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Home E-mail us Circulation Classifieds Letters / Opinion The Stroller General Find and Shop Jobs Cars Classifieds Physicians Guide Top Stops News Sports Stroller Obituaries Opinion Business Escape Life Photos Palmetto Recruiting Weather Fun Stuff Crosswords Astroblobs Flash Trivia Herald-Journal Subscribe Advertising Page Reprints Photo Reprints H-J Archives About the H-J Newspapers in Education Celebrate Community Contact Us Mail PO Box 1657 Spartanburg SC 29304-1657 Phone 864.582.4511 Staff listings			ARTICLE OPTIONS:  E-mail this article  |  print this article Posted on February 09, 2003 Audit should give Senate reformers opportunity to pass legislation State senators passed a bill last year that would have made some necessary changes to South Carolina's Public Service Commission, but they passed it too late to get it through the House. This year, a Legislative Audit Council report that has verified their concerns should make it easier to get the reforms enacted. The Public Service Commission is the body that regulates utilities in South Carolina -- the rates they can charge and the profit they can make from Palmetto State residents and businesses. It is a body that affects every family's budget and the bottom line of every business. It is crucial that the commission be accountable to the people and that it earn the public's trust. Senators correctly noted some problems with these goals last year, and the Audit Council has reinforced those concerns. Lawmakers should give careful consideration to the recommendations in the audit and include most of those changes in any reform bill. The audit points out that commissioners can be too close to the companies they regulate. It found several instances in which commissioners had heard from one side of an issue more than the other side. Auditors found multiple instances in which companies had lobbied commissioners for changes when those opposed to the changes had not had a similar chance. The Audit Council recommends a code of conduct that will formally regulate the manner in which commissioners conduct business and the contacts they can have with corporations they regulate. Another key issue is nepotism. Lawmakers elect commissioners to their jobs, which pay more than $75,000 per year. Last year, when elections were scheduled for commission seats, four of the candidates were relatives of lawmakers. The auditors recommend banning those related to members of the General Assembly from serving on the commission. Another recommendation is to establish minimum requirements for commissioners. They should have a college degree and some type of experience in the fields they regulate. These recommendations aren't new to lawmakers. They have been included in the bills they have considered regarding the PSC. But the independent report should strengthen the voices of lawmakers calling for reform on the commission. The measures under consideration would make the commission more accountable to the people and would help build confidence in the commission as a body that will serve the people more than friends in the utility industry.				Also in Opinion • Letters • Editorials • Perspective In Perspective Rights, responsibilities of being American go hand in hand Have wealthy and educated Americans all become pacifists? Or have we just gotten used to having someone else defend us? Equal burden: Military draft would help end 'class warfare' that exists in armed forces Some people have questioned my motives for introducing legislation to reinstitute the military draft and requiring alternative national service by young people who cannot serve. Give me liberty: Reinstitution of draft would be tantamount to slavery Log on to www.dictionary.com and look up the words slavery and draft. Here is what you will find: DUI laws: State should not try to fix criminal code that's not broken When calamity strikes, there always will be advisers. Advice, suggestions and ideas are like noses. We all have one. DUI laws: Harsher legal consequences are needed On April 5, 2002, Allan Howard kissed his wife goodbye, got into his truck and headed south on Highway 221. With three beautiful daughters, a good business and even better friends, he had the world ahead of him. DUI laws: Woman shares pain of tragically losing her son Drunken driving is a violent crime, one that we can and must do something about.

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