City Quick Connect Podcast From The Municipal Association Of South Carolina

The Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting is coming up July 18 – 21 in Greenville. Eric Budds, interim executive director for the Association, talks about events scheduled for this year’s meeting, including sessions on community partnership building for law enforcement as well as opportunity zone investments.

The General Assembly ended its regular session last week and will return next week to pick up the remaining budget work. Casey Fields talks about the House and Senate versions of the budget as well as the current status of key bills, which will all remain active in the 2020 session.

Scott Slatton describes the years of work that led to S401, the bill which would require any entity improving a road to pick up the cost of relocating utility lines instead of passing on that cost to cities and towns.

Last week, the House Tax Policy Review Committee took a look at municipal business license taxes. Tiger Wells talks about his testimony to the committee about this critical source of revenue for cities and towns, and how legislators responded to the latest information on business license standardization efforts.

Budget season has arrived for the General Assembly, a time when added budget provisos that would have a major impact on municipalities can turn up. Tiger Wells and Scott Slatton discuss how the Municipal Association’s legislative team advocated for cities and towns while the Senate was approving its version of the state budget.

Casey Fields talks about action taken on the Local Government Fund formula bill and the plastic bag ban bill, which moved forward to the full Senate for debate.

How does small cell technology change the way that companies provide cell phone service, and why do the installation of small cells matter to cities and towns? Tiger Wells explains small cell basics and the impact of the amended SC Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act.

Scott Slatton joins to discuss the status of the zero millage bill and working with the SC Department of Transportation on the utility relocation bill. He also discusses ongoing work on building regulation for agritourism businesses and proposed updates to the building code update cycle.

Tiger Wells discusses the bill that would prevent the Municipal Association from collecting taxes on behalf of cities and towns. Other updates include zero millage, utility relocation, small cell wireless facilities, the plastic bag ban and tobacco pre-emption legislation.

Scott Slatton stayed up late to be on hand for the House’s after-midnight passage of the state budget and Tiger Wells explains more about the tobacco pre-emption bill.

The tobacco pre-emption bill S492 will be before the Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee again this week. Learn more about how municipalities can advocate against this legislation.

Learn about the two pre-emption bills currently under consideration, as well as the Municipal Tax Relief Act.

Learn about the House Ways and Means Committee's version of the budget, hear from the Municipal Association's Scott Slatton about the utility relocation bill and from Tiger Wells about the significant financial changes that could come from the SC Tort Claims Act.

Learn the specifics for advocating with your legislators to vote no on the Tort Claims Act bill and the preemption bill as these proposals advance through the General Assembly.

SC Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson talks about state and local responses to recent natural disasters, including steps local leaders can take to prepare for future disasters, during the 2019 Hometown Legislative Action Day.

Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler, Conway Fire Chief Phillip Hendrick Jr. and Darlington Police Chief Kelvin Washington discuss the importance of a crisis communication plan during the 2019 Hometown Legislative Action Day.

Gov. Henry McMaster gives the keynote address during the 2019 Hometown Legislative Action Day.

The Municipal Association's legislative team explains the progress of the Advocacy Initiatives and other efforts at the State House during the 2019 Hometown Legislative Action Day.

Get updates on the Advocacy Initiatives and head from Director of Governmental Affairs Tiger Wells on why cities and towns should care about the pre-emption bill.

Get updates on the Local Government Fund and a bill which would keep local governments from passing vaping ordinances; and hear from Scott Slatton of the Municipal Association’s legislative team about why so much action is happening so early in the session.