Recent Posts

Tort Reform Fails in Current SC Senate Legislative Session

The South Carolina Senate failed to advance tort reform legislation this year despite considerable lobbying by small business groups.
Called the South Carolina Justice Act, the bill would have changed the state tort reform law to a position where a defendant in a tort action would be financially liable only for their percentage of fault. The current law can leave one defendant on the hook to pay all awarded damages regardless of their percentage of fault.
At the time of its introduction into the Senate last year, Tom Mullikan, President and General Counsel for the South Carolina Coalition for Lawsuit Reform, said, “Without this legislation, South Carolina may lose economic development projects to neighboring states like Georgia and North Carolina where liability laws are more balanced.”

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Rankin Mailer Filled with Political Speak

Every election season, voters are inundated with mailers, television and radio ads and pronouncements on social media about the qualities of candidates and the alleged successes of incumbents.
South Carolina law only requires two things on these various campaign missives to be truthful – who paid for the ad, mailer, etc. and the mailing address of the paying person or entity. The remainder can be filled with “political speak” which does not have to bear any resemblance to the facts.
This week voters in SC Senate District 33 received a mailer from incumbent Sen. Luke Rankin extolling how Rankin had “delivered” for the citizens of his district. But, in its search for “deliveries”, the Rankin piece went down “roads” traveled by many other people.
Under the heading of “Infrastructure Enhancements”, the mailer claims Rankin “led the charge to fund $1.8 billion in Horry Co. road improvements, with $4 billion more to come in the next 5 years – paid overwhelmingly by our 14 million annual tourists.”
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Organized Retail Crime Bill Passes SC House

The SC House passed the Organized Retail Crime Bill last week providing stronger legislation to combat theft of items from retail stores.
The bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Jeff Johnson, said, “Our current statutes did not have enough teeth to clarify organized retail crimes. This new bill clarifies organized conspiracy for retail theft with significant penalties for those who are convicted.”
South Carolina retailers have been victimized by organized groups of persons who steal items from stores with the express purpose of selling the items on for profit. These groups are not random shoplifters. Rather, they are organized groups who steal for the express purpose of financial gain, according to Johnson.
As Chairman of the Special Laws (Criminal Laws) Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, Johnson was the primary sponsor of the bill which he shepherded through the legislative process in the House.
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Grand Strand Humane Society Cleared for Construction of Waterside Drive Animal Shelter

The Grand Strand Humane Society is cleared to begin construction of its animal shelter and associated businesses, according to a briefing of the Horry County Infrastructure and Regulation Committee yesterday.
According to the details of that briefing, the property on Waterside Drive to which the Humane Society was given a 40-year gratis lease by owner Santee Cooper, the property was zoned LI (Limited Industrial) in 1987 and one of the approved uses since that time is animal services.
According to the briefing, the text amendment to the LI zoning classification, which was approved by county council in December 2023, had nothing to do with the Humane Society’s use of the property.
Despite the legal clearance, the residents of the Waterside Drive community are unhappy about the potential impacts the animal shelter and associated businesses will have on their neighborhood.
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Below the Radar with the Santee Cooper/Grand Strand Humane Society Land Deal

After the Grand Strand Humane Society withdrew a rezoning request for a plot of land off River Oaks Drive in Carolina Forest last June, due to strong opposition from neighborhood residents, its search for a new plot of land on which to locate its proposed new animal shelter complex went under the radar until it could be presented as a fait accompli.
As noted in a January 12, 2024, letter from Waterside Drive resident Rose Marie Johnson to Santee Cooper, after the withdrawal of the rezoning request, “County Council made a clear statement to the (humane) society that they should not try to place their Dog Pound close to a residential location.”
Early on, Santee Cooper executives were involved in the search for a new location for the animal shelter. According to documents received through Freedom of Information Act requests, on June 20, 2023, Santee Cooper Board of Directors Vice Chairman and Horry County seat appointee David Singleton contacted Santee Cooper Senior Director of Real Estate Dan Camp questioning whether Santee Cooper had “8-10 acres near Myrtle Beach that could be used for the humane society.”
The next day, Camp emailed Santee Cooper Chief Power Supply Officer Marty Watson to apprise him of the Singleton conversation. Camp told Singleton he (Camp) and Watson had briefly discussed the matter on June 20, 2023, and Camp and Watson would “see what was available.”
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Shanda Allen Files for Reelection to Horry County School Board

(Above, Shenda Allen, left, files for reelection)

Shanda Allen, Horry County School Board member for District 11, filed for reelection Saturday on the first day of filing for the upcoming June 11, 2024, Republican Primary voting.
Often school board members and their deliberations fall outside the voters’ immediate awareness of local political issues. However, those same issues may impact local residents and families more directly on a day-to-day basis than any other political discussions in the county.
The School Board oversees the largest budget of any public agency in Horry County. It oversees the safety of the county’s students while they are in school 180 days oer year and the learning environment for those students as they prepare to enter the adult world.
Allen has served two terms on the school board. She currently serves on the Human Relations Committee, which sets the overall policy for staffing school district employees and is Chairman of the Technical Committee, which sets policy for the learning devices provided to each student as education continually shifts from book to digital learning.
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Jeff Johnson Working Quietly and Efficiently for the People

For the past 10 years, Jeff Johnson has represented the citizens of SC House District 58, which includes part of Conway and much of western Horry County.
Johnson first ran for District 58 in 2014, when the seat was open with the retirement of former Rep. Liston Barfield.
“Some people approached me about running for the seat,” Johnson said. “I decided this was my opportunity to get involved and do what I think needs to be done to make the state better.”
Johnson is a conservative Republican who believes in low taxes, streamlined government and less government interference in peoples’ lives. Johnson currently serves on the House Judiciary Committee, having chaired the Special Laws and Criminal Laws subcommittees. He is also Chairman of the House Legislative Oversight Committee.

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Rankin Defends Current Process for Selecting SC Judges

Horry County Senator Luke Rankin spoke for approximately one hour on the SC Senate floor last week defending the current process for electing judges in the state.
Rankin, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and current Vice Chairman of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC), spoke during debate on the Senate floor about possible changes to the way in which judges are elected in South Carolina.
A major point of contention is that lawyer/legislators in the General Assembly have too much influence in the process. A change currently being considered is to not allow attorneys to serve on the JMSC, a point Rankin ridiculed during his speech. Candidates who pass screening are then voted on by a joint session of the General Assembly or the county legislative delegation, depending on the judicial position. South Carolina and Virginia are the only two states in the nation in which the legislatures play the primary roles in electing judges.
A member of JMSC since 2017, Rankin, several times during his speech, likened the current process of electing judges to “kicking the tires of a car” when considering purchase of a new vehicle. Rankin spoke of the several “touch points” during the process which include inputs from appointed citizens committee, the SC Bar review and what is known as the ballot box technique of collecting anonymous comments about judicial candidates, all of which are available to the JMSC when it considers judicial candidates. Candidates are reported out of the JMSC as qualified or not qualified for consideration for the judicial position they are seeking.

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SC Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill

The SC Senate passed the crucial second reading, by a 28-15 vote, of a bill to approve the sale of medical marijuana in the state. The bill was debated over the last three days of Senate meetings and appears destined to pass what is normally a pro forma third reading today.
The bill will then move to the House where a similar bill was defeated by a parliamentary maneuver two years ago. Changes were made to this bill which eliminated the provisions that led to the killing of the bill in the House two years ago without any debate. Several House members have told Grand Strand Daily that they expect the bill to go through the normal debate process in the House this go around.
South Carolina is one of 12 states in the nation which do not allow the sale of marijuana products for medical purposes (38 states do). It is also one of only four states in the nation in which marijuana still maintains a “fully illegal” status.
Sources told GSD that the sale of medical marijuana in the state is opposed by SLED and the SC Sheriffs Association, ostensibly because of difficulties with regulation of its sale. One could argue, even though it is illegal, sale of marijuana in the state is not regulated now.
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Rankin Only Republican Senator to Vote Against Constitutional Carry Bill

Since switching parties in 2004, conservative constituents of Senator Luke Rankin have questioned whether he is a RINO (Republican in Name Only). The answer may have finally come with a vote Rankin cast in the SC Senate last week.
Rankin is completing his eighth consecutive term as a Senator, representing District 33. In 1992, 1996 and 2000, Rankin was elected as a Democrat. By the 2004 election, Democrats basically could not get elected in Horry County any longer, so Rankin switched parties and has run as a Republican for his last five terms.
Last week, the SC Senate passed a constitutional carry bill, which will allow law-abiding citizens to carry loaded guns without any training or a permit. The vote was 28-15 to pass the bill with 28 of the 29 Republican senators in attendance voting to approve the bill. Rankin, the lone Republican senator to vote against the bill, joined the 14 Democrat senators in attendance to vote NO.
Immediately after the bill passed, the South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus issued a press release applauding the bill’s passage. The release began, “Once again, Senate Republicans delivered on their promises and passed H.3594, the South Carolina Constitutional Carry Act.” The release also stated, “The People asked and Republicans listened.”

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