Commentary: A commonsense energy solution for SC

Energy
Blog · December 17, 2025

This op-ed by Dr. Oran Smith and Michael Wright was published in the Post and Courier. From families to industries, everyone wants a piece of what the Palmetto State has to offer. As South Carolina continues to grow, we must identify sustainable energy solutions to mitigate an increasingly strained electricity supply while keeping rates affordable,

Put Unused Pension Plan Dollars to Work for South Carolina Employees

Tax & Budget
Blog · December 11, 2025

This column by Palmetto Promise board member Barry Wynn was originally published in FitsNews. For more than three decades, I’ve worked at the intersection of investment management, retirement planning, and sound public policy — helping families plan for their futures and advising institutions on how to safeguard the assets entrusted to them. As former Chairman

Palmetto Promise Stands for the First and Second Amendments, Joins Amicus Brief

Quality of Life
Blog · November 24, 2025

Palmetto Promise Institute is a co-amici in the following brief, filed in NRA v. Vullo.  Advancing American Freedom, leading a coalition of 52 amici, filed an amicus brief in NRA v. Vullo, urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. In this case, the New York government pressured insurance companies to drop coverage of insurance plans

The Empty Horse: The Threat to SC Homeschooling That Isn’t

Education
Blog · November 21, 2025

This op-ed was originally published in FitsNews. Recently, an article published in FITSNews argued that the creation of what is essentially an “Option 4” method of homeschooling in South Carolina through the passage of S.62, is a Trojan Horse that opens the door to increased state regulation of all existing homeschooling in the Palmetto State. But I am pleased

Freedom notes USA: South Carolina goes farther with charters

Education
Blog · November 17, 2025

Palmetto Promise’s Director of Education Policy, Ryan Dellinger, was quoted in this piece by our State Policy Network colleagues at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. South Carolina charter schools overperform A new study of state education records indicates that South Carolina charter schools are substantially outperforming traditional schools in preparing students for college and

SC bill would require every school board meeting to be recorded, posted

Education
Blog · May 7, 2025

Palmetto Promise Policy Analyst Felicity Ropp is quoted in this article, originally published in WJBF and WSPA. COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – In Columbia, lawmakers are making headway on a bill that would make school board meetings more accessible to the public. Supporters said the legislation, if passed, would increase transparency between school districts and families. The bipartisan

Commentary: Legislators should fix the lawsuit problem — the whole problem

Quality of Life
Blog · April 30, 2025
Close up photo of a wooden gavel

This commentary by Palmetto Promise board chair Phil Hughes was originally published in the Post and Courier. From stem to stern, South Carolina’s lawsuit system is broken — and anyone who’s run a small business, owned a restaurant that offered alcohol or driven a truck knows it. Sky-high insurance rates, nuclear verdicts and the chilling

Families Fight Back as South Carolina Court Strikes Down School Choice

Education
Blog · April 25, 2025

This column by Palmetto Promise President & CEO Wendy Damron was originally published in the Daily Signal. South Carolina’s school choice program faced a crushing setback when the state’s Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional after hundreds of students had already started classes at new schools. However, a grassroots response has emerged to help families affected by the

Commentary: Free market solutions for SC’s energy future

Energy
Blog · March 27, 2025

This op-ed by Dr. Oran Smith was originally published in the SC Daily Gazette. It is no secret that South Carolina has become a magnet for business, industry, and people. Since 2007, our population has grown by over one million, and the U-Hauls keep coming. The in-migration boom includes manufacturing and high-tech industries as well. This generational change