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South Carolina Lawmakers Issues Santee Cooper and Education

South Carolina Lawmakers Return Tomorrow – Here Are Two Issues You Should Be Watching

Featured Image Source: Andrew Whitaker, Post & Courier

South Carolina lawmakers return to the State House tomorrow, kicking off the 2020 legislative session, and all eyes are on two hot topics: education and Santee Cooper.

Last year, both were said to be a top priority of lawmakers but have found their way rolling into the new year with no clear future.

During the 2019 legislative session, the House passed a massive bill including a complete overhaul of our state’s education system, but the bill spent the remainder of the session being torn apart and dissected by state senators.

Meanwhile, Santee Cooper’s future has been up in the air for far too long while lawmakers go back and forth on what to do with the debt-riddled state-owned utility.

Lawmakers have once again named both issues a top priority this year, and it won’t take long to see if this holds true.

Sometime in the upcoming session, legislators will receive three bids for state-owned Santee Cooper – one a reform plan from Santee Cooper itself, one from a company that would manage the utility, and one from a privately-owned utility that would purchase Santee Cooper.

While supporters from all sides have come forward, lawmakers have a difficult decision to make. They must make sure they choose an option that will protect the millions of people who get their power and water from Santee Cooper and all South Carolina taxpayers.

Since the public was made aware of Santee Cooper’s billions of dollars of debt, many have expressed their concerns over rising electric rates, talk of a taxpayer bailout, and the responsibility of the debt falling on the shoulders of customers.

Palmetto Promise Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting a “free and flourishing South Carolina” and a strong supporter of selling Santee Cooper, stated the only way for South Carolina residents to avoid costs related to Santee Cooper’s debt is a sale.

Experts have found that a sale would allow a write-down of Santee Cooper’s $4 billion in nuclear debt. According to the report, “Over time, that $4 billion could double as interest is charged to customers.”

While lawmakers try to figure out the best way to deal with state-owned Santee Cooper’s debt, they’ll also have to keep in mind the tens of thousands of teachers who are looking for raises, resources and help, and the money it will take for education reform.

All eyes are on our lawmakers now as two major decisions need to be made, quickly.

News

South Carolina Legislative Session Santee Cooper

This Issue Has South Carolina Lawmakers Concerned About The Upcoming Legislative Session

South Carolina lawmakers are getting ready for the upcoming legislative session and while there are many pressing issues to discuss, Santee Cooper, in particular, has lawmakers most concerned.

The state-owned utility has been the subject of much controversy, due in large part to their failed V.C. Summer project and increasing debt. Now, many are calling for the privatization of Santee Cooper as a way to save customers from having to pay the billions of dollars of debt through increased utility rates.

While Santee Cooper customers have long awaited the fate of the utility to be decided, lawmakers will finally make a decision in the upcoming session after reviewing recommendations in January. It’s a decision that worries some lawmakers.

Beaufort County Republican Senator Tom Davis told the Charleston City Paper that “The most significant (issue), that is the most complex, is whether or not to sell Santee Cooper, whether to have a management team come in or an alternative to that is to enact some reforms. The implications of what we do will have an effect for decades to come.”

However, a recent report from the South Carolina Club For Growth, a network of South Carolinians that works to promote economic growth, shed light on why some lawmakers would want to see a Santee Cooper sale.

As of right now, Santee Cooper customers are the only ones paying for the around $7 Billion of debt from the failed VC Summer expansion and operational debt. Depending on the outcome of the next legislative session, customers could be on the hook for this debt over the next few decades.

Orangeburg Democratic Senator Brad Hutto told the Statehouse Report that Santee Cooper is “a big deal” and that it’s “probably the thing that has the biggest potential of long-term consequences for the state.”

However, with other high-priority issues such as education, lawmakers and South Carolina residents don’t want to see Santee Cooper take up a lot of the upcoming legislative session. One Surfside Beach resident wrote to The State saying, “Frankly, however, too much time has been spent on Santee Cooper; thankfully, the Legislature has produced a process and a timeline for Santee Cooper and other interested parties to follow. It’s imperative that the timeline is followed. Any extension will only mean that even more legislative sessions will focus on Santee Cooper.”

Only time will tell how state legislators handle the situation, but whatever decision is made will certainly have implications for years to come.