The lobbying trip is being coordinated by the South Carolina Association of Counties and represents the first time County Council members have traveled together to the Statehouse, according to Chairman Weston Newton.
Among the proposals council members will be pushing is a change to the school funding formula that would allow Beaufort County to receive more state money for public education. Council members also will lobby for legislation to allow the county to conduct property reassessments more often, Newton said.
"It's the old adage of the squeaky wheel gets the grease," Newton said. "While I don't think that the trip to Columbia is going to produce direct results, I do believe it is a building block process and an education and advocacy process."
The Beaufort County Council will be joined by county council members from Bamberg, Lancaster, Laurens, Marlboro and Richland counties. Together, county representatives also will push for support of the S.C. Association of Counties' legislative agenda.
State Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island, said he meets with local elected officials on a regular basis and that Tuesday's trip is meant to get them mingling with powerful lawmakers who don't represent Beaufort County.
"It's important for them to have a chance to see the chairman of Judiciary (Committee) or the chairman of Finance (Committee) or someone like that they would normally not have access to," Richardson said.
County Council members will meet at the S.C. Association of Counties' office Tuesday morning to receive a briefing on the latest legislative information and tips on how and where to find key lawmakers, according to Newton. Later, they will attend House and Senate sessions and meetings of three key committees.
County Council members also will push for legislation that would authorize municipalities to implement a real-estate transaction fee as well as school impact fees, Newton said.
"We routinely have interaction with members of our Legislative Delegation," Newton said, "and this is just an opportunity to go to Columbia and to spend the day in and around the Statehouse making others aware of the pressing issues that are here in Beaufort County."