The South Carolina Supreme Court has decided not to determine the constitutionality – at least not yet – of a law that gives the state Department of Transportation the authority to decide where visitors to Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Edisto and Folly Beach can park on state-owned roads and how much, if anything, they’ll have to pay.
In December 2022, The Palm Republic, an organization launched by former IOP Mayor Jimmy Carroll and current IOP Council Member Blair Hahn, asked that the case concerning S.40 go directly to the state’s highest court. In a terse statement released Jan. 12 of this year, the Supreme Court turned down that request: “Petitioner asks this Court to hear this matter in our original jurisdiction. Respondents oppose the petition. We deny the petition for original jurisdiction.”
The Palm Republic, which was established in March 2022, after S. 40 was passed by the State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster, will refile the case in Charleston County District Court, according to Hahn.
“That just adds three to four years to the process,” he stated. “But 80% of the cases asked to be heard directly by the Supreme Court are turned down. You can ask the Supreme Court to take any case as original jurisdiction, and you expect the case would end up there anyway. But because it concerned constitutionality, in my opinion, it was ripe for them to take it.”
A response on the Palm Republic’s website to the Supreme Court’s action noted that “no ruling was made as to the merits of our claim or the violation of the South Carolina Constitution by S.40.”
Hahn said the Palm Republic tried to get beach communities along the South Carolina coast to work with the organization in its efforts to overturn S.40.
“I’ve spoken to multiple municipalities. They’re all afraid of retribution by SCDOT, so we’re going to go it alone,” he commented.
A statement on the Palm Republic’s website said: “The Palm Republic will refile in Circuit Court and continue to demand that our Legislature follow the Constitution that they are sworn to uphold. This is about the safety of all that live, play and visit our beaches. As is consistent with our Constitution, it is the local government entities, the municipalities, that are best suited to make decisions concerning local issues and provide a safe environment for everyone.”
In addition to the parking aspect of S. 40, the Palm Republic also is upset about SCDOT’s decision to re-stripe the Isle of Palms Connector without input from the city. Late last year, the Department of Transportation presented the IOP Council with five possible options to again change the configuration of the lanes on the Connector.
According to Hahn, the Palm Republic now has 26 “signers.”