Arcane SC regulations could hinder hospitals’ response amid Coronavirus outbreak

Healthcare
Blog · March 16, 2020

UPDATED (March 19th): 3 days after this article was published, Governor Henry McMaster issued an Executive Order specifically directing DHEC to suspend CON regulations for the duration of this public health emergency. (March 17th): DHEC Director Rick Toomey told the Senate Finance Committee, in response to questions, that there would be flexibility on CON bed limits.

The Artis Ware story

Education
March 15, 2020

Artis Ware lived to see his grandson, U.S. Senator Tim Scott, rise “from cotton to Congress” thanks to the power of his example.

Benefits outweigh risks in selling Santee Cooper

Energy
Blog · March 13, 2020

On July 31, 2017, Santee Cooper and SCE&G announced that they were abandoning work on the expansion of the V.C. Nuclear Station in Fairfield County. Shortly thereafter, Palmetto Promise went to work digging into the financial and policy implications of that decision for taxpayers and ratepayers. PPI has stayed true to our research mission, providing an

Evidence from Florida: Education Choice works

Education
Blog · March 4, 2020

In 1998, South Carolina students led Florida students in performance on a number of national tests, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as “The Nation’s Report Card.” But over the last decade, Florida far surpassed South Carolina in K-12 education outcomes, most notably among traditionally disadvantaged student populations.  Currently, only 0.30% of

SC military hopes to curb wind farms, regulate drones and exempt taxes for vets in 2020

Quality of Life
News · March 1, 2020

A Palmetto Promise Institute blog post is featured in this Post & Courier story regarding reciprocating occupational and professional licenses across state lines for military spouses.  By Thomas Novelly It’s been a tough year for the S.C. Military Base Task Force. More than a dozen bills proposed in 2019 made little traction in the Statehouse. And

Here is what’s being considered to fix SC’s near-worst certificate of need (CON) laws

Healthcare
Blog · February 28, 2020

On Thursday, a Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee heard testimony on several bills to either modify or fully repeal South Carolina’s arcane certificate of need laws, or CON. Due to CON’s outdated and prohibitive restrictions on innovation in the healthcare space, PPI has been advocating for full repeal. CON laws require medical providers to obtain special

California Lawmakers Propose Government Takeover Of Private Utility, While South Carolina Officials Look To Sell A Palmetto State-Owned Power Co.

Energy
News · February 27, 2020

Palmetto Promise’s Oran Smith and board chair Phil Hughes are quoted in this Forbes pieces comparing California and South Carolina’s approach to their utilities. To learn more about the research referenced in this article, click here.  By Patrick Gleason, Forbes Contributor  California lawmakers and state officials recently went through a very high profile failure in

South Carolina on the verge of removing obstacles to work for military spouses

Quality of Life
Blog · February 21, 2020

On Thursday, H.3263\S.455 passed through conference committee and now awaits ratification and a signature by the Governor. Once signed into law, the new statue will allow the state to issue a temporary professional or occupational license to spouses of military service members who move to South Carolina with an existing license from another state. This

South Carolina considers bill to standardize complex business license tax process

Tax & Budget
Blog · February 20, 2020

On Tuesday, the SC House Labor, Commerce & Industry Committee unanimously passed H.4431, a bill to standardize South Carolina’s business license tax process and provide relief to local businesses. Over 230 of the total 271 municipalities levy a business license tax on local businesses. Because municipalities have different processes for collecting theses taxes (different forms,