Horry roads referendum RIDE 3 has county-wide appeal
General elections often have important public policy questions, “down ballot” matters, following the races for president, U.S. senator, state legislators, county and school officials, and this surely is the case Tuesday for Horry County voters and the RIDE 3 referendum. The outcome will determine if any significant road improvements will happen in the coming years.
The nonpartisan question clearly deserves approval, which will re-impose a special one percent (one penny) sales tax that will produce $532 million and expire after eight years. Contrary to some misinformation circulating in places around the county, and general misunderstanding, these are accurate facts about the referendum.
Why is a sales tax necessary when we have state and federal motor fuel taxes – user taxes designed to pay for highways? The South Carolina motor fuel tax is one of the lowest in the United States and has not been increased for three decades. The General Assembly and the Congress have been more than reluctant to increase these gasoline taxes and the political reality is that legislative bodies have nil interest in doing so. They are, to a degree, trapped in “no tax increases” attitudes.
The S.C. General Assembly has instead allowed counties to impose a one-cent sales and use tax, and that has paid for new highways such as S.C. 31 and S.C. 22. The sales tax imposed for RIDE 2 expired in May, after seven years. All folks spending money for retail goods other than food have had a break from the additional penny of tax for roads. Approval of RIDE 3 will re-impose the penny, effective May 2017, and it will be sunsetted, meaning it will expire in eight years.
Of course, area residents pay the sales tax, as do tourists. It’s misleading to suggest that tourists alone will pay for new road improvements. It’s difficult to determine how much nonresidents will pay, but it will be a lot, around half of the $532 million. By the way, a sales tax is based solely on retail cost, not personal income. It is true that sales taxes are regressive, costing wealthy buyers the same as others.
Why should every place in Horry County pay additional sales tax for Myrtle Beach road improvements? The improvements outlined in the referendum – they are listed on the ballot in detail, by Horry County Council district – will pave 100 miles of dirt roads, resurface 66 miles of county roads and widen S.C. 9 east of Loris.
Other proposed improvements will extend S.C. 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway) to the S.C./N.C. state line and widen a dangerous two-lane stretch of Carolina Forest Boulevard. Extending S.C. 31 to North Carolina will greatly reduce congestion on S.C. 90 and U.S. 17 in Little River.
RIDE is the acronym for Road Improvement & Development Effort. Many voters are familiar with the tremendous benefits area residents have from RIDE 1 and RIDE 2. People who drive the Carolina Bays Parkway may not know what a trip to Myrtle Beach was like on U.S. 17.
Some voters may be put off by the two pages of detail on 20 road improvements on Tuesday’s ballot. We urge all voters to stay on focus to the end of the ballot – and mark YES for continued road improvements for all of Horry County.
This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Horry roads referendum RIDE 3 has county-wide appeal."