A state Senate subcommittee has revised what to include in a bill
that would cut property taxes by raising the state sales tax.
The Senate’s soon-to-be-drafted bill will not deal with
residents’ second, non-rented homes and “other” personal property
such as boats, even though the senators decided last month to
include those items. It also won’t immediately eliminate the sales
tax on groceries, as decided last week.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said
Wednesday the previous decisions would cause a $390 million revenue
shortfall.
The senators agreed to cut property taxes on owner-occupied homes
and vehicles, give renters a tax credit, and put $125 million in a
reserve fund for lean years. The state sales tax on groceries would
be reduced to 2 percent the first year, and eliminated in future
years.
The Senate’s proposal would cut only school operating expenses
from property tax bills, unlike a version being drafted in the House
that would also cut city and county operating costs, all on
owner-occupied homes.
• Domestic violence panel hears
suggestions
Additional funding and changes to restraining orders and jail
sentences were among the suggestions a legislative committee
studying criminal domestic violence received Wednesday.
The Criminal Domestic Violence Study Committee heard from
advocates, an attorney and a victim of domestic abuse during the
two-hour public hearing.
Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, asked Domestic Abuse Center
director Judy Ewing if she agrees that perpetrators of domestic
violence should sit in jail for a mandatory 48-hour “cooling off”
period. Ewing said two days in jail might not be as effective for a
repeat offender as it would for a first-timer.
Contributing: The Associated
Press
