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Legislative session: More bluster, less change
The Brack Report
By Andy Brack
To hear state lawmakers talk about the past legislative session, you would think they had shrunk two suit sizes each because things were so busy this year. You might even feel a little guilty that they were just “plum wore out.”
But ask several lawmakers to list accomplishments, and you will get blank stares or very pregnant pauses.
Were lawmakers busy this past session? Yes.
Was it a lackluster session? Definitely.
Lawmakers did make a few great strides. They passed a budget that fully funded education for the first time in years, and they kept up with rising costs of Medicaid.
They passed tort reform measures that will have a big impact on the process of civil justice, even though new studies show reforms probably will not lower insurance costs for health care.
Lawmakers also passed laws making it possible for folks in bars to drink liquor poured from big bottles, to toughen penalties for domestic violence and to overhaul the state retirement system.
Overall, they passed more than
100 bills. But while the state’s elected representatives appeared busy, much of what they did was targeted to special interests. Lawmakers seemed to govern around the edges, keeping things the same for most people.
They did not do much to help tens of thousands of South Carolinians get out of poverty.
They did not do much to improve poorly maintained state roads. They did not make school facilities in rural areas better. They did not revamp the state’s tax system to make it fairer to all.
Take a look at the bigger picture of what happened during this year’s General Assembly:
Blending of parties. There seemed to be much less rancor between the Republicans and Democrats, other than on a controversial school voucher bill. The House budget got unanimous support in coming out of the House Ways and Means Committee. This was the first time that has happened in recent memory.
One senior House Republican observed conservative Democrats seemed to join more in votes with Republicans, in part because of a subtle shift in dynamics as Democrats concentrated efforts on winning key votes instead of always being opposed.
Ineffective governor. Senate Minority Leader John Land, D-Manning, relished that Gov. Mark Sanford has been “totally irrelevant” in the governing process. After three sessions, Sanford cannot take credit for the passage of any major piece of his agenda.
“His thinking is so far out of the box that he’s not even part of the General Assembly, and that’s the only place that can affect his priorities,” Land says.
Republicans did not roundly endorse Sanford’s ineffectiveness, but they didn’t dismiss it.
Most nudged and winked as if they were Monty Python characters when characterizing Sanford’s record.
“I think he brought a lot of issues to the forefront,” says Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton. “He hasn’t hit the goal line yet, but he’s working toward it.”
Budget sensitivity. Perhaps Sanford’s biggest accomplishment has been the renewed legislative sensitivity toward the budget process. Known as a fiscal conservative, the fellow who writes on the back of sticky notes, Sanford’s zeal in cutting spending has forced state lawmakers to look harder at what they do with state money.
Freshman Sen. Chip Campsen,
R-Charleston, who served on Sanford’s staff prior to last year’s election, says the governor’s budget work has caused lawmakers to be more fiscally accountable. Sanford, he notes, is the first governor to really roll up his sleeves and delve into the budget process with formal hearings.
“Any governor coming after Sanford is going to have to spend the time with the budget or look like he’s not doing his job.”
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of S.C. Statehouse Report, a business forcast of developments in the South Carolina Legislature and state government. E-mail him at brack@statehousereport.com.
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