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Our Issues
What issues does the League focus on?
2008-2009 action items.
Green buildings.
Public school finance.
Other positions.
Recommended Study.
State positions.
National positions.
Below is the 2008-2009 program of the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area, as adopted at the annual meeting held on May 15, 2008. Members voted to adopt a new program on May 21, 2009, and this will be added shortly.
I. Action
A. Citizen Participation in Government - Apply at the local level the basic principles of good government as supported by LWVUS:
B. Public Transportation - Advocate citizen oversight and actively support plans to review and expand regional public transportation services emphasizing:
C. Regional Planning
D. Public Health
- Promote access to health information and care.
- Provide access to medically accurate, age appropriate, comprehensive sexuality education.
- Advocate for local ordinances or state legislation to promote smoke-free environments in workplaces and other public places including restaurants and bars
Public health resources
E. Criminal Justice
II. Local Study on Green Buildings
(second year of two-year study)
- Determine the costs, benefits, and feasibility of adopting green standards for public schools in South Carolina, particularly in the tri-county area as a means of saving money and improving student and teacher performance.
Action could include:
III. New Local Position on Public School Finance
Adopted by LWVCA Board August 1, 2007
The members of the LWVCA believe that the fiscal constraints imposed by the 2006 Property Tax Valuation Reform Act of 2006 jeopardize the ability of South Carolina school districts to provide every child, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability or economic status with the opportunity for an excellent education.
The LWVCA supports amendments to the Property Tax Valuation Reform Act of 2006:
a) to expand the reasons why voters in local school districts may override the millage cap to meet unexpected expenses and provide opportunities that its residents want for their children.
b) to allow school districts and local governments to seek alternative methods of raising and distributing revenue.
The LWVCA supports action by the S.C. General Assembly to:
a) assure timely flow of state funds to school districts so as to minimize their need to borrow money.
b) fully fund all State-mandated expenses, in particular teacher pay raises
c) conduct a comprehensive review of State education fiscal policy and redesign a funding system in which: allocation formulas are aligned with the actual costs of educating children to high standards; the greatest resources are targeted to the areas of greatest need; and resources are sufficient to provide the opportunity for every child to receive a quality education.
Action on behalf of this position will include:
IV. Other Positions
The League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area supports:
- Continued equalization programs for assessment of property in Charleston County
- Consolidation of city/county government services
- The Council-Administrator system of government in Charleston County
- Comprehensive county library systems
- Implementation of home rule
- Solid waste management/recycling programs and education on benefits of source reduction; coordination with other local organizations
- Programs for children at risk, with emphasis on early intervention regarding teen-age pregnancy, violence, and youth programs and facilities at tax-supported and other licensed sites
- A consolidated Charleston County School District in which:
- Every child has the opportunity for an excellent education.
- The role of the District Board of Trustees is to set policy and standards for achievement in the District.
- The Superintendent of Schools implements policy established by the Board of Trustees and is accountable to the Trustees to meet the established standards.
Recommended Study: Drug Laws and Policies in South Carolina
- The LWVCA is looking for volunteers to help with the study. We are recruiting both League members and non-members. Please read more about this opportunity and contact Sharon Fratepietro at #670-3077 if you are interested.
Study Proposal: Determine how the U.S. drug prohibition policy affects drug use and drug-related crime in South Carolina; the resulting monetary costs and collateral damage; and what alternatives may be more effective.
Rationale and History: Alcohol prohibition lasted only 13 years before it ended as a failed policy. Drug prohibition began in 1914 with the Harrison Narcotic Tax Act, and the present War on Drugs became a major U.S. policy in 1974. Since then over 37 million people have been arrested for drug offenses, and today the U.S. incarcerates more of its own citizens than any other country in the world. U.S. federal and state governments spend billions of taxpayer dollars annually on drug crop eradication from South America to South Carolina, on the interdiction of drugs into the U.S. and our state, and on the arrest, trail and incarceration of drug users and sellers. Massive increases in public expenditures have not altered rates of drug use. Drug dealer violence is an everyday occurrence in most American communities because the black market status of drugs creates the opportunity for illegal drug deals to financially profit from providing them.
The LWVSC and LWVUS do not have positions per se on drug laws. The LWVSC does have positions advocating for alternatives to incarceration for non-violent crimes, and the decriminalization of victimless crimes as a means of reducing prison populations. Drug policy studies have been done by the Texas and Hawaii Leagues in 2005 & 2008 respectively.
Study Purpose and Objectives: Educate members of the LWVCA about the goals and effects of drug prohibition by federal, state and local governments. Investigate alternatives policies. Educate the community by inviting public participation in our study. Reach a consensus on an LWV position on the issue, and use it to affect local and state drug policies.
Study Content: Review and evaluate (1) the history of drug laws in SC; (2) the effects of current laws and policies governing the sale and use of illegal drugs, including their effects on young people, African Americans, and the general public; (3) medical care and public health; (4) the social and economic costs of relying on prohibition, law enforcement, and incarceration to counter drug use and sales; and (5) possible alternatives to current policies.
Study Chair: Sharon Fratepietro, contact at #670-3077
State Positions
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina (LWVSC) adopts its program at its convention held in odd-numbered years. The entire current program of LWVSC can be found here.
For more specific discussion of certain positions, please see:
National Positions
The League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) adopts program at its convention held in even-numbered years. The entire current program of LWVUS can be found here.
For more specific discussion of these positions, please see:
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Last revised: November 16, 2009 17:34 PST.
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League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area, South Carolina. All rights reserved.
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