Boeing signing eases tensions among state's political leaders

By Katy Stech - The (Charleston) Post and Courier

NORTH CHARLESTON -- Boeing made fast friends of two former political foes.

An emotional Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor choked back tears Friday surrounded by dozens of South Carolina's elected leaders.

With a look of gratitude, Taylor turned to Sen. Hugh Leatherman, a Florence Republican and Gov. Mark Sanford's longtime political adversary, and pulled the diminutive Pee Dee lawmaker into his bearish frame for a hug.

Landing Boeing's second 787 Dreamliner assembly line had broken down former barriers that were philosophical, political and — in the case of the Taylor-Leatherman embrace — even physical.

For a moment in the state's feisty political history, elected leaders gathered in North Charleston to watch Sanford sign into law a $450 million incentive package used to court the aviation giant. The hefty package is the largest ever assembled by state and county officials.

At the ceremony, held at the Trident Research Center, speakers celebrated how tense relationships between some groups eased for the cause recruiting the Fortune 50 company's second assembly line.

“This is what can happen when everybody pulls together in the same direction,” said House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston.

Sen. President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, ran down a list of cooperative groups: Democrats worked with Republicans; House leaders left the Senate bill's wording alone, and vice versa. Upstate lawmakers whose constituents live hours from the plant's planned location were on board.

Beyond the legislative chambers, lawmakers who engaged in a session-long brawl with Sanford over a range of issues bonded with his Commerce Department staff to accommodate the company's incentive-related needs.

Boeing will have to create at least 3,800 jobs and invest more than $750 million in seven years to take advantage of the incentive package. Both lawmaking bodies passed the incentives unanimously, 44-0 in the Senate and 110-0 in the House.

Not everyone shared the enthusiasm over the bill's passage. The S.C. Policy Council, a conservative think tank, released a highly critical report Wednesday that raised questions about the measure's transparency, saying that the state Board of Economic Advisors didn't circulate an analysis of costs and benefits before the vote. The statement also said the jobs won't necessarily go to South Carolina residents and that Boeing's promise isn't guaranteed.

“Legislative leaders are congratulating themselves for creating jobs. They didn't,” said Ashley Landess, the council's president, in a statement. “Instead, they increased the cost of government at the expense of already-struggling citizens who cannot afford the cost of this subsidy.”

At Friday's event, McConnell insisted that legislators were provided a proper fiscal analysis. He added that “lawmakers who asked questions got answers” about the incentives.

Boeing's new production line could ultimately bring $10 billion to the state, McConnell said. The study showed that income tax alone collected from new employees at the plant would pay for the entire $450 million incentive package.