Once the refuge of gentlemen lawyers, the state Legislature clearly has become the domain of businesspeople. Of the current 170 state legislators, 94 come from the world of business, 68 in the House and 26 in the Senate. Only 36 members of the bar are in the General Assembly, 23 in the House and 13 in the Senate.
The rest of the Legislature is made up of a combination of farmers, full-time legislators and retired educators, among others.
Some of those in business sell insurance. Some are real estate agents. Others own their own companies.
They represent both sides of the political aisle and sometimes differ in style and approach. But they share two things in common: enough financial success to leave work three days a week during the session and a driving belief that business can fix whatever problems the state has.
"Over the past 10 years, we have improved the business climate in this state," said state Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-Charleston, vice president of Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Co. "Making South Carolina business friendly means better salaries and a better quality of life for its people. And that's what we're here for."
If that is so, said Sue Berkowitz, why don't South Carolinians enjoy a higher standard of living?
Berkowitz is director of the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center, a legal and social advocacy group for low-income people. She said it is a fact of life at the Statehouse that if you want a bill passed, it has to be deemed, at worst, neutral to the business community. The problem, she said, is that what's good for business is not necessarily what's good for most people in the state.
"Why do we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country?" she said. "Why are so many people living in poverty? Why do we have a failing education system? Why is Medicaid in so much trouble? If pro-business legislation is so good for everyone, why is this stuff not getting better?"
A RECENT RISE
Leaders from the business world always have made up a significant portion of the Legislature, but their rise to dominance is relatively recent.
"When I came to the Senate in 1965, 36 out of 46 senators were lawyers," said state Sen. John Drummond, D-Greenwood, the longest-serving senator and a longtime businessman.
Drummond, the president of Drummond Oil Co., has watched the number of lawyers in the Senate dwindle.
In 1970, there were 85 lawyers in the General Assembly, 29 in the Senate and 56 in the House. There were 55 businesspeople, 13 in the Senate and 42 in the House. From that point on, the number of lawyers began to drop steadily, from 62 in 1980 to 52 in 1990 to 36 today, or about 20 percent of all lawmakers.
Businesspeople, on the other hand, increased from 65 in 1980 to 69 in 1990 to 94 today, or about 55 percent of the General Assembly.
Legislators say there are several reasons for this change but the main one is time and money. The General Assembly is in session three days a week from January to June. Over the years, government has grown, forcing lawmakers to take more time away from their full-time jobs to sit on committees, meet with constituents and make appearances.
"The workload has increased dramatically," said Wilkins, who runs a law firm in Greenville. "We have more people in the state, more bills getting filed. It's just a lot more work, and a lot of lawyers aren't willing to give up that kind of time away from their practices and their families."
State Rep. John Graham Altman III, R-Charleston, practices law. Years ago, he said, young lawyers would run for the House just to make a name for themselves.
"We didn't have commercials back then," he said. Since legal advertising has been permitted, "they don't need to hold office to become known in the public," he said.
Businessmen and women not only have the numbers now, but they also hold several key positions. House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, is in insurance and real estate. Senate President Pro-Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, an attorney for more than 20 years, no longer practices law. He now owns and operates CSA Galleries. House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, R-Columbia, owns a political consulting firm.
"It's true that we are the dominant group now," Harrell said. "But keep in mind that not all businessmen share the same concerns and beliefs. What may be important to a person from the insurance world would not necessarily be important to someone who runs a big business."
BUSINESS AND BILLS
Still, a look at some key legislation proves what a powerful business presence can accomplish. In the past two years, the Legislature has dealt with:
-- The Predatory Lending Act: Passed last year, this bill was hailed by the business community and consumer advocates alike for providing protection for borrowers without hurting legitimate lending operations.
The act blocks companies from making high-cost loans that hurt borrowers, particularly low-income and elderly customers. It requires anyone seeking to borrow money at a higher-than-market interest rate to attend a free credit counseling session. It bans practices such as flipping, or the repeated refinancing of loans typically done when a borrower is having trouble making payments. That practice often puts the borrower further into debt but generates a high fee for the lender.
Some industry officials expressed concern that the new regulations would drive lenders out of business and leave residents with fewer borrowing options, but most agreed it was a move that was needed for the state as a whole.
-- The Employment-at-Will bill: This bill was known to many as a pet project of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, which said it was needed to protect employers from a rash of lawsuits that ultimately would hurt the state. Critics, who included most trial lawyers, said it would simply give employers free rein to fire at will, leaving employees with no recourse.
The bill closes loopholes in state law regarding employee handbooks. Some lawmakers were alarmed over court decisions that ruled employers had created contracts by issuing them. The bill affirms the state's doctrine that basically allows an employer to hire and fire at will. It also features protections for employees, including stipulating that grievance procedures outlined in a handbook must be followed, that contracts negotiated under an established collective bargaining agreement are not affected, and that an employer can't fire an employee for refusing to do something illegal or something that "shocks the conscience."
The bill has passed the House and Senate and awaits the governor's signature.
-- The Venture Capital Investment Act: The act would allow the Commerce Department to borrow up to $50 million at low rates from banks and insurance companies to invest with professionally managed venture capital companies.
Proponents of the measure say it could help the state's economy, but critics worry that such measures are too much of a gamble. The act is contained in the Life Sciences bill that just emerged from conference committee last week and could pass the Senate this week on its way to the governor's desk.
-- Tort reform: Earlier this year, the House passed legislation that placed a cap of $2 million on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, and limited the venue in which lawsuits could be filed. It was a proposal pushed by the business community and the medical community, which said medical malpractice suits were driving doctors out of business. The measure was opposed by a large contingent of the state's trial lawyers, who said the measure simply took away a person's right to seek justice under the legal system. That legislation is under debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Tort reform passed the House easily but had a tough time getting out of the House Judiciary Committee, which has 18 lawyers among its 25 members.
"That just goes to show you how we look at things differently," said House Minority Leader James Smith, D-Columbia.
Smith, an attorney, said lawyers tend to be more aware of the unintended effects of changing laws.
"We are trained to look at all sides of an issue," he said. "It is ingrained into our brains. Businessmen bring a lot of useful knowledge to the table, but sometimes they don't see all of the problems a simple change can cause."
Jack Bass, professor of humanities and social sciences at the College of Charleston and an expert in South Carolina politics, said businesspeople tend to have a narrower focus than lawyers.
"The bedrock of running a business is making a profit," he said. "There are ethics involved, but usually that's secondary."
Bass, co-author of "The Transformation of Southern Politics," said many legislators from the business realm see the role of government as expanding opportunities in the state, which is good.
"But there are a number of them who don't understand that government is different than business and that it needs to be different," he said.
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