This Week’s Lobbying for Engineers Were Related to Two Important Issues – Funding for Roads and Expert Witnesses

Lobbyists of member organizations for SCFOR – South Carolina Alliance to Fix Our Roads – made rounds in the Gressette Building, which is the Senate office building, calling on Senators asking them to support some source of more money for roads and bridges.  Also, SC Department of Transportation Secretary, Buck Limehouse made a presentation to the Senate Transportation Committee this week. (See story on Limehouse address to Senate Transportation Committee.)

The senators that spoke to SCFOR saw the need for road and bridge repair, but they pointed to the budget, which the House Ways and Means Committee are about to release. The state budget is not good; expected revenues are down; state agencies are being asked to scale back. There appears to be no extra money this year.

With the money situation in mind, SCFOR is asking senators to consider codifying permanent movement of funds for the sales tax on automobiles from the State’s general fund to the highway fund.  The lobbyist will continue to work the Senate for some commitment for action this year.

The House of Representatives plan to pass this legislation that would give a permanent money stream to highways from the auto sales tax.  This legislation is likely to come before the House shortly after it debates the State budget.

Legislation on expert witnesses is important to all professional that might be called on to testify in court.  The business community and the coalition member of the South Carolina Civil Justice Coalition provided testimony for the need for the legislation and how it should work.

The trial lawyers are opposed to this legislation and argued that the law does not need to be changed.  However, the bill was reported out of the Judiciary Subcommittee to be brought to the full Judiciary Committee with amendments sponsored by Senator Ritchie. 

The SC Civil Justice Coalition is following other bills that are adverse to the business community and working on seating workers compensation commissioners that would be balanced in their decisions.