By Andy Brack

Authors of legislation in the General Assembly seem to be taking cues from national politicians when it comes to giving titles.

Instead of naming bills to describe what they do, some lawmakers seem to be trying to win arguments early by attaching names to legislation that sounds good—even though the measures might not do exactly what is claimed.

The best example today is the so-called “Put Parents In Charge Act,” an education reform measure that is a thinly disguised school voucher program. The bill, which is being pushed hard by Gov. Mark Sanford and out-of-state interests, essentially calls for a $4,000 per year tuition tax credit to be given to parents who send their kids to private schools. “Putting Parents In Charge,” essentially, means providing parents with a pile of cash that’s steered from public education into private school coffers. Opponents to the measure say it’s a structural way to undermine public education for the benefit of a few.

“Legislation by title and emotion—that’s all I see these days,” says state Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter.

Use of language in bill titles to win arguments is clearly a part of federal lawmaking, as witnessed in a variety of bills, such as President George Bush’s “Clean Skies Initiative,” which makes clean air rules less restrictive. Now state lawmakers are catching up.

Progressive political linguist George Lakoff says using the other side’s language to describe legislation is a smart way of politicking. 

“This mollifies, even attracts, the people in the middle who might have qualms about you,” Lakoff notes in his bestselling book, Don’t Think of an Elephant!

“This is the use of Orwellian language—language that means the opposite of what it says—to appease people in the middle at the same time as you pump up the base.”

Use of language as a tool may not have reached the dire levels in South Carolina that it has in Washington, but here’s a list of bills—some by Republicans and some by Democrats—before state lawmakers and what they really do:

The Economic Development, Citizens and Small Business Protection Act (S. 2, H. 3008)—This is a measure to change the civil justice system to cap non-economic damages in civil lawsuits to $250,000. In other words, it’s tort reform.

The Dairy Stabilization Act (S. 366, H. 3355)—This bill calls for a milk board to set fair milk prices across the state to help its ailing dairy industry.  One GOP critic says it’s nothing but a socialist ploy.

The Landowner and Advertising Protection Act (S. 420, H. 3381)—Known by critics as the Billboard Protection Act, the measure calls for municipalities to reimburse private property owners if communities remove billboards.  The measure is framed as a property rights bill.

The Nurturing Responsible Families Initiative Act (H. 3021)—This measure calls for the development of policies to reduce people’s dependence on government benefits and calls for more involvement of fathers in families.

The Protect Our Women In Every Relationship, or POWER, Act (H. 3143)—The bill is a fancy way of calling for tougher laws against domestic violence.  What’s interesting is not all domestic violence incidents are committed against women.

The Defense of Marriage Act (S. 45)—While the proposal really says same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions won’t be recognized in South Carolina, the title implies the foundations of traditional marriage are shaking and quivering.  Essentially, the bill is part of a conservative social agenda to irritate the gay community.

The list goes on, with the Right to Life Act, the Education and Economic Development Act and the Unborn Victims Act. 

Bottom line: When you read or see a catchy name of a bill in the news, remember politicians are playing politics with language.  Read the whole bill before you make up your mind.

Andy Brack publishes the South Carolina Statehouse Report (www.statehousereport.com), a business forecast of developments in the South Carolina Legislature and state government. He can be reached at brack@statehousereport.com.

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