Kevin Bryant

Each year individuals and political advocacy groups in South Carolina publish legislative scorecards identifying state lawmakers who are “taxpayer heroes,” but the reality is that, with only a few exceptions, those earned grades are not really the consequence of lawmakers exhibiting any particular political courage. Occasionally, however, they do put themselves at great personal risk (in a conventional political sense) by standing up against the status quo in order to earn a true victory for the taxpayer. And such was the case last week with SC Sen. Kevin Bryant and SC Sen. Shane Martin.
First, some background. Everyone acknowledges it is important to dredge the Charleston harbor from its current depth of 45 feet to 50 to accommodate the next generation of larger commercial ships. The port in Charleston has rightly been called South Carolina’s most important economic engine, the means by which our manufacturers export their goods to the world, and so the deepening is a must. The cost is estimated to be $300 million, with the state-federal split being 60/40, meaning that South Carolina is responsible for $180 million of the dredging cost and the feds the remaining $120 million.
The problem, however, is that our federal government is in dire financial straits – fast closing in on $17 trillion in national debt, and with no end in sight to the upward spiral – and shipping companies and others engaged in international maritime commerce now demand assurances from ports as to their ability to handle the business if the federal funds don’t materialize. As a practical matter, in the case of the Charleston port project, that means demonstrating South Carolina is ready, willing and able to pay the entire $300 million dredging cost itself if such becomes necessary.
To that end, the state House of Representatives appropriated $180 million for the port deepening. The state Senate Finance Committee did that one better – it appropriated the $180 million in state funds, and also approved a new bond bill raising the state’s debt ceiling by $120 million so that the state could borrow money to cover the federal government’s share of the dredging cost. And it is in connection with that bond bill that Sens. Bryant and Martin exhibited political courage and ended up getting a huge win for state taxpayers.
This year, the state legislature is poised to spend $1.1 billion more in revenues than last year – an over ten percent increase and a time when most private household income levels are flat-lining. And so Sen. Bryant, as a member of the finance committee, asked a logical question: Since the state has $1.1 billion in additional revenues to spend this year, why not allocate $120 million of that surplus toward the cost of the port deepening, rather than borrowing it? Paying for that crucial capital expense would be a far better use of that money, Sen. Bryant argued, than using it to further grow state government.
When the members of the finance committee disagreed and approved raising the state’s debt ceiling by $120 million, Sen. Bryant responded by placing a minority report on the bill, blocking it from being debated on the floor of the SC Senate. And in the following days Sen. Bryant, along with Sen. Martin who stood right by his side, was put under intense political pressure to release his hold on the bill. Rarely have I seen state senators subjected to such pressure. They eventually allowed the bond bill to come up for a vote, but not before a $20 million reduction in the state’s long-term debt for retirees’ health insurance was put into the budget.
Sens. Bryant and Martin proved themselves to be true taxpayer heroes. Despite unprecedented pressure, they didn’t relent until the $20 million debt reduction was guaranteed – a debt reduction that otherwise absolutely, positively would not have occurred. If more state lawmakers had their courage, South Carolina would become the most fiscally conservative state in the union and, as other profligate states like California, Illinois and New York slid into insolvency and chaos, be the primary destination for individuals and companies looking to prosper in a truly business-friendly environment.

This week, I received unanimous consent to remove my minority report from s. 1431, borrowing plan to dredge the Port of Charleston.

The project to dredge the Charleston Port will cost approximately $300 million ($180 state and possibly $120 million Federal). The SC House committed $180 million of funds on hand. S.1432 would raise the debt ceiling and borrow $120 million to fund the Port of Charleston dredging if the Federal Government does not send the $120m. I didn’t vote for it, but it got 2nd and 3rd reading. I voted “nay” on both readings, but it passed.

Why did I do this? I’ve gotten a firm commitment from Leadership that there will be an additional debt payment of $20 million on a unfunded liability, opeb. This is the other post employment benefit for state retirees. I wanted a guarantee of the same payment for the next 5 years equaling the $120 million, but I could not get this.

The votes for special order are there and the votes for cloture (if I filibustered) are there too. I’ll chalk this up as a tiny victory for the taxpayers of future generations. However, I think we’ve exposed the debt problem we have in this state and hopefully, we can continue this debate, and give our children less debt.

For the Sake of the Lake!
Please join the CoveKeeper Team for these fun & informative events:
CoveKeeper Drop-In Workshop
Learn all about the CoveKeeper Program.
Monday, April 30. Drop-in anytime between 6:30-8:30PM
Anderson County Library, 300 N. McDuffie St., Anderson
Bring your friends and lake neighbors.
# # #
CoveKeeper Field Training
Learn how to perform periodic lake surveys.
May 5; Saturday morning 9:30 to about 12:30
Portman Marina Pavilion, 1629 Marina Rd, Anderson, SC 29625
Bring a hat, notebook, and life jacket.
RSVP – Please auto-reply to this email or send an email directly to Dr. Dyck at hartwelllakekeeper@yahoo.com
Thanks for letting us know if you’re coming! We need to know how many boats we need!

h.4042 Eliminates insurance companies for allowing a auto glass repair company to also operate as call centers for the same insurance company. Insurance Companies have responded in this fashion to combat abusive practices by a few in the automotive glass industry. Local glass dealers have the argument that it is an unfair trade practice for insurers to use auto glass repairers also handling their call centers, as they are able to steer customers to their own businesses.

I think h.4042 is a mandate to fix another mandate. The problem began shortly after SC mandated insurance companies to replace cracked windshields and prohibited them from allowing a deductible. If we eliminated this original mandate, insurance companies may decide for themselves if they want to provide the coverage deductible free or not. And the free market would solve many of these problems. 99.9% of the time Free market solutions work better than government mandates.

In my pharmacy business, I’ve learned that deductibles prevent abuse and overuse. It is human nature to get a prescription that is “free”. Well, it’s not free, it’s paid for by policy holders premiums and or the taxpayer.