By fitsnews – February 13, 2012
S.C. Rep. Chip Limehouse (RINO-Charleston) slipped a proviso into the state budget a week ago that would force city governments to turn over 35 percent of the fines and fees they collect from tickets issued on state-owned property to South Carolina’s general fund.
The inevitable result of this fee hike on local governments?
Higher parking rates at municipal lots and garages …
According to the Palmetto Public Record, Limehouse’s proviso would directly benefit … wait for it … Limehouse. Why? Because the rotund “Republican” owns a company that manages more than two dozen privately-owned parking facilities in Charleston, S.C.
Under the guise of routing more money into the state’s general fund, Limehouse is raising parking fees on his government competitors so that his company can reap a financial windfall. Don’t get us wrong … we believe government should get out of the parking lot business altogether, but that’s not what’s happening here. This is a powerful lawmaker imposing a new cost on his government competition – a cost he knows will be passed down to consumers.
In other words Limehouse isn’t getting government out of the parking lot business … he’s using his power to artificially inflate prices on everybody.
Ordinarily, such shamelessly self-serving behavior at the S.C. State House is accomplished in a much more round-about fashion … with powerful lawmakers like Limehouse delegating the drafting and insertion of these provisos to colleagues. Then they (usually) dutifully recuse themselves from voting on the measure given their “conflict of interest.”
Not here …
Limehouse drafted and inserted this proviso himself … and then cast the deciding vote to pass it out of a House budget subcommittee.
Amazing …
This is the second time in as many months that corruption in the Limehouse family has been exposed – although don’t hold your breath hoping that things are going to change.
This proviso may wind up being removed from the state budget in the short term given Limehouse’s scandalous behavior, but rest assured that it will be slipped back in again when no one is looking. More dishearteningly, Limehouse won’t ever be held accountable for his conduct, and “Republican” voters will continue nominating and electing him to office in perpetuity.
Meanwhile S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s “movement” – which was supposed to take government back on behalf of the taxpayers – won’t utter so much as a peep in protest.
That’s just how the system works here in South Carolina …
As we’ve noted previously, Limehouse is nothing but a stool pigeon for S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell (RINO- Charleston) – assisting him in promoting our state’s failed “higher educrat” approach to economic development (as well as covering up the scandals associated with that failure).
In other words, this little “Garage-gate” pales in comparison to the real damage he continues to do at the State House …
***
