2022 South Carolina Legislative Agenda
- South Carolina needs to re-institute joint and several protections for businesses to reasonably reflect fault in tort actions.
- The Coalition supports income tax reform to ensure our income tax rates are in-line with our neighbors in the Southeast and ensure it is more fair, equitable, and competitive.
- The General Assembly needs to reform our recruiting incentives to make it easier to attract significant investments in knowledge-based and corporate headquarters jobs
- We must effectively use ARPA funding on transformative infrastructure projects including:
- Finishing the expansion of the Inland Port and Port of Charleston,
- Expanding broadband service throughout the Upstate,
- Fund water and sewer replacement and expansion projects,
- Jumpstarting major interstate and road projects, and
- Building a state electric vehicle infrastructure.
- Increase state investment in tourism advertising, which supports our current hospitality industry and can lead to tourists relocating and becoming employers in South Carolina.
- Increase teacher pay to the national average.
- Seek solutions to expand the accessibility and the affordability of childcare to ensure working parents may fully participate in the workforce.
- Pass policies that will increase educational attainment of our students and workforce.
- Support the Higher Education Finance Act and the Higher Ed Efficiency Act to both support innovation in our state colleges and universities and relieve the tuition burden for South Carolina students.
- Review state law to expand the non-violent felony offenses for expungement and prepare inmates for high-demand career opportunities. These provisions include: reforming civil asset forfeiture laws, passing a hate crimes penalty enhancement, assisting returning citizens with vital records, and pass a state tax credit for hiring returning citizens.
- The General Assembly must close the South Carolina Retirement System to new employees and move to a defined contribution plan to better serve new employees and preserve the system for current retirees.