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Elections drive State House agenda
As session starts up, legislators sure to address voters’ demands for property tax relief
By AARON GOULD SHEININ
Staff Writer
State lawmakers descend on Columbia today for the start of their annual five-month session. But a date 10 months down the road — Election Day Nov. 7 — will drive much of what they do between now and June.
This is one of those odd years when the 46 state senators are the only elected leaders in state government who will not face voters in November.
Even that self-styled deliberative body, however, will feel the pressure of the electorate.
Campaign politics will affect what happens with major issues, such as property taxes and the school-funding lawsuit ruling.
Politics will color individuals’ actions, too, from the newest member of the House to Gov. Mark Sanford.
A TAXING SESSION
Disdain for the property tax has risen to a crescendo in the state, and lawmakers have spent months talking about giving relief from property assessments.
Now, it is time to act, and voters are likely to remember whether legislators deliver.
“Voters feel strongly about property taxes. We know that,” said Rep. Jim McGee, R-Florence. “The Legislature will reflect that this year.”
House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Charleston, said that kind of pressure is a positive.
“I hope it provides a level of anxiety to all our caucus members and an impetus to get things done,” Merrill said. “Not only the caucus, but also the Democrats and the Senate.”
On occasion, public sentiment can grow quickly and galvanize behind a movement, said Rick Quinn, a Columbia Republican who served in the House from 1989 through 2004.
That is what is happening now with talk of property tax relief, said Quinn, a former House majority leader who is a candidate for state treasurer.
“There are occasions when the polling, or the public point of view, drives the train,” Quinn said.
Quinn and Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, were among the first to propose the lower-property-taxes-higher-sales-tax plans that are all the rage in the General Assembly.
Quinn-Sheheen did not gain much traction, but now some of the lawmakers who dismissed their plan are backing similar ideas.
“With taxpayer disapproval ... they’re obviously responding to that. They have to do something,” Quinn said.
The problem for the House is more complex.
Many House members feel getting tax changes through the House is not enough — they have to pass the Senate and be signed into law. And that’s trickier.
McGee said House members have little choice.
“We don’t have much influence over what the Senate does,” McGee said. “(But) they’re feeling the outcry from the public, too.”
For their part, some senators reject any hint of election year gamesmanship between the chambers.
“We’re not interested in an election-year showdown with the House. We’re interested in results,” said the man who is perhaps the most powerful member of the Senate, President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.
That does not mean senators don’t occasionally take pleasure in watching House members struggle.
“The Senate is always very happy watching everyone (else) dash themselves against the political shoals,” said former Sen. Bob Waldrep, R-Anderson.
MOVING UP
At least four statewide candidates will spend a good portion of their time in the State House when they might rather be out campaigning.
Republicans Gov. Mark Sanford and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer are seeking re-election. Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Aiken, is running for his party’s nomination as governor, and Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, wants to be the GOP nominee for treasurer. All face primaries in June.
The candidacies are likely to affect this year’s legislative session. All four can be expected to be more vocal, to take advantage of the reporters who closely watch the General Assembly.
Of the four, Sanford is less beholden to spending time in the State House. But Bauer, Moore and Ryberg have commitments to be present when the Senate is in session, Tuesday through Thursday. Their opponents — businessman Mike Campbell for Bauer; Florence Mayor Frank Willis for Moore; Quinn and Pickens developer Jeff Willis for Ryberg — can traverse the state and campaign at will.
That makes it more important to plan well, Moore said.
“You depend on the scheduler, manager — people who you know understand that your time is limited,” Moore said. “You can be at certain places at certain times, but by and large it all works out. It’s quite a lesson on time management.”
Moore said candidates in his situation also cannot try to rewrite their history.
“As far as how I would handle the issues or vote on the issues, I don’t think it’s time to try and remake yourself,” Moore said. “What you’ve been doing for lo these many years, you continue to do.”
Sanford said his past mode of operation will continue this year:
“We lay out where we are — election year, non-election year — in a fairly consistent manner.”
Bauer said the campaign simply forces him to restructure his schedule. In addition to his legislative duties, constituent services and the Office on Aging, Bauer said the campaign “just adds a fourth component to my schedule, and I look forward to the campaign season.”
He won’t have to look forward long. It begins today.
Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com.
