State Agencies Competing With Business
Important Vote This Tuesday
The House Judiciary Committee will vote Tuesday (4/20) on H.4739, which sets a state policy of state agencies not producing goods or services and offering them to the private sector in competition with businesses. The bill does not prohibit agencies from producing goods or services for their own use or the use of another state agency.
The SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce opposes unfair, tax payer-supported competition from state agencies. H.4739 would set up a process by which a state agency could get Budget and Control Board approval to be exempted from this policy. We also have agreed to specifically exempt agencies with statutory mandates to produce competitive goods or services for the private sector such as the Department of Corrections and our technical colleges.
This vote is important. An opponent of H.4739 is actually encouraging state agencies to look for sources of alternative revenue from the private sector because their budgets have been cut. We must not let the policy of the state to be an open season on our small businesses and our revenue.
Please contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee listed below before this Tuesday at noon. Ask them to support H.4739. Tell them that state agencies should not compete in the private sector with businesses.
Representative e-mail House Phone
James H. Harrison HJU@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3120
G. Murrell Smith GMS@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3042
Alan Clemmons ClemmonsA@scstatehouse.net (803)734-2969
Karl B. Allen KBA@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3102
John Graham Altman None (803)734-2947
Creighton Coleman cbc@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3140
Gregory Delleney fgd@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3074
Ben Hagood HagoodB@scstatehouse.net (803)734-2950
Gloria Arias-Haskins GAH@scstatehouse.net (803)734-2978
Douglas Jennings DJ@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3065
Jay Lucas JL@scstatehouse.net (803)734-2961
Walt McLeod WJM@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3276
James Merrill JM1@scstatehouse.net (803)734-2937
Thayer Rivers rtr@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3073
Todd Rutherford JTR@scstatehouse.net (803)734-9441
John Scott JLS@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3058
Gary Simrill JGS@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3040
Phil Sinclair PKS@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3008
Fletcher Smith FNS@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3059
James Smith RepSmith@JamesSmith.org (803)734-2997
Scott Talley SFT@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3005
Adam Taylor at@scstatehouse.net (803)734-2994
David Weeks JDW@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3191
Seth Whipper JSW@scstatehouse.net (803)734-3067