South Carolina bill banning taxpayer-funded lobbying failed

A few weeks ago, the South Carolina House of Representatives rejected a proposal that would have prohibited school districts from routing taxpayer money to fund bureaucratic advocacy groups, or taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.

Representative Boyd Brown introduced the budget amendment, which would eliminate taxpayer-funded lobbying and prohibit the use of tax dollars for dues at any “organization which employs a lobbyist.” The bill died March 18 by one vote.

The South Carolina Policy Center estimates that every dollar collected by government lobbying costs South Carolina’s economy between $1.60 and $1.82. And in the state, less than half of each dollar spent on public education reaches the classroom. You do the math.

While an outright ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying associations didn’t work out this time in South Carolina, one path concerned citizens can take is to follow the footsteps of journalists in New Hampshire, who ultimately made it so that New Hampshire taxpayer-funded lobbying associations have to be transparent. As usual, the prescription is for citizens to do the hard work to get governments to give up information.