the permits. Businesses say it is not unusual for the re-application process to take a year or more. Such a delay could prolong the recession and delay economic recovery.
Thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have an issues with state government, or have any comments on the Caucus agenda or any other issue.  You can reach me at 864-230-7044.

God Bless.

Conservatives saw many victories this week, from the South Carolina House and Senate to the well-publicized victory for Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate race.
 
We’ve all seen much press this week about Brown’s victory, but our state Senate took action on a resolution expressing our state’s support of the Constitution’s provision for limiting the power of the federal government.
 
The federal government is going through an unprecedented power grab and at the expense of states, your personal freedoms, and ultimately, your wallet. Fighting that power grab is the fourth plank in our Republican Caucus agenda this year and a major priority for me personally.
A resolution expressing our displeasure with the power-grab was approved by the House last year and was on our “unfinished business” list.  The Senate approved a resolution similar in tone to ours this week.
 
This isn’t an attempt to “cherry-pick” a favorite amendment to the constitution – an absurd criticism by some of our state’s liberal Democrats who support the federal agenda.  South Carolina was the fourth state to ratify the Bill of Rights.  We have always understood the importance of limited government and protecting the rights of the people.
 
Our Founding Fathers were fearful of a federal government that might grab infinite power. So they included two critical constitutional amendments at the end of the Bill of Rights.  Amendment Nine states clearly: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”  Amendment Ten states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
 
Ultimately, the people, and the states, created the federal government, and it is critical for us to be the ultimate check and balance to federal power.  The voters of Massachusetts sent that message loud and clear to the Congress on Tuesday.
 
The state Senate approved a similar resolution that also included statements opposing several recent power-grabs that Congress has undertaken since the House approved the resolution last year: health care, cap-and-trade, and forced state spending.  The House will now receive the Senate resolution and I look forward to the debate.
 
These are not meaningless resolutions, as Democrats criticized during the debate. Words have consequences and our constituents wanted us to make a statement to the federal government. The British government didn’t think resolutions by legislative bodies were meaningless in 1776.
 
This week, we also heard Governor Sanford’s final State of the State address. His conciliatory tone signaled a good session ahead.  I along with the House Republican Caucus have supported many items on the Governor’s agenda for each of his 8 years in office, and several of the items he highlighted in his speech – such as giving you, the voter, the choice about whether you would like joint election of the governor and lieutenant governor – have already been approved by the House and are currently being considered by the Senate.
 
This will be an exciting and eventful year in Columbia. Thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have an issues with state government, or have any comments on the Caucus agenda or any other issue.  You can reach me at 864-230-7044.

God Bless

Using Tax Credits to Help Provide Health Insurance

This week, the South Carolina House raised the tax on a pack of cigarettes.  I do not support raising taxes especially in this down economy, so I did not vote for the tax increase personally.  However, it is my responsibility to let you know what is happening in our SC state government so here is the breakdown. 

South Carolina has the lowest cigarette tax in the nation – a fact you have probably read many times over the past few years.   

Our state’s current cigarette tax stands at 7 cents a pack.  The increase the House approved this week will raise an estimated $147 million in revenue.  Almost all of that money will be used to create a trust fund to help small businesses provide health insurance to their employees, and help low-income families purchase health insurance for their families.

The House voted to raise the cigarette tax in 2007, and appropriated the money to eliminate the sales tax on food.   That plan was later changed to fund a major expansion of Medicaid.  Conservatives were able to sustain the veto and kill the cigarette tax increase.  Later in 2007 we were able to eliminate the grocery tax anyway – part of a major package of tax cuts that included slashing half of your property tax and lowering the state income tax.

Under the House plan, small businesses with up to 25 low-income workers will be eligible for a 67 percent credit on insurance premiums for each worker.  Only U.S. Citizens are eligible for the program, and only a certain number of spots are available.

Individuals may also purchase health insurance, and receive a tax credit of up to $3,000 if they make less than $21,500 a year. 

If the bill is approved by the Senate and signed by the governor, the first policies could be issued in 2011, which will allow the trust fund to build up adequate reserves to fund the program.

The tax credits are a market-based solution to the real health-care challenges we face right now.  Small business owners are the backbone of our economy and our community.  Many of them want to provide health insurance to their employees, but many small businesses operate on thin margins, so the incredible expense of insurance is cost-prohibitive.  The House plan is to use the cigarette tax to provide tax credits to these responsible small business owners.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful and blessed  Easter.  The House will not be in session for the next two weeks, saving taxpayers more than $100,000.  When we return, we will have only four more weeks of work for 2009.

As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 864-230-7044.

March 26, 2009

A Victory for The Secret Ballot in South Carolina

I never thought in the United States that a “victory for the secret ballot” would be needed.  Turns out, I was wrong.

Back in February, Democrats fought us tooth-and-nail to stop a resolution asking our Congressmen to oppose the “Employee Free Choice Act” which should be better known as the “Employee Choices Taken Away Act.”  This law, under consideration by Congress, would eliminate an employee’s right to a secret ballot in union-organizing elections. 

I can think of very few things that are more un-American than that.

That first bill was simply a resolution.  This week, we approved a state constitutional amendment that will guarantee the right to a secret ballot in union organizing votes.

To pass a constitutional amendment in South Carolina, we need 83 votes in the SC House, so it is essential to get some South Carolina Democrats on board.  Thanks to pressure from citizens and small businesses, we were able to pass a constitutional amendment easily.

I sponsored both the resolution and the constitutional amendment guaranteeing a secret ballot.

While defending the bill on the House floor in February, I told the House that since June 2000, there have been 62 union votes in South Carolina.  The unions won 55 percent of them.  Most of the unions in South Carolina represent government or quasi-government employees, according to statistics.  

I believe that the secret ballot is a fundamental right of all Americans in any election.  In this case, it protects an employee’s right to vote his conscience – rather than being intimidated by union bosses or company representatives.  It tells businesses that we respect fundamental rights and that we are business-friendly.

The House Republicans listed “Growing South Carolina’s Economy” as our top priority for this legislative year.  Yes, we know that is a broad topic, but it is necessarily broad because there are so many different actions we can take.  This week’s actions were a case in point.  While this will not directly create jobs, it tells businesses across the nation that we want to be a place where they can set up shop and employ South Carolinians.

If approved by the Senate, the Constitutional amendment will appear on the ballot for voters to approve in 2010 – and you will have the final say on whether this becomes law. 

According to the legislation, the question will read: “Must Section 1, Article II of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to provide that the guarantee of the right to vote by secret ballot applies in required designations or authorizations for employee representation?”

I know what my answer will be.

As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 864-230-7044.

Preparing for the “Second Half”

The passage of the state budget traditionally signals the end of the “first half” of the legislative session for the South Carolina House.  So much of January and February are consumed with work on the budget, that it can be hard to push other weighty issues. 

But with the budget in the Senate now, the House turns its attention to some of the issues we still have to complete.  Three items from our agenda are on the calendar when we return: reducing red tape for small businesses, a major government reform bill, and protecting the secret ballot.

The House Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee will hold hearings next week on reducing red tape to small businesses.  We have been working hard with industry groups, business associations, and the several chambers of commerce to recruit businesses to testify to the committee.  Any South Carolinian who owns a business, or knows of regulatory headaches that the state government causes, is encouraged to come testify.  Go to www.scstatehouse.net to find the phone number for the LCI Committee and ask how you can testify.

We have several major government reform bills queued up for consideration.  The biggest is an effort to jump-start job creation in South Carolina by combining the Employment Security Commission with parts of the Department of Commerce, and giving power over that new agency to Governor Sanford.  As usual in South Carolina, we have several different agencies “in charge” of areas of government and they don’t talk to each other.  Combine this legislation with the “Department of Administration” legislation the governor has requested, and we will complete our promise to streamline government and make it more accountable.

The biggest fight we are expecting is over the secret ballot – one of America’s foremost rights and protections.  Democrats in Washington, and their union supporters, want to strip the right of a secret ballot from workers in union organizing votes.  Nothing can be more un-American than that.

Make no mistake: At its heart, this is not meant to be an anti-union bill.  We want to make sure that anyone voting to unionize at their workplace is not intimidated into their vote, whether that is by the union or by the employer.  People should have the right to make their choice in secret, and the House Republicans will fight to ensure workers have that freedom. 

Tax reform bills are very difficult to consider during the first half of the legislative session, since the members of the Ways and Means Committee are completely consumed by the budget.  The creation of a tax realignment commission that will review our tax structure from top to bottom and propose ways to streamline and reform the tax code, is on the agenda.  As are several bills that will limit state spending – legislation that the House Republicans have passed more than a half-dozen times over the past 10 years.

The General Assembly is planning to adjourn two weeks early this year.  In the House, that will mean saving taxpayers more than $100,000.  It’s not a major sum, but it is what we can do to save precious taxpayer dollars.  The House has long contended, and voted for, a shorter session.  This year, we will prove that we can complete the people’s work while still taking six weeks off.  Hopefully, this will help change minds so that we can permanently shorten our legislative session and save taxpayer money every year.

As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia.  If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at  864-230-7044.

The election is over, and it’s time to get ready for January’s beginning of the 2009 legislative session.

You’ll never know how much I appreciate the trust you give that allows me to represent District 28 in Southern Greenville County for another term in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

This blog is just another way to keep you informed on what’s going on in Columbia and my thoughts on issues affecting us here in District 28.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do.

Thank you for stopping by, and please come back often.

Your Servant,

Eric