VVolumeolume 2929 NNumberumber 1 TOUCHSTONEEENERGYNERGY.COM FOCUSED ON YOUR STREET. NOT WALL STREET. Think of your not-for-profit Touchstone Energy cooperative as your very own local energy advisor. After all, we’re owned by you and the other members in our community, which means you’ll always have a say in how your co-op runs. To learn more, visit TouchstoneEnergy.com. YOUR SOURCE OF POWER. AND INFORMATION. 2017-18 SCAC OFFICERS President Henry H. Livingston III Newberry County Council Chairman First Vice President Charles T. Jennings McCormick County Council Chairman Local Leaders. Statewide Strength. Second Vice President ® Dwight L. Stewart Jr. Clarendon County Council Chairman Third Vice President CONTENTS Franklin Fulmore Sr. Williamsburg County Council Member Immediate Past President Julie J. Armstrong Date of Issue: June 2018 Charleston County Clerk of Court Acting Secretary Steve Willis 2 Reformed Tax Code Unleashes American Dream for Millions of People Lancaster County Administrator By U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan (R-S.C., 3rd District) Treasurer Belinda D. Copeland Darlington County 6 Florence County Opens New State-of-the-Art Judicial Center By W. Stuart Morgan III SCAC Staff Executive Director Michael B. Cone 14 Pickens County Holds First Countywide Five on Five Anti-Litter Blitz Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel By W. Stuart Morgan III Robert E. Lyon Jr. Deputy General Counsel Timothy C. Winslow 33 Insurance Trusts Hold Annual Membership Meeting Assistant General Counsel (Includes photos of 2017 Risk Management Award Winners) Joshua C. Rhodes Of Counsel Robert S. Croom 45 Too Much of a Bad Thing: Municipalities and the Opioid Curse Senior Staff Attorneys By Erich Eiselt, IMLA Assistant General Counsel/Editor John K. DeLoache M. Kent Lesesne (Link provided to Mr. Eiselt’s article, published in the March – April 2018 Staff Attorneys Issue of the Municipal Lawyer, the Journal of Local Government Law) James F. Knox Owen A. McBride Alexander W. Smith Public Information Director W. Stuart Morgan III 46 Part 1 of 2: A Roadside Guide to Berkeley County Director of Insurance Services Robert C. Collins, CPCU, CIC The County’s Role in the American War for Independence Director of Risk Management Services By Alexia Jones Helsley John D. Henderson, ARM, ALCM Risk Manager, SCCWCT and SCCP&LT Robert E. Benfield, ARM, AINS 54 County Update Program Coordinator, SCCWCT and SCCP&LT Pam S. Collins, ARM SCCP&LT Claims Manager John V. Jervey, AIC Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager Lang C. Kelly, ARM, AIC Controller H. Warren Counts Jr., CPA Director of Research and Training Anna B. Berger Senior Research Associate Susan B. Turkopuls COVER PHOTOS Top Photo: Florence County’s new judicial center, 181 N. Irby St., Director of Administrative Services Florence Bottom Photo: FLORENCE COUNTY COUNCIL—(Left to right) Council Nilda A. Padgett Members H. Steven DeBerry IV, Roger M. Poston and James T. Schofield; Council Vice Deputy Director of Administrative Services Chairman Willard Dorriety Jr.; Council Chairman Kent C. Caudle; Secretary/Chaplain Tish F. Anderson Waymon Mumford; and Council Members Mitchell Kirby, Alphonzo Bradley and Jason Special Program Coordinator S. Ruthie Duvall Springs. (See story, P. 6) Special Program Assistant Coordinator Sharon D. Berkowitz County Focus Magazine is published quarterly by the Administrative Assistants Dana T. Homesley Pearlena A. Khalif-Govan Mary E. Williams South Carolina Association of Counties P.O. Box 8207 Field Representative Rick K. Ucinski Columbia, SC 29202-8207 (803) 252-7255 Insurance Trusts’ Assistant Coordinator Caroline Deevey, CIC, AAI, CISR, CRIS, INS FAX: (803) 252-0379 IT/Procurement Director W. Stuart Morgan III, Editor Robert J. Lyon, CPM, CPPB Copyright is by the South Carolina Association of Counties. All rights reserved. No portion of the Webmaster Jennifer M. Haworth contents may be published or reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Reformed Tax Code Unleashes American Dream for Millions of People By U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan (R, 3rd District, S.C.) A fter decades of suffering under a education opportunities. Four million burdensome tax code, tax relief for the workers have already benefited from American people was finally achieved. the new tax law across the country, and Years of hearings, roundtables, and companies have provided more than $4 analyses went into the creation of the billion in bonuses so far. This is just the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to reform the beginning! tax code, provide relief for families and Included in the tax reform package businesses, and simplify the onerous was the Investing in Opportunity Act tax filing process. The bill was aimed (IIOA) to provide certain tax incentives at helping each and every American. If to spur economic investment in distressed you are a single mom, a family of four, communities around the country. This is a small business, or a large corporation a result of my friend Senator Tim Scott’s that employs thousands of workers, the tireless work in ensuring that every new tax law is for you. community in the Palmetto State and the Individuals and families will be able nation has access to thriving economic to take advantage of the nearly doubled opportunities. His vision for creating standard deduction, which the majority “Opportunity Zones” is innovative and of people in South Carolina utilize. will help areas in South Carolina that Further, the law doubles the child tax need it the most. credit and maintains popular provisions U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan In the congressional district I including the adoption tax credit, represent, 20 Opportunity Zones have medical expense deduction, charitable and investors to do more business been designated. These areas are rural contribution deduction, graduate student in the United States and bring back and distressed, but now have a chance at tuition waivers, and a modified mortgage overseas cash that was pushed out by an economic revitalization. Companies will deduction. All of these provisions along uncompetitive tax structure. Companies have confidence and incentive to open up with lower effective tax rates across the will plan for future investments and shop in these Opportunity Zones to create board will allow families to get ahead, growth opportunities, take more risks, jobs and bolster rural communities. This save for college, or plan for retirement. hire more workers here at home, and type of economic spark will bring life back Businesses of all sizes will also see raise wages to be competitive with other to these areas and provide opportunities phenomenal benefits of the new tax law. businesses in their field. that haven’t been available for quite some The law lowers the corporate tax rate from Even after just four months with time. Opportunity Zones will deliver job 35 percent, which was one of the highest the new law, the successes of tax cuts security, higher wages, and a thriving rates in the industrialized world, to a have already been experienced by the Main Street. much more competitive 21 percent. Small people of South Carolina. Individuals The costly and burdensome businesses are going to thrive as rates for and families are seeing more money in Obamacare individual mandate, which pass-through income are lowered and their paychecks, receiving bonuses or pay disproportionately hurts the middle more income can be written off. These raises, or receiving increased employer class, was repealed so individuals and changes will incentivize job creators benefits like paid leave or furthering (See Tax Relief, P. 4) 2 Volume 29, Number 1 Putting our energy into South Carolina’s future. sceg.com DEDICATED to a Better South Carolina Tax Relief ... (Continued from P. 2) families aren’t coerced into purchasing South Carolina’s government mandated insurance plans that don’t work for them. Although it 2018 Directory of County Officials was not a full repeal of the unsustainable healthcare law, the individual mandate South Carolina’s 2018 Directory of County Officials was repeal will give families the freedom and published and distributed in February. So, order a copy if you liberty to decide how best they handle want to know “Who’s Who” in South Carolina county govern- their health care. ment. The tax law also took a major step toward establishing energy independence The directory identi- for our nation by opening up land in fies all elected and ap- Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pointed county officials (ANWR) for energy exploration and in the state. This popular, production. As a supporter of an all-of- award-winning publica- the-above energy approach, I believe this tion also identifies SCAC’s is a critical piece of the puzzle to ensure America is a dominant leader in energy officers, board of directors production on the global stage, while also and corporate supporters; protecting the precious natural resources regional councils of gov- God has blessed us with. ernment; federal and state For too long, the American people officials; and state sena- saw their freedom diminishing and their tors and representatives. livelihood dwindling. The old tax code hindered people from getting ahead and Addresses and telephone stymied businesses from innovating and numbers are included for creating. But now, we have unleashed the all county officials, state American dream for millions of people officials and members of by fighting for and implementing a pro- the S.C. General Assembly. growth, pro-family tax plan that is all Cost: $25.00 per copy about higher wages, more jobs, and less government. This bill is going to put more (including tax, postage, shipping and handling). money in the pockets of those who truly need it—the ones who earned it. OTo order your copy of the 2018 Directory of County I am proud of the work we have Officials, please contact: done, and can’t wait to see how this law positively impacts our nation as the years go by.