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Article published Jan 11, 2004
General Assembly: New session needs to result in positive reform

ED McMULLEN
For the Herald-Journal

As we head into another legislative session, several proposals are emerging on issues that have been addressed by the South Carolina Policy Council. Initiatives dealing with education, government restructuring and tax policy are not new. Reform-minded policy-makers have talked about them, as well as budget problems, in the past.But for the first time in decades, the leadership positions in the House, Senate and Governor's Office are occupied by officials who share the same philosophy about how government should function and where our state should be headed.First up for the General Assembly will be the matter of the budget. The economy is rebounding, but there still is a budget shortfall, and revenue growth is not expected to be large enough to balance this year's spending priorities. Nor will there be enough existing money to fund government at the increasingly higher levels demanded by some education and health officials.Certainly our economy is likely to improve -- thanks in part to an increased commitment to economic development on the part of the governor and the General Assembly -- but with South Carolina's unemployment rate up, the last thing lawmakers can afford to do is to grow government and raise taxes.Economists expect that South Carolina's economy will improve quickly, but when it does it would be prudent for policy-makers to turn more to the private sector and keep government as small as possible so it will not cost more than it takes in. Toward that end, policy-makers should propose budgets that continue down the path of eliminating unnecessary programs and services while looking toward a future that includes zero-based budgeting and careful program review.South Carolina has weathered substantial slowdowns in the rate of government spending, and our essential services continue without the doom and gloom that advocates of bigger government predicted. We need to heed what the governor's MAP Commission proved: Government can and should be more accountable in its spending.In the context of raising and spending revenue, policy-makers are poised to debate substantial tax reform. Few people would argue the need to overhaul our tax system, which has created heavy reliance on property taxes to fund schools and which assesses our highest income tax rate starting at only $12,000 in income.There are several proposals being offered to change that system by reducing or eliminating some taxes while raising others. Most of these plans center on eliminating or lowering the burdensome property tax with an offset of increased sales taxes. Policy-makers hopefully will achieve a good balance that addresses the most unreasonable taxes, equitably distributes the tax burden and stimulates economic growth without a net tax increase.Education reform will be another challenge as education officials are calling for increased spending on programs while our state shows the highest dropout rate in the nation and disappointing results on national tests.The governor and leaders in the General Assembly have shown great courage in offering proposals to increase parental choice while at the same time questioning current education and spending practices. Policy-makers will ask for an update on where our state stands on implementing the 1998 Accountability Act, which required higher standards and more detailed reporting of test results to teachers and parents.Lawmakers also should pay close attention to the audit of the State Department of Education that House Speaker David Wilkins requested and look for ways to get existing education dollars out of Columbia and into the classroom.Another issue that hopefully will see a healthy debate and some substantive action is the matter of government restructuring. The governor made this a campaign issue, saying that he wanted to finish what Gov. Carroll Campbell started. He has proposed consolidating some government functions and appointing rather than electing most constitutional offices (most supporters of restructuring agree the attorney general should remain an elective office) to make government more efficient and accountable.Restructuring has support from General Assembly leaders such as Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell and Speaker Wilkins, both longtime promoters of limited and accountable government and sensible tax policy. There really is no down side to this proposal. There is no need to elect several constitutional offices that serve primarily as paper collectors and cost citizens millions when the same functions can be more efficiently managed as part of a Cabinet. Economic development, agriculture and education policy all intertwine in the 21st century, and our system of government should reflect that.From taxing policy to government operations, the overall focus of this legislative session will be to change the way government operates. This type of systemic change has been resisted in the past, but this year is different.Our current leaders in the General Assembly and the Governor's Office are proponents of positive government reform. This is the year to accomplish that, and this session should yield some of the most substantive reform in a decade.Ed McMullen is presidentof the South Carolina Policy Council, a nonprofit,nonpartisan public policy research organizationin Columbia. The PolicyCouncil's Web site is www.scpolicycouncil.com.