A quick spin

What’s going on around the State House:

TAXING PROPOSITION

State senators Thursday retooled a property tax reduction plan so that it wipes out taxes on homes and cars. The plan, introduced Thursday, raises the state’s sales tax to 7 cents on the dollar, up from a nickel now. That extra $1 billion in sales tax collections would replace local property tax collections to pay for county, city and school operations. It depends on voter passage of a referendum in November.

NO TATTOO FOR YOU

Efforts to pass a bill legalizing tattooing failed in the House on Thursday, as lawmakers voted to send the bill back to committee. Already approved by the Senate, the bill prohibits people younger than 18 or those under the influence of drugs and alcohol from getting a tattoo. It also prohibits tattooers from reusing sterilized needles. South Carolina and Oklahoma are the only states that ban tattooing.

ABC’S, 123’S, $$$’S

The Legislative Black Caucus introduced a bill Thursday that would require schools to teach students about finances and provide the funding for them to do it. The bill would set up a fund for public or private contributions to pay for the program.

MINIBOTTLENECK CONTINUES

Doing away with minibottles may hinge on requiring liquor retailers to pull one-liter liquor bottles from their shelves. That size liquor container would then be used solely by restaurants and bars under a compromise Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, has offered to legislation ending the requirement that drinks be poured from minibottles. Leventis has filibustered the law change for weeks and blocked a constitutional referendum’s passage.

EXPAND MEDICAID ... ON PURPOSE?

A study by the state Insurance Department recommends expanding Medicaid to allow the state to provide a group coverage option for small businesses. The plan would subsidize the premium for workers in those businesses who make less than $13,965 a year, or 150 percent of the federal poverty level for individuals. The federal government would have to approve such a plan, but it has been proposed in other states.

ETHICAL CHAIRS

Rep. J. Roland Smith is the new chairman of the House Ethics Committee. The Aiken Republican replaces Rep. Becky Richardson, R-York, who is leaving the House to join the Employment Security Commission. A retired rural mail carrier, minister and businessman, Smith has been in the House since 1989. The ethics committee’s duties include suggesting changes to state ethics laws; receiving and auditing House members’ quarterly campaign finance reports; and investigating claims of ethics violations.

From Staff and Wire Reports