The Palmetto Insider

WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT SPENDING 

Calhoun County Council accepts $1.28M bid for Sandy Run Government Center project, despite cost cutting suggestions

http://www.thetandd.com/articles/2009/09/29/news/14050646.txt 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 

Berkeley County Council rejects request for noncompetitive bidding purchases

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/29/noncompetitive-purchasing-proposal-fails-in-4-2/

Motorcycle rally suit costs Myrtle Beach $145K in defense fees 

http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/1092202.html 

CLIMATE CHANGE 

Clemson professor says global warming “not necessarily” reason for increased hurricane activity

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/sep/28/clemson-hurricane-paper-churns-stormy-reactions/

ARTICLE OF THE DAY…

Universities defend lobbying costs; opponents say practice misuses public money 

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/28/schools-defend-lobbying-costs/?print

http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/1090839.html

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/981745.html

Ashley Landess, president of The South Carolina Policy Council, a conservative think tank in Columbia pushing for more transparency in government, said neither state nor federal taxpayers’ money should be used to pay for lobbyists. “It’s a conflict of interest against the people,” she said. “As a taxpayer, I might be paying a lobbyist to fight for something I don’t agree with.”

Landess called the argument that legislators need lobbyists to educate them absurd. “Their job is to know what bills they’re voting on,” she said.

TRANSPARENCY

Information requested through FOIA will not be released; county council chairman sights “inaccuracies” as reasoning

http://www.edgefielddaily.com/column092609.html

College officials’ flights scrutinized

http://www.thestate.com/local/story/961831.html

LIMITED GOVERNMENT

Comptroller General says stimulus money growing government instead of economy

http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/news/29605-comptroller-says-stimulus-money-growing-government-instead-of-economy

EDUCATION

Oconee legislative delegation says NO to autonomy for school board

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/sep/25/legislators-say-no-fiscal-autonomy-oconee-school-b/?printer=1/

Annual physical exams and health insurance do not go hand in hand. The fact is, most doctor’s offices charge somewhere between $100-$300 for a physical. Consumers are free to spend their hard-earned money on physicals for themselves and their families, or not. But getting a yearly physical has nothing to do with health insurance.

A Sunday Post and Courier article about health care reform attempted to discuss the differing opinions on health care reform, in particular looking at the example of Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, the report was extremely limited in its scope. One egregious misrepresentation in the article centered on seeing doctors for an annual physical. The article reports: 

On the streets around Boston, many say the state’s health care overhaul has changed their lives. Linda Furey, 41, a part-time librarian in Beverly, got new glasses. Steve Jackson, 48, a classical clarinetist, got his first physical in years.

Curious. Most doctor’s offices will charge somewhere between $100-$300 for a physical.

At Family Medicine Centers of South Carolina in Columbia, a standard yearly physical costs $300, including labs and bloodwork. First Care in Columbia costs $208. In Charleston, you can get a physical at West Ashley Family Medicine for $128 before any bloodwork.

Getting a yearly physical has nothing to do with health insurance. What it has to do with is choices. Individual responsibility. People make tradeoffs everyday with their hard-earned money. Sometimes it’s responsible, and sometimes it isn’t. That’s the beauty of the free market. You can do whatever you want with the money you make.

Did Steve Jackson purchase any new clothes last year? Did he go out to dinner at all?

For less than $1 per day a person can get a physical each year. Whether you have insurance or not.

A can of Coke costs about $1. Cigarettes cost about $3 per pack. An annual subscription to The Post and Courier costs about $180.

Buy soda everyday? Cut back to every other day and you can afford a visit to the doctor. Health insurance or not.

So let’s get the facts straight. Health insurance has nothing to do with paying for a doctor’s visit. Anyone can do that — and I haven’t even touched on the fact that there are free health clinics for the uninsured.

Health insurance has to do with unpredictable circumstances – i.e. catastrophic injuries. And whether you have health insurance is an individual choice, and one that should not be required by government mandates, which only constitute a tax increase on citizens.

Next time you reach for a Krispy Kreme doughnut remember that someone in the legislature is watching. You see, Kripsy Kremes contain less than one gram of trans fats. And, according to legislation introduced this past session, that should be illegal.

This past legislative session, the General Assembly also wanted to ban cursing in public; using a cell phone while driving; and being able to buy an auto insurance policy that does not include towing.

But that’s just the beginning. Left to their own devices, legislators would have implemented a state-run universal public health insurance program; created their own police force; and turned every community in South Carolina into a personal economic development fiefdom.

Shocking what politicians will think of when they think no one is watching. Except, we are.

In that spirit, the Policy Council is proud to announce the launch of the inaugural publication of The S.C. General Assembly: Best & Worst of 2009.

The guide highlights and analyzes the best and worst legislative ideas of the 2009 session and also provides a sneak peak of what is coming up in 2010.

To get your copy, join the Policy Council. Or click here for the electronic version.

            ARTICLE OF THE DAY… 

Non-compliance with FOIA requests could lead to legal action against Edgefield County Council

  http://www.edgefielddaily.com/council092509.html

LIMITED GOVERNMENT

City of Sumter to restrict businesses ability to sell door to door

  http://www.theitem.com/article/20090925/ITNEWS01/709259938/-1/ITNEWS

A recent article in The Spartanburg Herald Journal left the impression that Upstate students were eating locally grown broccoli, despite the fact that vegetable doesn't grow well during hot-weather months.

In a testament to the success of the S.C. Department of Agriculture’s marketing campaigns pushing state residents to eat locally grown produce, we’ve apparently managed to turn long-standing agronomy practices on their head.

Witness a Sept. 23 story in The Spartanburg Herald-Journal titled “Schools celebrate connection with locally grown food.” The piece begins:

Broccoli is one of fifth-grader Andrea Diaz’s favorite vegetables served in Arcadia Elementary School’s cafeteria. Andrea recently learned that having the green veggie on her lunch plate doesn’t just benefit her, but the local farmers who grew it.

The problem is, broccoli doesn’t grow in South Carolina in the summer. The vegetable develops best when exposed to an average daily temperature between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Broccoli is known as a cold weather crop and you have to grow it before there’s too much heat,” said Fred Broughton, marketing specialist with the S.C. Department of Agriculture.

Some broccoli is grown in the state in the fall and winter, according to J. Powell Smith of the Clemson Extension Service, but he knows of no South Carolina farmers who grow it in the summer.

“They may grow some during summer way up in the mountains, but it probably wouldn’t be good quality,” he said. “It wouldn’t be of the quality that we want to promote as a South Carolina product.”

The Herald-Journal article focused on Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers’ visit to Arcadia Elementary School, part of an “Eat Local” event sponsored by Chartwells School Dining Services, which is the food service company for Spartanburg School District 6.

Weathers has been promoting South Carolina produce through such campaigns as Fresh on the Menu and Palmettovore, which received at least $250,000 in taxpayer funds between them during the past fiscal year.

The rationale behind the Palmettovore campaign is that SC-grown produce and products are local, which purportedly makes them fresher and therefore healthier. Also buying SC products is supposed to help the Palmetto State’s economy.

But, interestingly, among the items on the menu at Arcadia Elementary earlier this week were sweet potatoes from Nash Sweet Potatoes in Hendersonville, N.C., nearly 50 miles north of Spartanburg.

So, were Spartanburg elementary school students served low-grade broccoli grown in the South Carolina mountains? Or perhaps the Palmetto State has undergone a sudden catastrophic cooling that enabled farmers to raise the floret-topped vegetable here this summer.

In fact, there wasn’t any broccoli served at Arcadia Elementary on the day The Herald-Journal reporter visited the school and won’t be for several weeks, until the weather cools, according to an employee of Chartwells School Dining Services.

“I think what happened is that the student made the comment about broccoli and the reporter wrote around that,” according to Cynthia Robinson, a spokeswoman for Spartanburg 6.

Yesterday, the Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee met to discuss three restructuring bills. These measures aim to improve state government efficiency by streamlining five health agencies and eliminating duplication.

Members of the Subcommittee are:

• Senator Danny Verdin, Subcommittee Chairman

• Senator David Thomas (not present at Wednesday’s meeting)

• Senator Darrell Jackson

• Senator Brad Hutto

• Senator Ray Cleary

 The bills up for discussion were:

S 384 – Dissolves the board of the Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) and replaces it with a governor appointed director charged with managing the agency. This bill would establish two boards under the director – a Board of Health and a Board of Environmental Control – each consisting of three members appointed by the governor. Predictably, the current commissioner of DHEC, Earl Hunter, opposed the move, saying that putting DHEC under the governor’s authority would lead to politically and emotionally charged decisions subject to political pressure.

H 3199 – Consolidates the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Services, and the Continuum of Care in order to create a cabinet level agency called the Department of Behavioral Health Services.

According to agency head W. Lee Catoe, the Department of Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS) has already begun the restructuring process that would be required by H 3199. By getting new office space and reducing staff and vehicle usage, DAODAS has saved approximately $2 million over the last two years. Mr. Catoe is in favor of this legislation and believes it will provide for more collaboration and a better use of resources.

H 3314 – Gives the governor authority to appoint a director of the Department of Disabilities & Special Needs. The SC Commission on Disabilities & Special Needs, which currently administers the Department, would instead serve as an advisory board to the director.

Andy Laurent, interim director of the Department of Disabilities & Special Needs, spoke in opposition of H 3314, saying that it doesn’t provide for the proper level of openness. Laurent, however, failed to explain what he meant by this comment.

The Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee meeting concluded with members agreeing to solicit input from the public in written format by October 5th. Senators will study material received and prepare for testimony at the next meeting. A public hearing is tentatively set for Wednesday, October 14th, to discuss these bills, with S 384 at the top of the agenda.

     ARTICLE OF THE DAY…

Anderson County’s investigation into past finance and legal matters costs taxpayers $565K, so far

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/sep/23/anderson-county-investigation-has-cost-565k/?printer=1/

 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

Utility rate boost likely for City of Columbia if plan OK’d 

http://www.thestate.com/154/story/956070.html?storylink=omni_popular

Last week the Broadband Contract Subcommittee voted unanimously to accept recommendations from the Educational Broadband Services Commission (EBSC), regarding the leasing of state broadband spectrum. The Subcommittee is part of the Joint Bond Review Committee, which helps plan permanent improvement projects and assists in crafting future capital management policies.

In a prior meeting, the Broadband Subcommittee agreed to the leasing of 95 percent of what has been termed “excess” SCETV broadband spectrum and recommended to the full committee that the lease be approved. The state and ETV plans to enter into agreements with Clearwire Spectrum Holdings III, LLC and DigitalBridge Spectrum Corporation for the lease of the excess spectrum.

This past Wednesday, the Joint Bond Review Committee (JBRC) met to discuss this proposal. The ten members of the committee are:

• Senator Hugh Leatherman, Sr.

• Senator Glenn McConnell

• Senator Harvey Peeler, Jr.

• Senator William O’Dell

• Senator Thomas Alexander

• Representative Annette Young

• Representative Lanny Littlejohn

• Representative Daniel Cooper

• Representative H.B. “Chip” Limehouse, III

• Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter

As the only member who disagreed with the proposal and believed that this recommendation is not in the state’s best interests, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter raised the issue of state agency IT needs and how much money is currently being spent to meet these needs.

The Joint Bond Review Committee voted 8-1 to approve the proposal, with Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter in opposition. Representative Chip Limehouse did not attend the meeting. By leasing the excess SCETV spectrum, South Carolina will collect approximately $142.7 million over 30 years, receiving $7 million of that payment up front.

The committee’s decision will be presented for review and approval at the next Budget & Control Board meeting, which will most likely take place in December.