Sen. John Courson wants to reduce the legislative meddling into local government affairs by giving county councils appointive powers that still are the domain of a county's legislative delegation.
Home Rule has lived a tortuous life over the quarter century since legislators approved the then-sweeping reform. Since the Home Rule bill was passed in 1975, legislators have campaigned on platforms to effect change and headed to Columbia each year with the best intentions of doing what's right for the folks at home. In the past decade, those pledges of support have included bringing government back to the people, which Home Rule intended.
As we have written year after year, the Home Rule Act in essence gives control to local governments -- county councils and city councils. In 1975 such change was momentous. The legislative delegation comprising of senators and representatives was in charge of every decision local government made, including important issues such as road paving and water projects. Even the few cursory decisions local government was allowed to make were controlled by the delegation through the supply bill, now known as the county budget.
Little by little the Home Rule Act has been implemented to change the way and level at which important decisions are made. In nearly every election year for two decades, the cry has been made here by critics of the Beaufort County Board of Elections and Registration, and those who want to see appointive power for boards and commissions given to the County Council, to make this happen.
An argument also has been advanced to lobby for local appointment powers for the multicounty Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority board, but Sen. Courson's bill would simply apply to single-county entities, not those that cross county lines.
Former Rep. Edie Rodgers, a Beaufort Republican, proposed legislation in 1997, 1999 and 2000 that would have changed the appointment procedure, but it died in the House.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has even ruled that the state's legislative delegation system violated the constitutional mandate of one-man, one-vote in its appointments to local boards, since delegations cross county lines.
Locally the legislative delegation has appointive power over at least 18 boards and commissions. Only one-third of those deal with multicounty issues.
Many lawmakers are reluctant to give up the appointive power. One can only conclude that it's an issue of power.
This isn't exciting legislation, but it is important legislation that would return appointive powers to the halls of government closest to the people. In essence, it returns power to the people.