The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce is standing up for Legal Reform in the State of South Carolina. A top priority of the 2024 Public Policy agenda is to improve the business climate by enacting law on fair share liability.
S.533, titled The South Carolina Justice Act, modernizes the way South Carolina’s liability laws work to ensure businesses are only responsible for paying damages equivalent to their share of fault in civil lawsuits.
Here’s the advocacy position letter to the delegates in our region:
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To: Members of the Beaufort Delegation
Re: 2024 Public Policy Agneda & S.533 Justice Act
Dear Members of the Beaufort Delegation,
Thank you for your service in the SC Senate and House of Representatives. The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce looks forward to meaningful progress during Legislative Session that will support the people who live and work in Beaufort and conduct business here to enhance economic prosperity for all.
Included in this packet is the 2024 Public Policy Agenda compiled by our Chamber. Within, you will find several issues that are of importance to our business community, and hopefully, to you too. Please let us know if there is an opportunity to discuss this agenda, or a single issue, further. Our collective voice wants to be heard. We represent a strong sector of community leaders that employ residents and generate opportunity for our region. Your leadership supports them and this community. We welcome the chance to work together and make a difference.
Also on the Public Policy Agenda, you will see that our highest priority is advocating for legal reform as the current system allows skyrocketing insurance liabilities. On behalf of the South Carolina business community, we urge you to support S. 533, the SC Justice Act. The proposed bill would alleviate mounting insurance costs that unfairly inhibit local businesses, especially those in the hospitality, tricking, and construction industries.
The justice system in South Carolina creates this growing financial burden through lawsuits that are unduly maximizing payouts even when a business, individual, or non-profit is responsible for a minor share of the problem.
South Carolina has a long and proud tradition of allowing private sector employers to run their businesses without excessive government interference. However, governmental involvement is required in this case to remove the loopholes created by our legal system and show existing employers and prospective companies that South Carolina is a destination for businesses.