FITSForum: Speak Up, South Carolina — Kill H. 5071 and Fix Our Roads

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

by JOE WHITE

***

There comes a moment when frustration is no longer enough. A moment when shaking your head and driving around another pothole must turn into something more. That moment is now.

If you live in South Carolina, you already know the truth. You feel it every day in your steering wheel, your suspension, and your wallet. You see it in the white crosses placed on the side of our rural roads.

South Carolina ranks 42nd in the nation in road quality.

We are number one in deaths and serious injuries on rural roads.

And what is your legislature doing about it?

They are pushing H. 5071.

***

Let me be clear: This bill does not fix our roads. Not one mile. Not one pothole. Not one dangerous curve.

Instead, it is a sprawling, five-part piece of legislation that pretends to be reform while avoiding the one thing that actually matters: accountability.

This bill claims to “reorganize” the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT). It does not. It shuffles boxes on an org chart, but it does not create a single clear line of accountability from the Governor to the Secretary to the people responsible for fixing your roads.

And without accountability, nothing changes.

I’ve spent three years digging into this system — from the top levels of leadership all the way down to the men and women tasked with fixing potholes. Here’s what I’ve learned:

No one is truly responsible. And when no one is responsible, nothing gets fixed.

***

RELATED | MORE EXPENSIVE FAILURE

***

Instead of fixing the problem, H. 5071 opens the door to more bureaucracy, more risk, and more burden on taxpayers.

This bill would…

• Create new bonding authority, including financial mechanisms that could expose the state retirement system.
• Expand public-private partnerships, allowing deals that can last up to 99 years—with limited accountability.
• Push us toward toll roads, HOV lanes and turnpikes while deemphasizing the roads you drive every day.
• Allow the state to dump so-called “non-essential” roads onto counties and municipalities.

Then it would tell those local governments: “figure it out — raise your own taxes.”

That means higher property taxes, higher millage rates, and more burden on local communities — all without solving the underlying problem.

Let’s call this what it is: a smorgasbord of new funding schemes, new risks, and new ways to shift responsibility — without fixing the roads.

***

***

Not one provision in this bill ensures SCDOT will actually do its job better tomorrow than it does today. Not one.

The solution we need is not complicated.

We do not need more money.

We do not need more programs.

We do not need more layers of government.

We need accountability.

Until that happens, nothing changes.

Accountability means a system where the Governor is responsible for results, the Secretary is directly accountable for performance, and every level of the Department knows exactly what it is responsible for — and is held to those responsibilities.

This is not just a legislative fight. This is your fight. If the people stay silent, this bill will pass. And when it does, nothing will change — except you’ll be paying more for the same broken system.

***

RELATED | S.C. ‘REPUBLICANS’ STILL REFUSE TO SUSPEND GAS TAX

***

Every South Carolinian needs to call their State Representative and call their State Senator. If you don’t know who represents you, click here to find out.

Tell them clearly and directly: “Do NOT vote for H. 5071.”

Then tell them why: “We don’t want new taxes. We don’t want more debt. We don’t want responsibility pushed down to counties. We want the roads fixed—and we want accountability.”

Finally, take it one step further: Call the candidates for Governor. Ask them one simple question: “What is your plan to fix our roads—and who will be accountable?”

South Carolina doesn’t have a road problem. We have a leadership problem. And until the people demand better, nothing will change.

So yes — this is the moment to speak up. This is the moment to push back. This is the moment to be heard.

Call. Email. Show up. Speak out.

Because if we don’t demand accountability now, we will be driving on these same broken roads five years from now.

So tell your representative and senator: Kill H. 5071. Insist on accountability. Fix our roads.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Joe White is a retired businessman and proud member of the S.C. Freedom Caucus who represents South Carolina House District 40 in the General Assembly.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.