Promoting Business Growth Since the beginning of his administration, Governor Mark Sanford has been committed to bettering the economic soil conditions in South Carolina to encourage business growth and attract new industry to the state. By promoting legislative initiatives that further enhance the business-friendly environment, the Palmetto State has become even more competitive in attracting record numbers of jobs and capital investment. This has been made evident by the growing number of companies choosing to invest in South Carolina – including Boeing, Starbucks, Google and adidas®, just to name a few. Efforts have been made to improve the state’s business climate through substantive tort and workers’ compensation systems, income tax relief, more affordable health insurance and enhancing various incentive programs.
• Tort Reform: Protecting Businesses against Frivolous Lawsuits • In 2005, a bill was signed into law which implemented the first ever reforms to South Carolina’s tort-liability system. The bill limited frivolous litigation, put caps on medical malpractice and ended the practice of venue shopping. • Providing Stability to the Workers’ Comp System • The workers’ compensation reform bill was signed in 2007 to stop increasing insurance rates and to inject predictability and consistency into the state’s system. •
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he reform included abolishment of the T Second Injury Fund, stronger language for costly “repetitive trauma” claims and stricter requirements for medical expert testimony.