Legislative eNews
Local
Beaufort County Budget Process Begins
The Beaufort County Council's 2007 budget will increase local taxes to cover rising costs and a $15 million reduction in state aid for the local school district. Giving initial approval to the budget, council members were resolved that a majority of the hikes were inevitable. Council members pledged to look for ways to reduce the final number, possibly by eliminating some discretionary spending in the school budget or using county reserves.
However, with the property tax deal likely to pass the state legislature, the county tax increase may be minimized according to County Council Chair Weston Newton.
The County Council will have to vote two more times on the budgets before the fiscal year begins July 1 and will hold public hearings June 7 in Beaufort and June 8 on Hilton Head Island.
County Councilman Dick Stewart called on the council to raise business license fees to encourage economic development and fund some of the county's operating costs.
State
Property Tax
and Senate negotiators have worked out a plan to provide relief from raising property taxes.
The announced deal would raise the state's sales tax by 1 cent to 6 cents on the dollar. The 1 cent increase would not be applied to groceries or hotels. It would use the money raised, estimated at $500 million, to replace school operating costs taken from property taxes on homes. It would ensure that no county gets less than $2.5 million from the higher sales tax and allows local governments to add a 1 percent local sales tax on top of the state increases. The plan also calls for a two-day sales tax holiday between Thanksgiving and Christmas where sales taxes would be removed on all items in the state.
The Senate and House will have to approve the deal next week. The tax structure can't be changed without a two-thirds vote from both chambers.
Federal
Immigration
The US Senate voted 62-36 in support of a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Senator Linsey Graham supported the measure and Senator Jim DeMint voted against it. The far-reaching legislation contains a myriad of provisions intended to reduce illegal immigration, grant some immigrants a path to citizenship and better protect the borders.
The Senate bill is now on crash course with a dramatically different House-passed bill. A conference committee between the two bodies is expected to last well into the summer. Senator Lindsey Graham argued for finishing the bill before the November elections. "This is one problem that is not going to wait until the next election," Graham said. "If you win or lose because you make a hard decision, so be it."
One provision of the bill that concerns the business community is a new federal database program that could dramatically affect every U.S. employer and worker under provisions of the immigration legislation. Under the proposal, employers would be required to submit information about their employees to a federally administered electronic system that would automatically check workers' immigration status. Employers who skirt the rules would be subject to stiff fines, with jail sentences for repeat offenders.
An unusual coalition has emerged to oppose the idea, with labor advocates saying it would dissuade legal immigrants from applying for work, big business groups including the US Chamber of Commerce asserting it would be too bureaucratic and civil-liberties organizations arguing that it would jeopardize individuals' privacy.
H-2B Visa
A critically important issue, unrelated to the immigration bill, but tied up in the debate is a provision to provide temporary visas for seasonal workers. Several local businesses utilize the visas and extension of the program is important to ensure business continuity. The chamber is working with these businesses to address the issue with our federal legislators.
