LEGISLATIVE REVIEW

What took place in the General Assembly this past week, the seventh of the 2004 session:

Restructuring

• Gov. Mark Sanford tried to rebuild support for his plans to restructure state government by testifying before a Senate committee Tuesday, but senators ended up voting on amendments that significantly weaken part of the legislation.

• Sanford’s proposal, which has been a key piece of his agenda, would eliminate all but four of the nine current elected statewide offices and shifts or merges some agency responsibilities.

• The proposal is contained in two bills, the first dealing with the constitutional officers and the second with the agency structure.

• But the Senate Judiciary Committee could not get past the first bill. Senators put up and approved amendments to keep the adjutant general, agriculture commissioner and lieutenant governor as elected officials. All of these offices currently are held by Republicans.

• Yet the committee voted to change the education superintendent — the only constitutional office held by a Democrat — to an appointed position.

Minibottles

• Plans to scrap the state’s requirement that bars and restaurants use only minibottles won final approval Wednesday in the Senate.

• But the Senate version of the bill would require that retailers pull 1-liter liquor bottles from store shelves and allow them to be used only in bars and restaurants.

• Consumers who like minibottles also would be able to buy them at retail stores. That is not allowed under the current law. South Carolina is the only state that requires minibottles.

Income tax cut

• Gov. Mark Sanford’s plan to reduce the state’s income tax rate helps only the top half of taxpayers, South Carolina’s chief economist said Tuesday.

• Sanford’s proposal, sponsored by House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, and backed by about 90 House members, would cut the state’s top income tax rate to 4.75 percent from 7 percent during the next decade.

• The bill cleared a House Ways and Means subcommittee with few questions and no criticism Tuesday.

School choice

• Gov. Mark Sanford unveiled on Thursday a school choice proposal that would give families making less than $75,000 annually an education tax credit on property or income taxes to use toward private education, home schooling or the cost of transferring a child to another school district.

• Families could be eligible for credits of 80 percent of school tuition, with caps of $3,200 for a kindergarten student, $4,000 for a student in first through eighth grades, and $4,600 for students in ninth through 12th grades.

• Critics called the legislation just a backdoor voucher system that pulls needed funds from public schools.

Tuition prepayment

• The S.C. Tuition Prepayment Program would be closed to new participants under a bill the Senate is considering. That bill calls for the program to stop taking new participants on Sept. 1. People already in the program would be able to continue and the state would be required to cover promised tuition costs.

• The program, operated by the state treasurer’s office, was created in 1997 as a way to help parents lock in current college costs for their children. It guarantees tuition and fee payments for the state’s public colleges.

• The program had 2,729 accounts worth $19.5 million in 2000. Now, there are 6,380 accounts worth $79.9 million.

Police accidents

• Rules for investigating traffic accidents involving police would be clarified under a bill a House Judiciary subcommittee approved Wednesday.

• The bill aims to provide a clear definition of what it means for a police vehicle to be involved in a collision and what will be done in an investigation.

• It says investigations do not have to arise just from wrecks involving police cars or chases. It also requires that accident investigators identify possible witnesses that might not have been involved in the wreck.

Stillbirth certificate

• Women who have stillborn babies in South Carolina would be able to receive a state certificate under a bill approved by the Senate Medical Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

• The bill says a certificate may be issued for stillbirths that come after at least 20 weeks of pregnancy. The certificate would not be required, but those requesting it could get one from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

• The bill passed the committee unopposed, and a similar House version of the bill will head to the Senate floor.