STATUS C HEC K Election 2014: What should we look out for? For more from <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Box</strong> visit insideblackbox.com 34 Q4 2013 // // <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Box</strong>
There are several key issues that will come before the S.C. General Assembly in January: The Department of Administration (which gets rid of the Budget and Control Board), Ethics Reform, and Tax Reform are the largest, but there will also be attention given, (hopefully) to addressing the state of our roads in SC. Keep in mind that during an election year (and this is one with the House, Senate and the Governor all up for re-election) there are issues they want to address and some they want to ignore. I expect any controversial issues, if they are tackled at all, to be on hold until after March 30, which is when Members of the House and Senate will know if they will face any opposition for re-election. Brian Aufmuth COO, The Felkel Group We are at a critical juncture where decisions being made in the next couple years will impact the long-term ability for South Carolina to maintain and grow the economic vitality and quality of life for those living here today and those coming in the future. Instead of always being reactive, it is critical that our leaders become proactive and lead the charge to invest now in those areas that are crucial to our economic and community success—including transportation & infrastructure, workforce & skill development and education. Instead of simply being satisfied with getting by and putting Band-Aids on problems, it is time to make systemic changes that have the ability to strategically position South Carolina for long-term success. Our elected leaders must champion efforts to prioritize and, over time, address all the issues that impact our ability to be economically competitive and provide for the needs of our residents. Taking a pro-active approach is not always easy because some of the solutions necessitate making hard choices and supporting unpopular solutions. However, if our leaders are willing to work together in taking a comprehensive approach and make choices based on what is good for South Carolina and its residents. Doing anything less would be a missed opportunity. Dean Hybl Executive Director, Ten at the Top Workforce and Education and the alignment of the two are key issues that we are dealing with and are of prime importance. If South Carolina, and the Upstate in particular, are going to continue to attract industry and jobs to our area, then our workforce must be aligned with the needs of more advanced manufacturing than ever before. The worker of today and tomorrow has to have a greater capacity of “thinking skills” than yesterday. They must be more skilled in math and science and critical thinking. The good news is that our educators are starting to “get it.” We have several initiatives going on at the Spartanburg Chamber that are addressing these areas and we are encouraged by the early results. Jim Thomas Government Relations Director, Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce “Instead of simply being satisfied with getting by and putting Band-Aids on problems, it is time to make systemic changes that have the ability to strategically position South Carolina for long-term success.” As an election year, 2014 promises to be an interesting one. There are several important topics that should be at the forefront of debate next year. Ethics reform is an issue that nearly all primary and general electorate voters feel should be stronger in S.C. I fully expect an ethics reform bill will pass the legislature and be signed by the Governor next year. The proposed Department of Administration or “government restructuring” legislation has been one of Governor Haley’s priorities for several years now. Expect this issue to surface once again. The elephant in the room is still the issue of infrastructure funding. While the General Assembly and the Governor should be commended for passing a nearly $600 million funding bill in 2013 ($800 million to $1 billon after federal matching), it is still a drop in the bucket. Transportation officials say we need $29 billion over the next 20 years just to meet our maintenance needs. It’s an economic development issue, a safety issue, and a quality of life issue. Workforce development will continue to be an issue discussed in 2014. There are numerous examples across S.C. of companies who simply cannot find skilled workers that they need to fill critical positions. Look for various proposals to be introduced and discussed on how to better educate, train and retrain our workforce. You cannot have an election year in S.C. without having a debate on education and tax reform. Everything from the expansion of K4 to school choice to increases in college tuition will be discussed by the candidates. The need for comprehensive tax reform comes up every election cycle. In the Governor’s race, Governor Haley has touted job creation numbers across S.C. for the past two years. Her Democratic opponents will question those numbers by pointing to state unemployment rates which are higher than the national average. They will also put an emphasis on rural areas where those unemployment rates are the highest in the state. With both U.S. Senators and all of our U.S. Representatives on the ballot next November, there will be a trickle down effect of federal issues and buzzwords that will make there way into our state level elections. The issue of government waste and government spending in Columbia may come up along with the always popular topic of government transparency. We can also expect some partisan debates around the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion as some Republicans will try to distance themselves from the President and his legacy healthcare legislation. As for cyber-security and the data breech that occurred at the Department of Revenue, I do not think that you can pinpoint the blame on any one person or legislative body. Mistakes were made and the legislature and Governor took steps during the 2013 session to begin addressing those mistakes and to further protect taxpayers’ info. I do not see this having much impact on the outcome of the elections. Mark Cothran VP Public Policy, Greenville Chamber of Commerce STATUS C HEC K Q4 2013 // <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Box</strong> 35 For more from <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Black</strong> <strong>Box</strong> visit insideblackbox.com