2008 SC Constitutional Amendment Questions

League of Women Voters^®
of the Charleston Area

Amendment 1: age of consent. Amendment 2: State government post-employment benefits. Amendment 3: Local government post-employment benefits.

The League of Women Voters wants to make the PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS be more easily understood by the voters of South Carolina. The below amendment explanations have been developed by, and are used with the permission of, the League of Women Voters of South Carolina.

The League of Women Voters only supports or opposes issues that our members have studied and reached consensus on. We have not taken positions for or against these proposed amendments.

Amendment 1: Age of Consent

Question on the ballot:

Must Section 33, Article III of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to delete the provision that no unmarried woman shall legally consent to sexual intercourse who shall not have attained the age of fourteen years?

Yes [] No []

Explanation of the above:

The age of consent is the age at which a young person is legally able to understand and agree to consensual sex. The South Carolina Constitution sets the age of consent at 14. Only two states have consent this low. This amendment deletes the section of the Constitution that says an unmarried woman must be fourteen years old or older in order to consent to sexual intercourse. Deleting this section would allow the state legislature to set the age of consent. Currently, the state legislature has the age of consent set at 16 for most cases.

A "YES" vote means the voter supports amending the South Carolina Constitution by deleting the age of consent of 14 and leaving it to the Legislature to determine the age of consent by state law, presumably to raise it to 16 or 18.

A "NO" vote means the voter opposes amending the South Carolina Constitution and wants to leave the section of the Constitution in place.

Amendment 2: State Government Post-Employment Benefits

Question on the ballot:

Must Section 16, Article X of the Constitution of this State relating to benefits and funding of public employee pension plans in this State and the investments allowed for funds of the various state-operated retirement systems be amended so as to provide that the funds of any trust fund established by law for the funding of post-employment benefits for state employees and public school teachers may be invested and reinvested in equity securities subject to the same limitations on such investments applicable for the funds of the various state-operated retirement systems?

Yes [] No []

Explanation of the above:

Post-employment benefits are benefits (mainly health insurance) provided to eligible state government and school district retirees. To comply with a change in the accounting standards, the state has created trust funds to pay for these post-employment benefits. This ballot question relates to how the money in these trust funds can be invested. In 2002, voters decided that the state retirement system could invest in equities/stocks. In 2006, voters decided that the state retirement system could invest in international equities.

A "YES" vote means the voter supports amending the South Carolina Constitution to allow these post-employment benefits to be invested in the same way that the state retirement system can invest. It would broaden investment options in hope of earning a higher rate of return.

A "NO" vote means the voter opposes amending the South Carolina Constitution to allow state government to invest these funds in any kind of equity securities (stocks).

Amendment 3: Local Government Post-Employment Benefits

Question on the ballot:

Must Section 16, Article X of the Constitution of this State relating to benefits and funding of public employee pension plans in this State and the investments allowed for funds of the various stateoperated retirement systems be amended so as to provide that the funds of any political subdivision of this State that have been set aside for the funding of post-employment benefits for the political subdivision's employees, including those invested in independent trusts established for that purpose, may be invested or reinvested in equity securities of the type permitted for investment by the various state operated retirement systems, as provided for by the General Assembly?

Yes [] No []

Explanation of the above:

Post-employment benefits are benefits (mainly health insurance) provided to eligible local government retirees. To comply with a change in the accounting standards, local governments have created trust funds to pay for these post-employment benefits. This ballot question relates to how the money in these trust funds can be invested. In 2002, voters decided that the state retirement system could invest in equities/stocks. In 2006, voters decided that the state retirement system could invest in international equities. This amendment is the same as Amendment 2 except it applies to local governments' post-employment benefits (instead of the state government's post-employment benefits).

A "YES" vote means the voter supports amending the South Carolina Constitution to allow these post-employment benefits to be invested in the same way as the retirement system. It would broaden investment options in hope of earning a higher rate of return.

A "NO" vote means the voter opposes amending the South Carolina Constitution to allow state government to invest these funds in any kind of equity securities (stocks).

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: November 16, 2009 17:34 PST.