The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-03-17
SESSION BROUGHT
MANY NEW LAWS
REVENUE PRINCIPAL TOPIC OF
LEGISLATION
Two of Series of Bills Killed by
Senate-Other Important
Acts Passed
The State, 13.

ternoon was at once one of the long
est and busiest of any meetings OF
the state legislature in recent years.
The session was extended 20 days
bevond the regular 40 day limit, both
houses being occupied with business
of Importance up to the closing hours.
The recasting of the tax program OF
the state was the chief problem fac
ing the legislature, as the members
of the two houses saw it, and 1t was to
the ACCOMPLISHMENTS of this end that
the greater portion Of the time and
thought of the members of the two
houses was directed.
The session of 1921, the 74th gen.
eral assembly's first session, was con-
spicuously barren as compared with
the session of 1922, just ended, but 1t
saw the launching in the house Of the
tax reform program. The session OF
1922 opened with practically the en-
tire tax burden of the state borne by
visible, tangible property. The ses-
sion closed yesterday with 40 per
cent of the this burden shifted to
other sources as a result of the action
of the two houses in passing i've OF
the seven new revenue measures CIV
en- consideration during the 60 days
of the session. These new measures
are the domestic corporation license
tax, the income tax, the inheritance
tax and the gasoline tax.
Two Tax Bills Killed
Two other tax measures, the hydro
electric tax bill and the luxury tax
bill, were killed by the senate after
passage by the lower house, while the
Sapp resolution, providing for the
amendment of the state constitution
10 empower the general assembly to
fix a just and equitable system OF
raising the state revenues, was lost
on the senate calendar, being contln-
ned along with the other bills which
+be upner house was unable to reach
and pass in tie closing hours of the
session. The companion resolution to
this, also introduced by Representa-
tive Sapp, was lost on the house cal
endar. the absence Of so many mem
bers during the last two weeks Of the
session making it practically impossl-
BILE to secure the needed constitution
al two-thirds majority in favor of the
measure.
The estimated revenues expected to
be derived by the various new reve-
nue measures this year are: Income
tax, s1,OOo,000; gasoline tax, $780,
600. and the two corporation tax
measures, S125,0O0. The inheritance
tax will produce but little return this
wear. but is expected to be felt to
considerably larger extent IN the
years to follow.
The luxuries tax, killed in the sem
ate, was expected to give an annual
return of between S1,500,00o and ST.
100000, while revenues to be derived
from the hydro-electric tax, twice
killed by the upper house, were v2ri-
ously estimated at s150,00O and
S300,000 annually.
Many Other New Laws
Other measures of more than usual
Importance enacted during the ses-
sion include the 55 hour textile law,
the railroad and public service COM
mission consolidation law, the bill en-
larging the powers Of the consohdat-
ed railroad commission with reference
to public utilities, the telephone rate
reducing bill, the bill preventing the
use of cutouts on motor vehicles on
the roads of the state, the bank SLAM
der law, the 1922 code bill, the Ger
aid street car arbitration bill, the bill
TO reapportion the representatives IN
the general assembly, the Wells tax
extension resolution, the cotton stan
dards act. the McInnes act to repeal
to the anti-tipping law.
A series Of bills to provide for bien-
nial sessions Of the general assembly
and for four year terms Of office for
state officers was killed overwhelming
ly in the house, while the Sellers bill
to abolish free scholarships in state in
stitutions of higher learning and the
Leopard bill to create board of state
chiropractic examiners also met their
death at the hands of the lower body