The board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce has endorsed two legislative initiatives currently under consideration by the S.C. General Assembly.

The chamber has gone on record supporting both a cigarette tax increase to fund the state's Medicaid program and statutory employment-at-will legislation. It says are both critical to the economic development and business climate of the county and state.

"A cigarette tax is a steady and reliable revenue stream to fund the Medicaid match," OCCC President David Coleman said. "The ... match is important; ... we don't want to lose it."

Medicaid is the nation's safety net for health care for low-income Americans. The federal government will match each dollar appropriated in state funding with $3 of federal funding.

Because of $80 million in funding shortfalls in the state's Medicaid program, federal matching money is at risk.

The issue, Coleman said, is crucial, particularly in light of the number of individuals who rely on Medicaid funding.

Coleman said the latest numbers reveal about half of the babies born and 75 percent of people in nursing homes receive Medicaid assistance. Hospitals, too, will often write off about 50 percent of costs with 17 percent of those attributed to Medicaid.

Under-funding of the program traditionally results in cost shifting to patients covered by employer-sponsored health plans and other private, paying patients. The pressure on insurance providers has often resulted in double-digit premium increases.

The utilization of an increased user fee on tobacco products is deemed the logical source of funding to match Medicaid since the state is well below the national average for user fees on tobacco products.

Currently, South Carolina has the third-lowest cigarette tax in the nation, and the tax has not been raised in 25 years. The proposed 53-cents-per-pack increase would raise $150 million a year for Medicaid.

While the tax garnered little support from former Gov. Jim Hodges, Gov. Mark Sanford has said he would support a cigarette tax, but only if it were paired with a tax cut, preferably income tax.

Following approval by the Senate Finance Committee, the issue currently resides with the Medical Affairs Committee.

Beyond this, Coleman said the tax increase is most likely to have a positive effect -- seeing a reduction in cigarette smoking for younger smokers who might be more sensitive to any cost increase.

Opponents have been quick to point out that a tax hike does not necessarily mean a reduction in smoking.

Employment-at-will

Among the chamber's other concerns is the enactment of Senate Bill, H.3448, which ensures the employment-at-will doctrine is preserved in the state.

The bill states that if an employee and employer do not have a contract, then either party, the employee or employer, has the right to sever the relationship.

It further stipulates that no handbook issued by an employer would form a contract, either explicit or implicit, of employment.

Contracts created following the approval of the bill would be valid under employment-at-will if the contract is in writing, signed and dated by both employee and employer, and both parties agree to alter their at-will relationship.

The bill, which was introduced Jan. 29, went through the House with relative ease before experiencing a filibuster in the Senate. Orangeburg Sen. Brad Hutto was joined by fellow Democratic Sens. Kay Patterson of Columbia, John Land of Clarendon County and Phil Leventis of Sumter in the filibuster.

In a March phone interview with The Times and Democrat, Hutto, a chamber member, raised concerns that the bill would essentially make employee handbooks functionless and easily susceptible to violation.

Furthermore, Hutto said, fear has already arisen among a few regarding how the law would affect tenure rights, and how it would address employees in organized labor and those on the lower end of the wage-earning scale.

Initially, the bill failed to address these issues. Amendments, however, stipulate that the law cannot infringe on the rights of an employee who refuses to perform any illegalities or the rights regarding tenured university and college faculty.

On Wednesday, Hutto once again stressed he is "all for employment-at-will" and said the amendments in place do "contain the framework of compromise."

"It does seem to address a lot of the concerns that were raised earlier," Hutto said. "It preserves the right of workers in higher education, ... and it preserves the rights of workers that receive any type of handbook. On the surface, it addresses that."

The bill currently resides in the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee and is set to be brought before the Senate for third and final reading. When this will occur is uncertain.

Coleman said the court ruling in the 1987 case of Smalls vs. Springs Industries Inc. set the precedent that a handbook has never served as a contract.

Continuing, Coleman said the doctrine of employment-at-will has governed employee-employer relations for decades, but he feels that recently it has experienced erosion through court decisions.

One of the concerns is that the judicial system is creating exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine in an evolving, case-by-case manner.

"Passage of employment-at-will legislation will resolve much of the current confusion regarding the employee-employer relationship and allow South Carolina to have a favorable climate for economic development that benefits all of our citizens," he said.

OCCC Chairperson Cathy Hughes expressed her agreement and said when issues of concern arise affecting businesses throughout the county, the chamber will continue to give voice to this sector.

"The chamber, through its division of public affairs, recognizes its responsibility to take positions on issues when it is warranted, and the board feels that both of these issues are worth our attention," Hughes said.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551.

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