Quote-o-the-Day: Senator Larry Martin

Today’s quote-o-the-day comes from Senator Larry Martin (R-Pickens).

Earlier this afternoon he told the Senate Spending Caps Study Committee in a discussion of the state’s gasoline tax, “I consider that a user fee.”

I don’t know if I’d stick with that line of thinking as gas sits at about $3.09 per gallon for regular unleaded in Columbia.

– Bo Burdette

House Judiciary Subcommittee Members Earn Rolls in New STAR TREK Movie

When J.J. Abrams brings Star Trek back to the big screen with his new incarnation, look for several new characters.

Unlike previous crews, this one will not explore “strange new worlds.” This crew will highlight one of Captain Kirk’s favorite phrases.

“I need more power.”

At least that was the impression the House Judiciary Special Laws Subcommittee gave this morning.

With a unanimous vote, Representatives McLeod, Stavrinakis, Hagood, and Garry Smith sent H.4578 to the full Judiciary Committee even though none of the testimony heard in today’s hearing was in favor of the bill.

None. Zero. Zip. Nada.

This is a bill dealing with special purpose districts. I don’t know enough about special purpose districts to care except that I know these little taxing districts are little governments.

The thing is that this bill is designed to amend the state’s constitution so that the General Assembly can dissolve a special purpose district by itself.

That doesn’t sound like much, but think about what it means in the grand scheme of things. It means that the legislature would have the ability to dissolve a political subdivision and then decide what to do with the remains.

Just to remind you, a “political subdivision” is:

“A division of the state made by proper authorities thereof, acting within their constitutional powers, for purpose of carrying out a portion of those functions of state which by long usage and inherent necessities of government have always been regarded as public.” — Black’s Law Dictionary

Translated that means it’s a government unit created to exercise certain duties within specific boundaries. These include not only the special purpose districts but also cities and counties.

With that cleared up, think about this bill again. It provides the General Assembly with the power to dissolve another independent government in this state.

That’s a lot of power for the legislature.

Subcommittee members’ big argument supporting the bill was, “We (the legislature) created these. We should be able to control them.”

In some way, shape, or form, they had a hand in creating other governmental entities, too. Would they try to make the same argument to control cities and counties? Would they dissolve Mount Pleasant and make it part of Charleston? I doubt it. Frankly the idea is silly, but it wouldn’t be impossible if the doors were opened to do what this bill suggests.

If these little governments need to go away, and they no longer serve a purpose, that’s fine. The problem comes from not giving the voters of the area an opportunity to make their own decisions.

The General Assembly is considering a bill that would let the voters decide if the governor can appoint what are now constitutional officers. Why shouldn’t voters of these districts be able to make the same decisions about their local governments? They are the ones who pay taxes and receive services and elect governing officials. Why can’t they be a part of the process to decide when the districts are obsolete?

That much power shouldn’t be so concentrated — no matter how much the legislature wants to control it.

– Wilson Charles