Tax Reform: South Carolina has the highest property tax rate in the nation on industrial property and the 7th highest property tax rate on commercial property. The South Carolina Chamber supports: √  Conducting a comprehensive review of the state’s tax system. √  Creating a statewide millage for all classifications of property except owner-occupied since the General Assembly has already swapped that with a one-cent sales tax. Energy: Reliable, dependable and cost effective energy is paramount to retaining and recruiting business investment. As a rule, DHEC has 270 days to issue or deny a permit, but a recent permitting process took more than 800 days to approve. As the state prepares for an expected population increase of more than one million by 2025, business leaders are concerned about procedural and permitting delays.   The South Carolina Chamber supports: √  Developing a statewide energy policy to ensure South Carolina has adequate supplies for the future that are reasonably priced and generated in an environmentally responsible manner, including greenhouse-gas-free nuclear power. √  Eliminating unnecessary delays in permitting. √  Creating a comprehensive plan for offshore energy exploration and development. Healthcare: Health insurance costs are the second highest expenditure for businesses after payroll. An estimated 720,000 South Carolinians are uninsured, and the state’s cigarette tax (seven cents per pack) is the lowest in the nation. The South Carolina Chamber supports: √  Using cigarette tax revenue to gain a three-to-one match on dollars sent to Washington. A 50-cent increase would provide $150 million, returning more than $450 million to South Carolina from Washington. The dollars could be used to provide tax credits to small businesses and premium assistance to individuals. Workforce Development: During the next 20 years, the state’s employment demand will increase more than 16 percent, while the traditional labor pool to fill these jobs will only increase seven percent. Approximately 700,000 South Carolinians are high school dropouts. The South Carolina Chamber supports: √  Programs to prepare, retool and re-educate South Carolinians. √  Continued statewide expansion of apprenticeships. √  Centralization of the state’s workforce development efforts.		Economic Development: Recruiting and keeping companies in South Carolina is vital to increasing the per capita income of citizens. A recent lawsuit climate report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gave South Carolina the worst ranking it has ever received. Companies around the state are seeing dramatic increases in business license fees because local governments are being forced to become more creative in funding local services. The South Carolina Chamber supports: √  Continued reforms to the state tort and workers’ compensation systems, including non-economic damage caps, punitive damages, limits on appeals bonds, product liability and seat belt admissibility. √  Amending the business license fee structure. √  Eliminating blue laws statewide. Infrastructure: South Carolina continues to have one of the highest traffic fatality rates in the nation. Crashes cost taxpayers about $3 billion per year or $704 per citizen. International trade through the ports contributes $9.4 billion to the state in wages, $2.5 billion in state and local taxes and 282,000 jobs. The South Carolina Chamber supports: √  Prioritizing one-time revenue towards infrastructure needs. √  Continued expansion of the Charleston port and proposed Jasper County terminal. Government Restructuring: Mid-year cuts negatively impact businesses and citizens (i.e. education funding, infrastructure delays, permitting delays). The South Carolina Chamber supports: √  Moving away from a revenue estimating-based budget to a prior year’s budget as a basis for projections. √  Consolidating some constitutional offices into the gubernatorial cabinet (i.e. Superintendent of Education, Secretary of State, Adjutant General, Commissioner of Agriculture). √  Consolidating the administrative functions of the state Budget and Control Board. On the Federal Front - the Employee Free Choice Act: The misnamed federal legislation would actually strip an employee’s right to cast a secret ballot. Eighty-five percent of Americans oppose the elimination of secret ballots in union elections. √  The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes the Employee Free Choice Act. 2009 Legislative Scorecard