The S.C. Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would instruct the S.C. State Ports Authority to end operations, sell its Port Royal property and share 5 percent of the proceeds with the town. The legislation has been a pet project of the Beaufort County Legislative Delegation since the governor announced in July 2003 that the port should be closed.
A price of $25 million has been mentioned, but the bill only mentions selling the port at fair market value. Originally the proposal was to split the proceeds with the Ports Authority and the rest of state government. The governor even mentioned the proposal in his State of the State address in January. Other proposals would have given Port Royal $2 million of the sales price, but 5 percent allows the town to gain more if the estimated 40 acres of waterfront property should sell for more money.
While Port Royal officials and residents see the port closure and sale as a benefit, it isn't a done deal yet. The House also must pass the bill. If the House approves the Senate version of the bill, it must get past the governor, who has had issues with bobtailing. Bobtailing is the practice of adding related elements to a bill, which the governor says is a constitutional violation. He vetoed the Life Sciences bill, which lawmakers had larded with a lot of pork, including creation of a four-year state university in Sumter, a four-year culinary arts program at a Charleston school and a convention center for Myrtle Beach.
The governor vetoed the bill. The legislature overrode the veto. The governor threatened to sue, but backed off taking the word of lawmakers that they would do better.
Now, the Senate has bobtailed a section onto the port-closing bill dictating how the governor can remove certain public officials. The bill would allow the governor to remove an officer "for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence, absenteeism, conflicts of interest, misconduct, persistent neglect of duty in office, or incapacity; however, before removing the officer, the Governor shall inform him in writing of the specific charges brought against him and give him an opportunity after reasonable notice to be heard."
This nose-thumbing added at the insistence of an Horry County Democrat, Sen. Dick Elliott, is in response to Gov. Sanford and his predecessor, Gov. Jim Hodges, removing so many members from the boards of the Ports Authority and Santee Cooper, a hydroelectric generating, water treatment and water navigation authority.
The governor's office isn't saying what he will do, but Will Folks, the governor's spokesperson, said they "support the bill that allows for the sale of Port Royal. We strongly oppose the bobtailed amendment relating to further limiting the authority of the executive branch to perform its function in government."
Bobtailing is blatantly wrong and should be changed. Laws should stand on their own, not be buried in other important legislation.
In the meantime, the bill goes to the House and the people of Port Royal wait.