A plan to scrutinize the state’s tax structure has made it through a House-Senate conference committee and passed the Senate.
Lexington Senator Nikki Setzler announced the progress in the Senate Tuesday:
“We bring you a unanimous conference committee report signed by all six members, which is a combination of a House bill and a Senate bill that we think gets us in a posture to do a comprehensive study of the tax system in South Carolina, which is badly needed.”
The South Carolina TRAC commission is designed to include 11 members, with no members from the General Assembly.
Setzler says a major hurdle was a compromise on hiring of staff. In that case, the House pushed for no staff:
“They didn’t want to lock the General Assembly into long-term costs and positions. We came to a very reasonable compromise that says the commission can hire a consultant or consultants who will direct the commission, but those persons have to be approved and the funds for their hiring have to be approved by the Senate Operations and Management Committee and by the Speaker of the House,” Setzler explained to Senate colleagues.
The compromise passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 41-3.
Sen. Setzler explains TRAC to Senate (MP3) 4:10