Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:
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May 14
The Index-Journal of Greenwood on a bill that would allocate money to the state’s infrastructure:
Miracles do happen, and one happened last week with the last-minute passage of a bill to - finally - pump some dollars into our state’s crumbling infrastructure.
Now, before lawmakers get all giddy and say “Look at what we did! Aren’t we just great?”, let’s go ahead and admit the bill-turned-law is hardly ideal, but it’s a an initial fix that is long, long overdue. The battle over reorganizing the DOT Commission? Let that take place later, because right now we need to fix roads or risk losing business in the Palmetto State. Plus, it’s the right thing to do for the average resident out there trying to avoid additional car maintenance costs brought on by flat tires and the need for more frequent wheel alignments.
Gov. Henry McMaster’s veto? Sure, we largely understand the reasoning behind it. He knew it wouldn’t be sustained, but he had to stand on his belief that a gas tax increase was not and still is not necessary. We disagree, but such is the world of political posturing. The state’s gas tax, which funds roads, hasn’t been raised in three decades. And yes, people coming to and passing through our lovely state will not balk at the 12-cent-per-gallon bump over a six-year period, plus they’ll be helping pay their fair share for using our roads.
Honestly, we thought this was going to be yet another legislative session in which a tremendously important issue would be kicked further down the road. Or straight into the ditch.
It took a last-minute deal to get something on the table and over to the governor’s desk. We do wish McMaster would have been on board with the compromise plan and signed the legislation into law himself. He was blasted by members of his own party for not doing so, and it would have signaled solidarity on an issue that should not have been tangled up in so much party politics.
While not on par with childbirth, we again note that a miracle was performed in Columbia this past week. And we daresay there will be some lawmakers out there who will take their moms out for a Mother’s Day trip to a fine restaurant and, along the way, proudly proclaim that, as loving children, they did it all for them.
Online: https://www.indexjournal.com/
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May 15
The Aiken Standard on FOIA reform:
There have been so many failed attempts to reform the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, we were worried whether we’d live to see sunshine overcome darkness.
Finally, some sunlight is poking through.
A bill aimed at limiting costs and response times passed both the House and Senate with overwhelming majorities on May 11. The measure has since been ratified and is awaiting the signature of Gov. Henry McMaster, who’s said he’d sign the legislation.
This is a major victory for FOIA, which has struggled to pass for various reasons, including linking it to ethics reform, legislative indifference and baseless concerns about cost.
It’s the latter objection that derailed passage last year and once again threatened enacting a better FOIA this year. Thankfully a late compromise helped push the bill across the finish line.
The bill in its current form would amend the FOIA by requiring public bodies to give a “yes” or “no” decision for record requests within 10 days. Currently the time frame for responding is 15 days. Also, public bodies are allowed up to 30 days to provide the records. The measure caps the cost of providing records, a key component since charging excessive fees is one tactic some government agencies use to deter information seekers.
One measure we were hoping would pass was the establishment of a special FOIA court within the state’s Administrative Law Court. This once again raised vociferous opposition from Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, who many peg as the senator responsible for killing FOIA reform last year.
Bright Matthews argued that the FOIA court was a too costly route for her constituents to follow. Driving to Columbia to have a FOIA dispute being heard was simply too much to bear, she argued.
It was a curious argument since the FOIA court would’ve reduced the cost of litigation from thousands of dollars in Circuit Court to hundreds of dollars, maybe less, in Administrative Law Court.
We were surprised, though, when the Lowcountry lawmaker put forth a provision that requires an initial hearing for FOIA disputes within 10 days. We like this provision because long, drawn out court cases further stall the release of public information.
It’s sad that stronger FOIA laws are needed in the first place. Many public bodies are extremely good about complying with the FOIA. They provide records without undue delay, often at minimal to no cost. Some agencies don’t require a formal FOIA request at all. A simple email often will do.
Contrast those practicing good government with the handful of obstructionist agencies who wait weeks to provide public records, charge exorbitant rates or cite non-existent exemptions as justification for withholding the records altogether.
As we’ve noted numerous times previously, FOIA reform isn’t about making life easier for the media. It’s for the public. The public paid for public records and they have a right to view them upon request.
Remember, the impetus behind FOIA reform was influenced heavily by Aiken County residents who were seeking public information.
Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, who’s championed FOIA reformed for years, recently noted in his weekly newsletter that FOIA reform can be traced to 2010, when opponents to an Aiken County school board bond referendum couldn’t get access to public records until well after the vote.
The referendum was defeated, but the battle for beefing up FOIA began. It’s refreshing to see seven years later, that battle hasn’t been in vain.
There still is more work to do. We’d like to see improved dashcam video access, lifting the body cam exemption and resurrecting the FOIA court, for starters. But for now, the public has won and the General Assembly deserves credit for helping to make this important victory happen.
Online: https://www.aikenstandard.com/
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May 16
The Herald of Rock Hill on opioid abuse:
Opioid abuse has reached epidemic levels in many parts of the country, and the number of addicted users, overdoses and opioid-related deaths in South Carolina is on the rise. We hope a state legislative panel charged with studying this growing problem can come up with effective ways to combat it.
The S.C. House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee, formed by House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, met for the first time last week. Lucas told legislators it is their “job to figure out how to best protect South Carolinians from this disease.”
His reference to this epidemic as a “disease” is reassuring. We cannot curb the abuse of addictive prescription painkillers - which often leads to the use of heroin - simply by stepping up law enforcement efforts.
While law enforcement officers play a vital role helping to control trafficking in heroin and other addictive drugs, this epidemic is largely a public health problem that must be confronted on many different levels. The primary goal, after all, is to save lives.
Lucas told the commission that nationally, more people die from opioid overdoses each year than from car accidents. The toll has reached 91 people a day.
South Carolina has not yet been hit as hard as other states by this scourge. Nonetheless, in 2015, the last year that complete figures were available, 573 S.C. residents died from opioid abuse, 69 more than in the previous year.
Twenty-five York County residents died from opioid abuse in 2015, and growth of the epidemic in the Upstate is among the highest in the state.
South Carolina took an important step in 2014 by passing the Overdose Prevention Act, making Naloxone, a drug used to reverse the effects of an overdose, more available when and where it is needed. The law allows first responders and other caregivers to administer Naloxone when they believe a person is suffering from an overdose.
State lawmakers already have considered a number of bills, some of them introduced this year, to curb the use of prescription opioids and heroin. One bill would require high school students to receive instruction on the dangers of drug abuse.
The so-called “Good Samaritan” bill would provide limited immunity from prosecution for drug users who call 911 for someone who experiences a drug or alcohol-related overdose. Another proposal would require doctors to help maintain a prescription drug database monitoring the number of opioid medications their patients were prescribed by other physicians.
The state already has a prescription drug tracking system, but it covers only patients on Medicaid.
The opioid epidemic is overwhelming parts of the nation. In Ohio, for example, the hardest-hit state in the nation, overdose deaths rose to 3,050 in 2016.
South Carolina needs to act quickly to prevent an upsurge here. Formation of the House study committee is one good way to do that.
Online: https://www.heraldonline.com/
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