Friday, May 30, 2003
Final edition posted at 9:15 a.m.
Newly-added stories marked with an asterisk (*)

Late changes stall state budget

Final passage of the state's $5.3 billion budget may not come before Tuesday, after senators discovered Thursday that some changes by budget negotiators may have been done improperly.

House leaders had hoped the Senate could quickly approve the plan to send it to Gov. Mark Sanford before midnight, which they said would give lawmakers enough time to deal with his vetoes before the Legislature's planned adjournment next Thursday.

But because of Senate squabbling over technicalities, it looks like lawmakers will be back at the table to put final touches on the budget, which will force them to return after the June 5 adjournment to take up the governor's vetoes. Cost: $75,000 per day.

Lawmakers short schools, health care

From today's edition of the Beaufort Gazette:

"South Carolina lawmakers worked through the night Wednesday to reach a compromise on the state's $5.3 billion budget, but they may have walked away from a mound of federal money for health care for the needy.

" South Carolinians, though, pay the fourth lowest cigarette tax in the nation -- 7 cents a pack. Increasing the tax to the national average could have helped South Carolina offset a potential $500 million revenue deficit. Even raising the tax to the national average would put South Carolina 45 percent behind the $1.10 tax California charges.

Lawmakers evidently think it is more important to protect smokers and their misguided vow to hold the line on state taxes than to live up to a promise to educate children and provide health care to the elderly and poor.

In their misguided attempt, they shift the burden of taxation to the county and municipal level, where all property owners, not just the smokers, will pay higher taxes."

Late changes could stall state budget
Final passage of the state's $5.3 billion budget may not come before Tuesday, after senators discovered Thursday that some changes by budget negotiators may have been done improperly. Greenville News, The State, WYFF-TV, Spartanburg Herald-Journal/AP, *Myrtle Beach Sun News,* WLTX-TV

• * Gov. Sanford says he'll try for cigarette tax hike again next year Post and Courier
  

* BellSouth planning expansion to cable
BellSouth Corp. and two more of the nation's biggest local phone companies plan to jointly solicit bids for equipment that can provide video and superfast Internet connections to consumers. Post and Courier

Duke granted a rate hike by state
State regulators have approved a rate hike for Duke Power, the Upstate's dominant electric utility, which company officials said will add $2 a month to the average residential bill. Greenville News

Columbia's office space occupancy down
As state government tightens its belt, state agencies are downsizing and cutting back on their leased office space. The State

Carolina Investors' customers will get face-to-face meeting with managers
Carolina Investors' customers will get to ask the company's managers, face-to-face, for answers they've been seeking for months at a federal bankruptcy hearing in Greenville. WYFF-TV

Groundbreaking held for Beaufort County control tower
Beaufort County held a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday at the Hilton Head Island Airport to mark construction of the airport's $1.6 million air traffic control tower. Hilton Head Island Packet

* Hilton Head board approves more time shares
Marriott Vacation Club International can expand its planned time shares development project at Burkes Beach to 195 condominium units now that the Hilton Head Island Board of Zoning Appeals has granted a special exception. Carolina Morning News

* Tri-County Alliance, partners break ground for new industrial park
Members of the Bamberg County Development Board, the Bamberg Board of Public Works and the Bamberg city and county councils joined the Tri-County Alliance in breaking ground for its own, long-awaited 440-acre regional industrial park site. Orangeburg Times and Democrat

Coble wants tougher laws for gang activity
Columbia Mayor Bob Coble plans to lobby for legislation that would better define gangs and provide extra punishments for crimes committed by gang members. The State

Greer group organizes to give business a boost
Downtown merchants have organized the Greer Station Association, which plans to use a unified marketing theme based on a Greer Station brick red and mustard logo. Greenville News

Richland County taxes going up
Richland County Council gave preliminary approval onThursday to a $93.8 million operating budget, up 6.6 percent from this year's, and homeowners could be paying $76 to $135 more on taxes. The State

Florence County Council kills business tax
Florence County Council essentially killed an ordinance that would have implemented a business license tax in the unincorporated areas of the county Wednesday. WBTW-TV

Groups seek share of bed taxes in Beaufort
Fourteen local organizations have asked for grants from Beaufort's state accommodations tax collections, and all may share as much as $100,845. Beaufort Gazette

Beaufort Disaster committee discusses development of hazard plan
The programs and policies Beaufort County has in place to reduce losses from natural disasters may be good enough to keep federal post-disaster money flowing, but officials say there there is room for improvement. Beaufort Gazette, Hilton Head Island Packet

* King parkway renaming pushed in Legislature
State Sen. Clementa Pinckney and Rep. Thayer Rivers introduced resolutions in the state Senate and House calling for renaming S.C. 13/Bees Creek Road the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. Carolina Morning News

* Court sides with Myrtle Beach in 1999 tax lawsuit
A judge has ruled that Myrtle Beach did not violate any laws when it raised taxes after Horry County reassessed property values in 1998. Myrtle Beach Sun News

* Williamston government may change form
The Williamston Town Council could take action as soon as Monday on a petition to change the town’s form of government. Anderson Independent Mail

* Former Johnsonville mayoral candidate appeals commission decision
Steve Dukes has appealed the State Election Commission's April 23 decision not to overturn the results of the 2002 Johnsonville mayoral election to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Florence Morning News

* State funding key to keeping Shaw Air Force Base open
Sumter area officials say recent funding from the state to help with local efforts in the upcoming Base Realignment and Closure process could be significant in the protection of Shaw Air Force Base. Sumter Item

* Charleston council wants money chart on tax bill
Charleston County Council wants to redesign its tax bill this year so residents can see what portion of the total amount goes to each tax-levying agency listed. Post and Courier

* Legislation for Partisan school board will become law
Legislation to inject partisan politics into Charleston County school board races will become law by early next week. Post and Courier

* Lancaster's budget might mean lower taxes
City taxpayers may see a tax decrease after City Council approves its 2003-2004 fiscal year budget. Lancaster News

Stop raiding trust funds
"A weak economy and declining revenues are influencing state lawmakers to do things they shouldn't do. One of the worst things is the raiding of state trust funds, such as those devoted to cleaning up nuclear waste. More than 50 so-called restricted funds have been gutted in the past two years to the tune of more than $100 million." Greenville News

Lawmakers short schools, health care
"South Carolina lawmakers worked through the night Wednesday to reach a compromise on the state's $5.3 billion budget, but they may have walked away from a mound of federal money for health care for the needy." Beaufort Gazette

* Leave smoking ban to market
"Bars and restaurants that allow secondhand smoke to bother nonsmokers run a serious risk of losing them as customers. That's why virtually all bars and restaurants have no-smoking zones ó and some have banned all smoking." Post and Courier

* Lawmakers stiff education
"The arrogance of the York County legislative delegation in denying the right of local school districts to raise taxes to fund their operations is mind-boggling." Rock Hill Herald

* Almost Real
"South Carolinians 65 and older are on their way toward lower prescription prices, thanks to the parliamentary maneuvering of Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, and Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach." Myrtle Beach Sun News

* Power of the people
"It sounds a stretch to say hog farm regulations could lead to the demise of home rule, but stay tuned. That seems to be the road some of our state legislators are mapping out these days." Anderson Independent Mail

Alternative program should be option for all
"A constructive alternative to out-of-school suspensions is proving to be popular among Beaufort County School District students." Hilton Head Island Packet

* Mental Health Month
"Signs of May: commencements, end-of-school celebrations, the beginning of summer vacation. Special times for young people. May is also a time to focus annually on mental health. Orangburg Times and Democrat

Out with the old
"Despite state budget cuts that have precipitated a downsizing of Clemson University's traditional extension services, it is unfair that some farmers have accused the land-grant university of abandoning its agricultural tradition." Greenville News

* Public’s concern shelves school taxing authority
"Sometimes the public is loud and clear when it is dissatisfied or is opposed to something.
Recently, when local school districts sought the power to levy taxes, although within limitations, the public spoke and it was indeed loud and clear." Greenwood Index-Journal

Moredock: Palmetto State mistaught its own history for decades
"I don't usually pay much attention to Sen. John Kuhn, the Charleston Republican who has a quick, dumb solution to every complex problem. But Kuhn introduced legislation recently to require a year of South Carolina history be taught to all eighth-graders in the state school system and that can't be all bad." The State

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