islandpacket.com - The Island Packet Online

• Archive Search

Search Everything in the Lowcountry and the Coastal Empire.

Davis, Fletcher take on annexation, insurance and property tax issues

Comment on this | | | | | | | |

BEAUFORT -- The two candidates for state Senate District 46 offered a clear contrast of conservative and liberal views on several legislative issues Tuesday at a forum on Lady's Island.

About 40 people attended the forum in which the candidates, Beaufort Republican Tom Davis and Bluffton Democrat Kent Fletcher, addressed questions on municipal annexations, coastal insurance costs and property tax disparities.

Annexation

Fletcher said annexation laws should give non-property owners a role in the petition process because annexations affect more than just property owners. He opposes a push by the Municipal Association of South Carolina to relax annexation petition requirements.

Davis identified three problems: County governments don't have legal standing to challenge potentially illegal annexations; developers play local governments against each other by shopping for the most favorable zoning; and a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed annexations of noncontiguous land by line of sight. Davis said a five-year waiting period before landowners could act on new zoning within a newly annexed area will break the spiral of zoning shopping and promote intergovernmental cooperation. Legislation also should be adopted that overrules the Supreme Court's line-of-sight annexation ruling.

Rep. Bill Herbkersman,

R-Bluffton, sponsored two bills in 2007 to do what Davis proposed. Neither bill left committee.

Insurance

Davis said he supports the package of incentive-based, free-market insurance reforms proposed by Department of Insurance director and former state senator Scott Richardson. The package was approved in 2007 and needs more time to work, Davis said.

Fletcher said that the unregulated private, for-profit system led to $3.60 per gallon gas and, for some insurance companies, 20 percent profits with 1 percent losses.

Property taxes

A wide-reaching state property tax relief law that took effect in 2007 has given rise to huge disparities in property taxation. Part of the law triggers instant property value reassessments tied to the sale price of homes when they change hands Historically, the assessed values of homes are significantly lower than the fair market values, meaning under the new system, new property owners are likely to pay disproportionately more in property taxes than longtime property owners.

Fletcher said a balance must be found to address the disparity.

Davis said the point-of-sale provision must be eliminated and that it was an unforeseen consequence of the tax relief law.

Fletcher, 33, is the underdog in the race as a political newcomer and a Democrat. Republicans have held the seat since 1993. Fletcher is a former Marine Corps lieutenant and works in enrollment at the University of Phoenix campus in Savannah.

Davis, 48, is a real estate and business attorney with the Harvey & Battey firm in Beaufort, and Gov. Mark Sanford's former chief of staff. Davis ousted the incumbent senator, fellow Beaufort Republican Catherine Ceips, in the June primaries.

One of Davis' top issues is the Jasper Ocean Terminal, which officials hope to bring online in 2014. The new port will have a "transformational" effect on the region's economy and has been an issue Davis worked on through the governor's office.

"If there's one reason I want to go to the Senate, it's to see through politically what I worked on administratively," Davis said.

Senate District 46 covers all of southern Beaufort County as well as Beaufort, Port Royal, Lady's Island, parts of Burton, parts of St. Helena Island, Dataw Island, Hunting Island, Harbor Island and Fripp Island. Election day is Nov. 4.

The Lady's Island Business and Professional Association hosted the morning forum.

| | | | | | |