This bill establishes the Taxation Realignment Commission (TRAC) created to study SC's tax system structure and provide recommendations to the General Assembly by March 15, 2010. The commission’s report must be a detailed, comprehensive careful evaluation of the following:

(a) sales and use tax exemptions or limitations to be retained, modified, or repealed;

(b) assessment of state and local taxes levied and other provisions affecting state and local revenue to fund the operation and responsibilities of state and local government; and

(c) any fee, fine, license, forfeiture, or other funds.

Commission members shall not receive information regarding the business of the commission from a lobbyist except through formal presentation to the commission at a meeting called in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. A lobbyist is subject to a misdemeanor offense and penalties for a violation.

TRAC must submit progress reports twice a year to the Chairmen of Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees and may continue to study identified subjects and make further legislative recommendations until January 1, 2011, at which time it shall be dissolved.

Commissioners by Appointment:

Governor - Ken Wingate, CPA, JD, Sweeny, Wingate & Barrow PA and Brian Moody, CPA, Moody CPAs and Advisors

Senator Glenn McConnell - Don Weaver, Prime Financial Services

Senator Harvey Peeler - Ben Kochenower, CPA, Cline Brandt Kochenower & Company

Senator John Land - Charles S. Way Jr., The Beach Company

Senator Hugh Leatherman - Burnet Maybank, JD, Nexsen Pruet (Chair)

Speaker Harrell - Jimmy Addison, SCANA Corporation and Jack Shuler, ArborOne Financial

Chairman Dan Cooper - Kenneth Cosgrove, Piedmont Petroleum Corporation and Bob Steelman, Michelin North America Inc.

DOR Director (ex officio) - Ray Stevens

The legislation establishes a study committee within the Department of Health and Environmental Control to develop recommendations for a regionally organized and statewide comprehensive plan for stroke systems of care. The DHEC Board shall appoint the members and the chairperson of this committee. The study committee shall be composed of one physician actively involved in stroke care from the field of neurology, neuroradiology, neurosurgery, pediatrics, emergency medicine, rehabilitation medicine, internal medicine, cardiology and one emergency medical services provider. In addition the committee will also include one registered nurse, a licensed physical therapist, a physician or representative of an organization actively involved in addressing minority health issues, a representative of the South Carolina Hospital Association and American Stroke Association, an administrator of an acute stroke rehabilitation facility, the Deputy Commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Health Services Division, and the director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Emergency Medical Services. The committee members shall serve without mileage, per diem and subsistence. The study committee shall submit its report electronically to the General Assembly and the Governor no later than December 1, 2010, at which point it will dissolve.

This legislation revises insurance provisions to bring them into compliance with the accreditation standards of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners which allow South Carolina’s insurance provisions to enjoy reciprocity with those of other states. The bill enacts provisions requiring certain insurers to file a statement of actuarial opinion and actuarial opinion summary annually and provide for the confidentiality of these documents. 

It also revises provisions relating to the revocation or suspension of license of an insurer and its officers and agents for the publication of the notice, so as to provide a procedure for an aggrieved insurer to request a hearing before the director or his designee and provide recourse through judicial review. The legislation redefines the term "company action level event" and revises provisions relating to approval for acquisition of a domestic insurer by a controlling producer in another state.

The "Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2009" revises state statutory requirements for issuers of group health insurance under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), by including the treatment of substance use disorders within mental health parity provisions which require insurance plan benefits and treatment limitations to be no more restrictive for the treatment of mental health conditions than for the treatment of physical conditions. The bill became law without the Governor’s signature on June 3.

This law expands the types of data to be collected for the Alzheimer’s Disease Registry. The registry is authorized to conduct follow-back studies, prospective studies of the progression and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, and research on caregiving for individuals with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder, on services used by individuals with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder, and on causes of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders that examines risks associated with area of residence. Caregivers must provide informed consent to participate in research.