Restructuring Done Wrong

Friends of South Carolina,

You know I don’t give anyone a pass.

I have to tell it like it is.

While everyone is crowing about how great the “Davis” amendment is, I have to tell you the rest of the story.

The “Davis” Amendment, A77, should be called the “Swiss Cheese” amendment because it has so many holes in it.

This “Swiss Cheese” is what we are being told we have to settle for, because, they say, that is all they could pass.

I refuse to settle!

History tells us if we refuse to settle, we get more than what we would have settled for; never less!

However, they tell us that if we don’t settle, we’ll get worse.

Don’t believe it!

If the good ole’ boys COULD give us worse, the WOULD give us worse.

The only reason we don’t get worse from them is because they can’t.

Do you really think they would hold back and not give us worse because we are nice and settle for less than worse?!

Ha!  I don’t believe that for one second.  And you shouldn’t either.

Do you remember, when we started fighting for Roll Call votes, they told us we had to settle for a “rule change” rather than a law?

They said, “Settle for the rule change, or you’ll get nothing.”

We knew the legislature daily ignored their own rules with “common consent”.  So we refused to settle.

Then, they told us we could have a law, but we would have to settle for it only being implemented after they pass a constitutional amendment.

They told us if we didn’t settle we’d get nothing.

We knew that it would take three years for a constitutional amendment to be passed.  So we refused to settle.

We soon had our roll call law, and it was effective immediately after it was passed.

Now, they tell us we’ll have to settle for less than full transparency, full accountability, and complete separation of power as they restructure our state government, or we’ll get nothing.

Will you settle without a fight?

I won’t.

Join me and tell your Senator that you won’t settle for less than full and complete reform as outlined by the South Carolina Policy Council.

You can find your Senator and his contact information here.

Here are six problems with the Davis Amendment, A77, which must be fixed:

1. It dodges responsibility – The legislature gives itself a loophole to avoid taking responsibility for mid-year budget cuts.
2. It diffuses responsibility – Senators created a new “hybrid board” with authority to approve bonds.
3. And more diffusion of responsibility – The Chairman of the Board of Economic Advisors, or BEA, reports to three politicians, only one of whom is directly accountable to the whole state’s taxpayers.
4. Violates separation of powers and limits accountability – The legislature is given broad power to investigate state agencies, and the decision as to which agencies are investigated lies entirely with legislative leaders who are not accountable to citizens statewide.
5. Kicks the can down the road – The Retirement system becomes a new state agency for which the governing structure is not addressed.
6. Avoids transparency and accountability – There are agencies and functions that are placed under authorities that do not make sense and do not allow full transparency and accountability.

You can see a more detailed report on these six items from the South Carolina Policy Council here.

Then, on top of all that garbage, Hugh Leatherman got an amendment passed that puts procurement under a five member board, just like the current Budget and Control Board.

The Leatherman amendment perpetuates and expands our current problem of an unaccountable five member quasi-legislative quasi-executive board!

And this board has oversight of all procurement for the entire state!  Talk about an opportunity for corruption and graft!

It’s turning out that our restructuring bill is not much of a restructuring bill at all.

It certainly is nothing that I’d be crowing about.

I’m not settling for it.

Will you join me and insist on the best?

Who will be the hero of this generation?  Who will offer an amendment that will implement every single recommendation of the Policy Council?

Who will fight for it?

Giving a fiery speech is not fighting for it!  We’ve heard several of those already on the floor of the Senate.

Giving a speech doesn’t get policy implemented!

No, a fight for good government means:

• Introduce an amendment with all of the South Carolina Policy Council’s recommendations;
• Don’t give “common consent” to anything that prevents a vote on the amendment.  It only takes one Senator refusing to give consent to force a vote on an amendment.
• Force roll call votes on the amendment!
• Accept no more voice votes!

Please, contact your Senator!

Make sure they understand what it is they were elected to do!

You can find your Senator and his contact information here.

They were not elected to make deals in back rooms or on the side of the chamber for halfway measures!

They were elected to fight for the people of South Carolina!

They need to grow some steel in their spine and force a vote on an amendment that implements all of the Policy Council recommendations. If they lose that vote, so be it, but if they never even bring it to the floor for a vote, then they lose without even fighting!

What kind of reformer goes down without a fight?

You can find your Senator and his contact information here.

Sincerely,

Talbert Black Jr.

P.S. We are being told we have to “settled” for half measures that make no real reform.  I refuse to settle.  History tells us that if we refuse to settle, we get more, never less!

The Senate has failed to implement the recommendations of the South Carolina Policy Council.  These recommendations will structure our state government with transparency and accountability.  That will allow us to save the tax payer money and give our future generations a state full of opportunity for prosperity.

Contact your Senator and tell him to stand up for the people of South Carolina and introduce and amendment that implements these common sense recommendations and then insist on a recorded roll call vote on the amendment!

You can find your Senator and his contact information here.