Palmetto Freedom Agenda 2025-26
Free & Fair legal system
REPEAL THE LAWSUIT TAX
And Lower the Cost of Family Necessities
Every South Carolina household pays a hidden tax of $3,181 annually. This is the markup businesses are forced to add to the prices of their products to cover the cost of lawsuits against them, many of them frivolous.
From trucking to retail, from fender benders to “slip and fall,” the trial lawyer bar is out of control. The worst offender of all is the legal concept known as joint and several liability. It is unfair and needs to go.
Allow Delivery With Restrictions
When groceries can be delivered to your door or picked up curbside, it’s silly that customers still must walk into the store to purchase wine and beer. The rule is anti-free market, and there are ways to safely allow for curbside and delivery sale of alcohol.
Besides, isn’t it safer to have someone order a six-pack to their door for the second half of the football game, rather than hopping in their car and driving to the store?
Magistrates Must Be Professionals
The 2024 judicial reform bill was an important win for breaking up the good ole boy system, but it left out the bench most in need of reform: South Carolina’s magistrate courts.
These Summary Court Judges interact with the public more than any other any court, but they have scandalously low training requirements. A good start would be to eliminate magistrates’ indefinite holdover status, bring more transparency into their selection process including Senate confirmation votes on the record, and require greater training for non-lawyer magistrates.
Move to Criminal Asset Forfeiture
Law enforcement can seize a person’s property without charging that person with a crime and then use 95% of the proceeds to fund police and prosecution expenses. This is known as “civil asset forfeiture.” Some jurisdictions use this power wisely and fairly.
In other places, it is a “policing for profit” scheme. The SC Supreme Court has ruled that any changes to this system (like shifting to criminal asset forfeiture) must come from the General Assembly, not the courts. South Carolina should fully fund the police and address Civil Asset Forfeiture. A higher standard, like a criminal conviction, should be required for the permanent forfeiture of a person’s property.
Encourage Voter Turnout With Set Election Days
Local elections (for offices like county/city council and school board) are held off-cycle and on unstandardized days. This practice costs more in election administration and leads to extremely low voter turnout. Local elections should be held on set days each year. To fail to do so is undemocratic.
