Comptroller General of South Carolina

MAJOR INITIATIVES

South Carolina addressed several major components of long-term and mid- term economic growth and stability during the current session of the General Assembly, specifically targeting public education, infrastructure, and tax relief for significant attention.

Education provisions included the following:

Financial commitment to full-day kindergartens.
Requirement of additional credits for high school graduation.
Funding of incentive college scholarships for outstanding high school students.
Establishment of a tuition prepayment plan.
Provision for teacher salaries to exceed regional averages.

Significant among initiatives for the General Assembly was the priority attention given to the State’s infrastructure needs, particularly in the area of transportation needs. Legislators created the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank (the Bank), an entity empowered to make loans, issue bonds, enter into contracts, and establish related policies and procedures. The State’s infrastructure needs are estimated at $50 billion over the next twenty years.

The legislation establishing the Bank also created the Division of Regional Government within the State Budget and Control Board, the State’s central management agency, to coordinate planning among local and regional governments, as well as among State agencies. A statewide infrastructure plan will be presented to the General Assembly in the early spring of 1998.

Addressing more immediate capital needs, the General Assembly authorized the issuance of State capital improvement bonds totaling $250.660 million of which $150.625 million is planned for use by the State’s universities and colleges (including technical colleges).

Legislators appropriated $14.200 million in additional monies to fund property tax relief, raising the total relief for the year to $227.900 million, and South Carolinians age 65 and over will receive an increase in their income tax exemption from $10,000 to $11,500. Further tax restrictions were enacted by legislation that limited the authority of political subdivisions to raise or create taxes or fees.

Key automobile-related legislation tightened experience and training requirements for young drivers and provided comprehensive changes in the State’s automobile insurance market. These and other insurance provisions are designed to draw more automobile insurers into the State.