Bill to fix S.C. roads in limbo in state Senate

Civic and business leaders attending York County Day in Columbia on Tuesday agreed the state roads need to be fixed now.

Elected leaders attending the annual event agreed the roads must be fixed but couldn’t agree on a timetable.

The S.C. House has passed a veto-proof, comprehensive roads bill crafted by state Rep. Gary Simrill, R-Rock Hill. The bill, adopted by the House in 2015, awaits action in the state Senate.

No action has been taken in the Senate as Sen. Tom Davis, a Republican representing Beaufort and Jasper counties, is filibustering – or blocking – the Senate from taking any action on the bill. Davis spent nearly seven hours on the Senate floor Tuesday on his third full day of blocking the bill.

Davis has said he isn't ready to give hundreds of millions of dollars in new money to the state Department of Transportation unless the agency is changed – the same argument he made during a 2015 filibuster that prevented senators from getting to the roads bill.

Sen. Ray Cleary, a Republican who represents Charleston, Georgetown and Horry counties, said Tuesday said he doubts Davis could filibuster for the remainder of the session.

Sen. Wes Hayes, a Rock Hill Republican, said it may be possible for the Senate to act on other issues, putting Davis’ filibuster on hold. No action could take place on the roads bill until Davis ends his filibuster or the Senate votes to sit him down, an action that Cleary and Hayes says lacks the necessary votes.

If the Senate had the votes, the next step would be to debate the more than 200 proposed amendments to the roads bill. At minimum, that would be 10 minutes in favor and 10 minutes of opposed time on each amendment followed by a roll call vote.

Passage of a Senate roads bill is not a certainty. There is disagreement over how the state Department of Transportation should be governed and how the state should fund the agency. A Senate proposal would increase the state’s gasoline tax of 16 3/4 cents by 4 cents for three years – to 28 3/4 cents overall. For South Carolina residents, the increase in the gas tax would be offset in cutting other state taxes.

Others say the money for roads should come from the state’s general fund, an idea opposed by many who want a dedicated source of revenue for state road repairs.

York County Day was presented by the chambers of commerce in Clover, Lake Wylie, York and the Regional York County Chamber of Commerce. About 75 people attended the event held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 8:32 PM with the headline "Bill to fix S.C. roads in limbo in state Senate."