South Carolina editorial roundup

Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers:

April 7

Aiken (S.C.) Standard on bolstering coroner’s reporting law:

Strengthening the law that pertains to reporting suspicious child deaths would be a sensible step for the state legislature. S.C. Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken, recently introduced a measure that would accomplish that goal by allowing the state Department of Social Services to release details about suspected child abuse and neglect cases that the agency didn’t investigate.

It would also allow the agency to publicly report when abuse results in a child dying or nearly dying. This change would help ensure that the state’s law enforcement division can adequately and effectively investigate child fatalities.

Young told the Aiken Standard that after chairing four hearings on issues related to child abuse, he heard testimony that in certain cases, the state failed to have consistency in coroners reporting suspicious child deaths. It’s commendable to see the senator from Aiken step up and try to make a change in how the system operates. Too often our lawmakers in Columbia are satisfied with the status quo. By strengthening the laws pertaining to child fatalities, we can certainly have a more thorough system across South Carolina.

Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton said his office obeys the law and fully reports such deaths to state law enforcement. Coroners are supposed to fill out a report within 24 hours of a child’s death, and while Carlton says his office follows those procedures, it’s not done by all coroners across the state. He estimates that 90 percent of coroners report those, but that should undoubtedly be 100 percent in the future.

Young’s measure would help ensure that the process is completed in an effective way. Such a change would add an extra layer of needed transparency, especially in emotional cases that warrant practical and clear guidelines.

Online:

https://www.aikenstandard.com

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April 7

Times & Democrat, Orangeburg, S.C., on fixing government:

Lee Hamilton, director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University and formerly a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years, makes no secret of his view that government in Washington is broken. While he is not alone, he speaks with more experience than most on how things were and how they should be.

Hamilton notes that in 1965, the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Wilbur Mills, brought legislation establishing Medicare and Medicaid to the floor of the U.S. House. “That was my first year in Congress, and I remember vividly the moment when Mills came to the Democratic caucus to explain his plans.

“Many of us had been swept into office in the 1964 Democratic wave that accompanied Lyndon Johnson’s election, and we had an overwhelming majority in Congress. We could pass any bill we wanted,” Hamilton says.

But that is exactly what Mills argued against. Why? Because of the very nature of what makes government work in this country.

“It was crucial, he said, that we get bipartisan support for the measure: passing the law was one thing, but what really counted was its implementation. With bipartisan support, the odds were much higher that the highly controversial measure could be rolled out effectively.”

Thus Mills made significant accommodations to find common ground with Republicans, and eventually 70 of them - half the GOP caucus - joined in passing the bill.

Hamilton says Mills was playing a very smart game. …

Today, plenty of good, competent people serve both in Congress and within the ranks of the executive branch, but after years of failure - from the response to Hurricane Katrina to the initial rollout of the Affordable Care Act to the cost overruns, delays, and mismanagement that too often characterize federal programs - it’s hard to argue that the government is filled with people who know how to make it a model of efficiency and effectiveness. …

As NYU Professor Paul Light points out, there are too many decision-makers, too many bases to touch, too many layers of management, too many managers in each layer and too little accountability.

These are crucial matters to fix. Not only do Americans want to see better performance from their government, but federal executives - including the president - cannot achieve their policy objectives unless those under them are competent and high-performing.

“We have to rethink and transform how government does its business - not just on a one-shot basis, but constantly,” Hamilton says.

Government today is highly pressured and deals with tough, complicated problems. Unless we deal with these problems, failure is baked into the system. The American people have to demand that the president and the Congress not just enact legislation but also implement and manage government programs effectively and efficiently.

Online:

https://thetandd.com

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April 6

Herald-Journal, Spartanburg, S.C., on House passing bill that will reduce drunken driving and save lives:

South Carolina lawmakers have often been criticized on this page for failing to strengthen drunken driving laws and take impaired drivers off the road, but they are passing a measure this year that will make a real difference.

The S.C. House of Representatives passed “Emma’s Law” last week. The bill would require more of those convicted of driving under the influence to have ignition interlocks installed in their vehicles. The lock detects alcohol on a driver’s breath. A motorist would have to breathe into the device before starting the vehicle. If alcohol is detected on his breath, the vehicle won’t start.

The interlock also occasionally sets off an alarm while the vehicle is in motion. The driver must blow into the device. If he has started drinking since starting the car, the device will detect the alcohol and give the driver a few minutes to pull over before it shuts down the engine. The device also takes a photo of the person blowing into the device to prevent cheating. The state can download and review the records kept by the device.

The bill is named for a 6-year-old girl from Lexington who was killed in 2012 when a repeat drunken driver ran into her family’s vehicle. Her family lobbied lawmakers to approve the bill and traveled the state pushing for its passage.

Emma’s case was not unique. We have seen too many cases in which repeat drunken drivers have been allowed to maintain their freedom and continue driving and drinking. They are arrested over and over again until they kill someone.

It was in response to those situations that lawmakers passed a law several years ago requiring ignition interlock devices on vehicles owned by those convicted twice or more for driving under the influence. Emma’s law expands that to drivers convicted on first offense for driving with a blood-alcohol level of .15 or greater.

The problem is that’s almost twice the legal limit of .08. The devices should be required of anyone convicted of driving under the influence. The state Senate passed a version of the bill that set the threshold at .12 but is expected to approve the House version. The bill’s proponents said the higher limit was necessary to get the bill through the legislature.

A lower threshold for the devices, which are paid for by the convicted drivers, would be ideal, but it will still be a tremendous victory for South Carolina motorists if the Senate passes the House version and the governor signs it.

Part of the credit for that victory goes to state Rep. Eddie Tallon, R-Spartanburg, who worked hard to get this bill through the House.

South Carolina has one of the highest drunken driving fatality rates in the nation. For too long, lawmakers have refused to do anything about it. Now, they are on the verge of passing a bill that will do some very real, tangible good. It will keep impaired drivers off the roads and thereby save lives.

Thank Rep. Tallon and his colleagues next time you see them.

Online:

https://www.goupstate.com