Harvey Peeler

South Carolina leaders have long contended that limits on lawsuits are necessary to foster economic growth in the state. In 2011, a compromise has made reality of tort reform.

The S.C. House went along with a Senate version of legislation. The agreement caps punitive damages that are greater than $500k or three times the compensatory damages awarded. If it is found that the defendant was motivated primarily by financial gain, or the defendant’s actions rise to the level of felony charges, then the award can be increased to the greater of $2 million or four times compensatory damages. If it is proven that the defendant intended to harm the claimant, was convicted of a felony arising out of the same act, or acted under the influence of drugs or alcohol, then the $2 million cap would not apply.

The bill also provides that insurers must disclose limits of individual automobile coverage when a claimant requests the information. This will prevent claimants from having to bring suit in order to receive disclosure of limits.

The House and Gov. Nikki Haley had wanted a cap on punitive damage awards of $350,000 or triple the actual damages, whichever is greater.

But business groups and trial lawyers struck a compromise setting limits similar to Florida’s. Supporters argued the lack of punitive damage caps made South Carolina less competitive with other states.

Reaction from Republicans and Democrats was generally approving.

“No other bill this year will improve our state’s business climate like tort reform. This is great news for South Carolina businesses, and that means it’s great news for South Carolina,” Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, said. “We’re on the path to new jobs and more private investment thanks to the passage of this bill.”

House Minority Leader Harry Ott, D-St. Matthews, told The Associated Press he supports the Senate bill even though he wanted tougher limits. “But it still does take us a step in the right direction,” Ott said.

The legislation sets reasonable standards that protect businesses while also affording people the right to recover sufficiently from wrongs. That right should not be undermined in the name of business or any other factor.

Courtesy of The Times and the Democrat

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tea party and conservative activists are challenging the establishment in South Carolina’s Legislature and carrying their influence well beyond last fall’s elections.

Longtime legislators are still trying to figure out what the activists want, said Ashley Landess, president of the conservative South Carolina Policy Council.

“The reason we are tipping the establishment on the ear is because we want our power back,” Landess said.

That power play may be showing up in legislators doing less, something observers said isn’t all bad. Meanwhile, legislators are feeling instant pressure as Twitter and Facebook affect what they do in real time on issues like requiring more roll call votes or streamlining government.

The House and Senate wrapped up their regular session Thursday with 79 bills ratified, compared with 114 in 2009 as the last two-year General Assembly finished its first regular session. Luke Byars, a former state GOP executive director who now consults with grass roots groups, said tea party activists don’t mind that.

“It’s helping shrink the size of government,” he said. “The less bills that are passed, the smaller the government.”

The legislative slowdown came as a new law and rules requiring more roll call votes came into play. Gov. Nikki Haley built much of her campaign on the issue and made it a popular tea party cause.

But those roll call votes also slowed things down and were one of the reasons Senate debate on a $6 billion spending plan took more than four weeks instead of one.

“Transparency has added a lot of time to the process, and it’s slowed things down,” Byars said.

Along the way in the budget debate, tea party-backed legislators pushed dozens of amendments, including tax breaks and spending cuts in social safety net programs.

Beaufort Sen. Tom Davis and Spartanburg Sen. Lee Bright, both Republican tea party favorites, spent hours talking about those issues. They’re part of a cadre of backbench senators with small blue “Liberty” and yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flags on their desks – and they have no apologies for slowing things down.

“There was a learning curve there,” Davis said. But it was worth the extra time to air issues and look at the budget’s details, he said. He expects the budget will move faster next year.

Bright said the tea party’s influence is here to stay.

“Our group can slow things down. But it’s going to take another couple of election cycles before we can actually get things accomplished,” Bright said.

The signs of activists’ influence show up outside and inside the Statehouse.

For instance, activist groups planned to distribute leaflets in Spartanburg County over the weekend after lawmakers there didn’t back legislation that would provide tax credits for parents sending their children to private schools.

Meanwhile, tea party and conservative activists have more frequently called Statehouse news conferences to pressure lawmakers to pass favored legislation, including government streamlining, lawsuit limits and tax law changes.

Sue Ellen Schulz founded the Upstate TEA Party two years ago and said it has taken time for groups like hers to organize and learn how to get things done.

“Most everyone was new to politics. We didn’t understand how the system works. Now we’ve had two years to see how the system works and how to work with it,” Schulz said.

Schulz added that too much is done behind closed doors and too much time is wasted on things that don’t matter. “It’s more frustrating,” she said.

Tony Denny, a political consultant and lobbyist, said the activists seem to have quickly picked up the tools to influence legislators, such as Facebook and other social networking sites.

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler said his GOP members feel that heat with Twitter, emails and blog postings.

“They’re literally able to contact us on the floor of the Senate,” Peeler said. “That makes those groups more effective and heard.”

Activists, Byars notes, want things done fast.

“Their impatience is what has helped build the confidence of these backbenchers in these stances and to hold their lines on these issues,” Byars said.

There were wins and losses. The Legislature sent Haley bills that required roll call votes and limited lawsuit payments. Haley’s government streamlining agenda cleared the House but didn’t make it out of the Senate. Both chambers killed private school tax breaks. And there was no tax overhaul.

Activist groups also came together to oppose a sales tax collection break to Amazon.com in exchange for building a distribution center that will employ 2,000 in Lexington County. They initially won the fight, but Amazon and Lexington officials regrouped and won.

Peeler notes wins don’t seem to relieve the impatience. When the lawsuit legislation passed last week, the celebration was over in hours as calls came stridently for government streamlining to pass in the last two days of the session. It’s “we want it and we want it now,” Peeler said.

Haley’s part of that club. As the Legislature adjourned Thursday with plans to return June 14 for a wrap-up session, Haley ordered them back to work Tuesday and said they need to take up bills restructuring government.

The activists’ push has led Haley to form tea party advisory council, spokesman Rob Godfrey said.

“The governor loves what tea party activists have done to focus many legislators on stopping the growth of state government and returning it to core functions, and in that way, they’ve shifted things in a positive direction in the General Assembly – and for the people of the state,” Godfrey said.

Courtesy of The Island Packet

By Don Worthington – dworthington@heraldonline.com

State Sens. Greg Gregory and Harvey Peeler, who represents portions of York County, said Friday they plan to be at Tuesday’s scheduled 10 a.m. special legislative session at the Statehouse in Columbia.

“This may be settled by the courts, but the governor has won in the court of public opinion. The people are on her side,” Peeler, the Senate’s majority leader, said Friday.

“I support the governor.”

How long the Senate is back session will depend on how quickly lawmakers put posturing aside, said Gregory, a Lancaster Republican. It could take a day or two to reach that point, he said.

Once the Senate gets down to business, Gregory estimated it should take two to three days to reach a decision on creating the Department of Administration, a cabinet level position.

“I’ve been working on restructuring for 17 years. Another couple of days won’t kill us,” said Gregory, who was recently re-elected to the state Senate in a special election to fill the seat left open when Mick Mulvaney was elected to the U.S. Congress.

Peeler, a Gaffney Republican, said one reason for the expected partisanship is that Democrats don’t want to give any victory to the governor this legislative session.

One amendment to the Department of Administration proposal is eliminating the Budget and Control Board. The board, comprised of the governor, the state treasurer, Curtis Loftis Jr.; the comptroller general, Richard Eckstrom; the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Hugh Leatherman; and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Brian White. White recently was chosen to replace Rep. Dan Cooper, who resigned from the Legislature. His last day is June 30.

“We need to eliminate the Budget and Control Board, It is a South Carolina anomaly,” Gregory said.

The board contributes to South Carolina having the weakest executive branch of all the states, Gregory said, “and that is holding South Carolina back.”

Gregory and Peeler said the reason the Senate needs to return is because it does not manage its time well.

“Eighty percent of the work is done in the last 20 percent of time,” Gregory said. “The clock ran out on us.”

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/06/04/3120906/gregory-peeler-planning-to-attend.html#ixzz1OVABpW5J

COLUMBIA – South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler today released a list of Senators who have requested it be made public that they will return to Columbia on Tuesday June 7th ready to conduct business per Governor Haley’s Executive Order.


“We have enjoyed many successes with the Governor Haley this year. Now that the Governor has called the General Assembly back, it’s important we finish the job on these critical government restructuring reforms.”

Senator Harvey Peeler

Senator Lee Bright

Senator Kevin Bryant

Senator Ronnie Cromer

Senator John Courson

Senator Tom Davis

Senator Mike Rose

Senator Greg Gregory

Senator Greg Ryberg

Senator David Thomas

**Senator Shane Martin supports the effort to return to Columbia on Tuesday, but will be unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.

*Some Senators were unable to be reached this afternoon.

The state Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to stiffen the regulation of miniature trains in the wake of the deadly Cleveland Park crash.

Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, was the primary sponsor of the legislation known as Benji’s Law — named in honor of the 6-year-old Gaffney boy who died during the derailment on March 19. Peeler said in a statement that getting the bill approved after its late introduction was “a fitting tribute to Benji and the other children and parents on the train that day.”

“Parents shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their children on kids’ rides, and children shouldn’t have to worry about their own well-being just to have a good time,” Peeler said.

The bill requires miniature trains to have working speedometers and devices that would limit speed to the manufacturer’s recommendation or less. It also requires training for drivers and documentation of that training, as well as mechanical inspections of the trains.

“I want to make sure to thank my fellow senators for assisting in passing this bill, and hopefully no other families in our state have to go through something like this again,” Peeler said.

State inspectors already examine such rides, but a LLR worker resigned after admitting to falsifying the inspection report for the Cleveland Park train that crashed. Because of a dead battery, that inspector didn’t actually take Sparkles, the red-and-gray train, for a test run to check its speed.

The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said last month that speed was the lone cause of the crash, which also injured 28 people on board, including the driver, Matt Conrad. Conrad’s attorneys have disputed those findings.

The bill now moves to the House. It is unclear, however, whether representatives will have to wait until January to take up the bill, whether they can deal with it in an emergency session called for next week by Gov. Nikki Haley, or whether they can address it when they return later this month to complete work on the budget and other measures.

Courtesy of Go Upstate

Columbia, SC – June 2, 2011 – A compromise was reached Thursday to repeal the point-of-sale tax provision of Act 388. For months, business groups — led by state Realtors — have been trying to end a tax that has unreasonably burdened both businesses and individuals. Counties and municipalities fought the effort, but in the end consented to language that resulted in the bill being passed out of the Senate on the last day of session.

“I had every confidence that an agreement could be made, and now we can go about our state’s economic recovery,” said Sen. Paul Campbell, one of the bill’s top supporters. “The tax is inherently unfair and deserves to go.”

Earlier in the week, the two sides sat down for a meeting with Senate Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman. After several hours of back-and-forth talks throughout the week, the two sides put aside enough of their differences to fashion a proposal that would pass without issue.

“It’s good to see the two sides in this debate come together for sensible tax reform to enhance business opportunities in the state,” Leatherman said.

Applying to properties that are currently taxed at six percent of their value, the legislation would lead to taxing the property at a 25 percent discount of the fair market value. For instance, if a property was evaluated at $125,000, it would be taxed at $100,000.

“Point-of-sale has been a very contentious issue, and I’m happy to see cooler heads prevail,” Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler said.

The bill will return to the House for a vote on accepting or rejecting the new language.

A bill to ensure the safety of passengers riding on miniature trains in South Carolina passed the Senate unanimously today. Called “Benji’s Law,” it was lead-sponsored and submitted by Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler in response to the tragic train derailment at Cleveland Park in Spartanburg County in March. A six-year-old Cherokee County boy, Benji Easler, died in the accident.

“To be able to introduce this bill so late in the session and get it passed so quickly is a fitting tribute to Benji, and the other children and parents on the train that day,” Peeler said. “Parents shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their children on kids’ rides, and children shouldn’t have to worry about their own well being just to have a good time.”

Peeler was able to get the bill fast-tracked, recalled from the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee and placed on the calendar for the last day of this year’s session. For most other legislation filed in May, the possibility of getting passed by either chamber was close to nil. The need for something to be done, and done quickly, to prevent such disasters in the future moved senators to act.

“I want to make sure to thank my fellow senators for assisting in passing this bill, and hopefully no other families in our state have to go through something like this again,” Peeler said.

The bill would ensure:

* The ride must have a properly operating speedometer.

* The ride must have a device that allows the speed of the train to be regulated and the speed of the train must be set so as to only operate at or below the maximum speed recommended by the manufacturer.

* All drivers operating the ride must be trained to operate the ride in accordance with the manufacturer’s operation recommendations; a training record for each driver must be maintained by the owner or operator of the ride as long as the driver is employed by or operates the train on behalf of the owner or operator; and each driver must be tested by the department before the driver is authorized to operate the train; a driver employed to operate the train, or who will operate the train on behalf of the owner or operator, subsequent to the department issuing the permit or renewal permit does not affect the validity of the permit, so long as the driver does not operate the train until the driver has been tested by the department.

* The ride must be inspected mechanically, including, but not limited to, a speed test of the train to ensure that the train is operating in accordance with the speed governor, and in accordance with this chapter or regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, but in no case less than an annual inspection.

The South Carolina Senate agreed to limit lawsuit awards Tuesday, ending years of debate about whether to make the state legal system more business-friendly.

The bill would create a tiered system of damages based upon the degree of negligence or criminal behavior involved. Most lawsuits would cap punitive damages at $500,000, or three times actual costs, whichever is greater.

But that cap rises to $2 million, or four times actual damages, under several circumstances, including if an injury resulted because of an unreasonable profit-based decision or if the person or business that caused the injury was subject to a felony conviction.

The cap is lifted entirely if the person or business that caused the injury is convicted of a felony, intended to harm or was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The vote knocks out a key issue pushed by Senate Republican leadership, Gov. Nikki Haley and business interests in the session’s final week. The bill heads back to the House, which approved a $350,000 cap, or three times actual damages, with no exemptions earlier this year.

Business groups noted the caps are still among the highest in the Southeast, but they supported the compromise.

“It’s a decent day’s work,” said Rick Scott, president of the South Carolina Trucking Association. “This puts us close to being competitive; … it is a move forward.”

Attorneys said despite debating the need for years, the bill addressed a problem which did not exist.

“We still do not believe there is a need to put caps on punitive damages,” said Mark Joye with the South Carolina Association for Justice.

The bill has churned in the Senate for weeks as others issues, such as the budget, took precedence and those who opposed the caps sought to avoid a vote. But Haley and the state Republican Party dialed up the pressure Tuesday, with the governor insisting on the House version of the bill and telling lawmakers she would include their vote on her end-of-session report cards.

Lawmakers huddled all day, but it took a late afternoon five-minute recess that stretched more than three hours for the two sides to finally parse the bill’s language. Business lobbyists huddled near the House chamber poring over the latest revision, while lobbyists for trial lawyers did the same thing across the lobby.

Senators shuttled back and forth between the two groups with the others’ thoughts.

The bill now heads back for the House to agree or disagree with the Senate version. In a letter to Senators Tuesday, Haley said she supports the House version of the bill. If the House insists on its version, House and Senate lawmakers will have to work out a compromise.

“We got as good a bill as we can under the circumstances,” said Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington and an opponent of the caps. “We need to lean on the Senate to try to maintain the Senate position.

Courtesy of The State

South Carolina senators gave key approval Tuesday to a bill limiting lawsuit punitive damages, but bucked South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley along the way.

Haley wanted the Senate to go along with the House and approve a cap of $350,000 or triple the actual damages, whichever was greater.

Instead, the Senate with a 39-0 vote gave second reading to a bill that sets up two tiers of lawsuit limits similar to what Florida has on its books.

In the typical case, punitive awards would be limited to $500,000 or three times the actual damages, whichever is greater.

In the worst cases, punitive awards are capped at the greater of $2 million or four times the actual damages. The higher limits would apply, for instance, when a company’s or individual’s actions causing the harm were motivated by financial gain.

Supporters and opponents weren’t optimistic about reaching a deal as Tuesday’s Senate session began. But after lunch, they huddled for hours with legislators in the Statehouse lobby. Legislators would shuttle between clutches of advocates from both sides. A five-minute recess called to work out final deal stretched into hours.

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said the sides had no choice but to make a deal with adjournment looming Thursday and no plans to allow debate to continue on the unfinished bill in an extended session that begins June 14.

“Time was running out,” said McConnell, R-Charleston.

A final Senate vote on the bill could send the bill back to House on Wednesday. McConnell said he hopes the House approves the Senate lawsuit limits.

That would be a test for Haley. On Tuesday, she sent senators a letter saying they’d have to pass the House’s caps of $350,000 or triple damages. She said she’d note their votes on report cards she’ll issue for each legislator at the end of the session.

“Time is growing short,” Haley wrote. “We must act quickly to improve the business climate of our state by enacting strong tort reform.”

Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey didn’t immediately respond to questions about the Senate’s version of the bill.

Supporters of the limits said they could live with the compromise. Modeling it after Florida’s law is a good thing, said Cam Crawford, director of the pro-business South Carolina Civil Justice Coalition. His group has lobbied for the caps for years. “It’s a pro-business piece of legislation,” Crawford said.

Crawford said he could live with either the House’s or the Senate’s version. “Both versions will advance the interests of the state and create pro-business climate,” Crawford said.

Opponents questioned the need for any caps, including Mark Joye, president of the South Carolina Association for Justice, a trial lawyer group. “We still do not believe that there was a need to put caps on punitive damages,” Joye said.

Courtesy of the Associated Press

Columbia, SC – May 31, 2011 – After extensive debate and a process held up by trial lawyers for months, common sense and South Carolina businesses prevailed on Tuesday as the Senate passed a comprehensive tort reform bill, 39-0. It marks a success for Senate Republicans and South Carolina’s business community, for whom tort reform has been a top priority in recent years. Gov. Nikki Haley has stated that the passage of tort reform is a goal for her administration, recently appearing at a tea party news conference and rallying supporters to get the Senate to pass the bill.

“No other bill this year will improve our state’s business climate like tort reform. This is great news for South Carolina businesses, and that means it’s great news for South Carolina,” Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee) said. “We’re on the path to new jobs and more private investment thanks to the passage of this bill.”

After passing the House, the bill has been stalled in the Senate for months by opponents trying to run out the clock. Regardless, Peeler and Sen. Larry Martin (R-Pickens), who sponsored similar bills, were able to rally conservatives in the final week of session to see the legislation through.

“It wasn’t easy, but nothing important ever is,” Martin, who led Senate Republican negotiations, said. “Our state’s businesses have been crying out for relief, and today I’m glad to say that we were able to do that.”

“We appreciate the South Carolina Senate taking this important step towards protecting small businesses from frivolous lawsuits,” said JJ Darby, NFIB SC State Director. “Enacting meaningful caps on punitive damages is critical to allowing businesses in this state to grow and create jobs.”

“Nothing comes easy in the South Carolina Senate, and this has proved it. We will compare this with what other states provide, and hope we will have a more fair, more competitive lawsuit system,” said Rick Todd, President & CEO of the SC Trucking Association.

The agreement caps punitive damages that are greater than $500k or three times the compensatory damages awarded. If it is found that the defendant was motivated primarily by financial gain, or the defendant’s actions rise to the level of felony charges, then the award can be increased to the greater of $2 million or four times compensatory damages. If it is proven that the defendant intended to harm the claimant, was convicted of a felony arising out of the same act, or acted under the influence of drugs or alcohol, then the $2 million cap would not apply.

The bill also provides that insurers must disclose limits of individual automobile coverage when a claimant requests the information. This will prevent claimants from having to bring suit in order to receive disclosure of limits.

The bill now returns to the House for concurrence.