Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Cindi Ross Scoppe

Was your SC House member inconsistent on the three solar v SCE&G votes?

By Cindi Ross Scoppe Associate Editor
SC House members will tell you this is how they voted on the solar energy bill that fell short of the two-thirds requirement Tuesday. But an earlier vote made it impossible for the bill to pass, and not everyone voted consistently.
SC House members will tell you this is how they voted on the solar energy bill that fell short of the two-thirds requirement Tuesday. But an earlier vote made it impossible for the bill to pass, and not everyone voted consistently.
Columbia, SC

THERE ARE 61 House members who will tell their constituents they voted for a bill that big utility companies didn’t like, one that would have lifted a cap on how much solar energy those companies must purchase from customers who produce more energy than they immediately need. It’s a program called net metering.

And those House members did vote for the bill.

But H.4421 needed a two-thirds vote — 82 votes — to pass, because it included a property tax exemption. The two-thirds threshold could have been avoided by simply removing the tax exemption from the bill. When solar supporters tried a procedural move that would have allowed the House to do just that, several of those 61 refused to go along with them. In other words, several legislators voted to make it impossible for the bill to pass, and then voted for the bill that they had rendered unpassable.

It was in fact that procedural motion concerning the tax exemption, which failed by a vote of 54-55, that killed the bill and handed a huge victory to SCE&G and the other utilities.

The table below shows how House members voted on that procedural motion (yes to support removing the exemption so the bill could pass on a majority vote, or no to oppose removing the amendment, so the bill required a two-thirds vote to pass). It also shows how they voted on final passage of the bill (yes for passage, no for passage). Additionally, it shows how House members had voted on Thursday, when they overwhelmingly approved preliminary or second-reading approval of the bill (yes on Thursday, no on Thursday).

In all, 52 House members voted both to allow the exemption to be removed and for final passage, while 42 House members voted both against allowing the exemption to be removed and against passage. That is, those 94 legislators were consistent.

Cindi Ross Scoppe
Cindi Ross Scoppe

__________

The on-again, off-again love affair between the SC House and SCE&G is back on again

Utilities kill solar bill despite majority support in SC House

SC House to SCE&G: We’re just not that into you anymore

SC nuclear debacle, by the numbers

SC nuclear debacle: a timeline

Buying the benefit of the doubt: How donations secured SCE&G the means to squander billions.

SC House bill would strength utilities’ stranglehold over consumers

__________

Seven House members voted against allowing the bill to be changed so it could pass with a simple majority — and then voted for the bill after it was virtually unpassable. They were Linda Bennett, Bart Blackwell, Greg Delleney, Tommy Pope, Gary Simrill, Mack Toole and Ashley Trantham.

On Thursday, the House had voted 64-33 to give H.4421 second-reading approval. Six House members voted for the bill on Thursday but then voted against removing the amendment that killed the bill on Tuesday: Linda Bennett, Bart Blackwell, Durham Cole, Bill Crosby, Mac Toole and Ashley Trantham.

Several other House members missed one or more of the votes, either because they were absent or because they decided for some reason not to vote.

NAME

Yes To Support Removing Exemption

No To Support Leaving Exemption In

Yes For Passage

No For Passage

Yes On Thursday

No On Thursday

Alexander

*

Allison

*

*

*

Anderson

*

*

*

Anthony

*

*

*

Arrington

*

*

Atkinson

*

*

Atwater

*

Bales

*

*

Ballentine

*

*

*

Bamberg

*

Bannister

*

*

Bennett

*

*

*

Bernstein

*

*

Blackwell

*

*

Blackwell

*

Bowers

*

*

*

Bradley

*

*

*

Brawley

*

*

*

Brown

*

*

*

Bryant

*

*

*

Burns

*

*

Caskey

*

*

*

Chumley

*

*

Clary

*

*

*

Clemmons

*

Clyburn

*

*

*

Cobb-Hunter

*

*

*

Cogswell

*

Cole

*

*

Collins

*

*

*

Crawford

*

*

*

Crosby

*

Crosby

*

Daning

*

Davis

*

*

*

Delleney

*

*

*

Dillard

*

*

*

Douglas

*

*

*

Duckworth

*

*

*

Elliott

*

*

*

Erickson

*

*

*

Felder

*

*

*

Forrest

*

*

*

Forrester

*

*

*

Fry

*

*

*

Funderburk

*

*

*

Gagnon

*

*

*

Gilliard

*

*

Govan

*

*

*

Hamilton

*

*

*

Hardee

*

*

Hart

*

*

*

Hayes

*

*

*

Henderson

*

*

*

Henderson-Myers

*

*

*

Henegan

*

*

*

Herbkersman

*

Hewitt

*

Hill

*

*

*

Hiott

*

*

Hixon

*

*

Hosey

*

*

*

Howard

*

*

*

Huggins

*

*

*

Jefferson

*

*

*

Johnson

*

*

*

Jordan

*

*

King

*

*

*

Kirby

*

*

Knight

*

*

*

Loftis

*

*

*

Long

*

*

*

Lowe

*

*

Lucas

*

*

*

Mace

*

*

*

Mack

*

*

*

Martin

*

*

*

McCoy

*

*

*

McCravy

*

*

*

McEachern

*

*

*

McGinnis

*

*

*

McKnight

*

*

*

Moss, DC

*

*

*

Moss, VS

*

*

Murphy

*

Newton, B

*

*

*

Newton, W

*

*

*

Norrell

*

*

*

Ott

*

*

*

Parks

*

*

*

Pendarvis

*

*

*

Pitts

*

*

Pope

*

*

*

Putnam

*

*

Ridgeway

*

Rivers, M

*

*

*

Rivers, S

*

Robinson-Simpson

*

*

*

Rutherford

*

*

Sandifer

*

*

*

Simrill

*

*

*

Smith, GM

*

*

*

Smith, GR

*

*

*

Smith, JE

*

*

*

Sottile

*

Sottile

*

Spires

*

Stavrinakis

*

*

*

Stringer

*

*

Tallon

*

*

*

Taylor

*

Thayer

*

*

*

Thigpen

*

*

*

Toole

*

*

*

Trantham

*

*

*

Weeks

*

*

*

West

*

*

*

Wheeler

*

*

*

White

*

*

*

Whitmire

*

*

*

Williams

*

*

*

Willis

*

*

Young

*

*

*

Ms. Scoppe writes editorials and columns for The State. Reach her at cscoppe@thestate.com or (803) 771-8571 or follow her on Twitter or like her on Facebook @CindiScoppe.

Get one year of unlimited digital access for $159.99
#ReadLocal

Only 44¢ per day

SUBSCRIBE NOW