The Municipal Association’s 2024 Hometown Legislative Action Day is coming up February 6 at the Marriott Columbia, providing a time for city and town officials from all over the state to receive updates on legislative issues and connect with their local delegation at the State House. The next day, the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government will host numerous sessions at the Marriott.
In a recent podcast previewing HLAD, Municipal Association Executive Director Todd Glover talked about the importance of city leaders showing up in large numbers to connect with their representatives at the State House, emphasizing both the importance of cities to the South Carolina economy and their residents’ needs.
The same podcast had Association General Counsel Eric Shytle previewing an HLAD session “Act 57 – What You Need to Know to Bring More Affordable Housing to Your Community.” Signed into law in 2023, Act 57 allows municipalities to use a portion of their state and local accommodations taxes to develop workforce housing.
Also contributing to the economic development theme at HLAD, Laura Dawson Ullrich, senior regional economist at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, will explain the economic outlook for 2024, and how cities can use that information in their budget planning. Dr. Scott Huffmon of Winthrop University’s Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research, meanwhile, will deliver a political outlook for 2024.
Parking and shuttle service
In recent years, finding parking at the Marriott in Columbia has become more difficult during HLAD, and this year, the City of Columbia will not have designated parking for the event.
Attendees who do not have a hotel room at the Marriott can park their vehicles in the new parking garage next to Segra Park in the BullStreet District. The address for the parking garage is 1575 Freed St., seen on the map below. A complimentary shuttle will run from the garage to the Marriott on February 6 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Plan to arrive early to allow extra time to get from the remote garage to the Marriott.
Some attendees may wish to seek parking in one of the other downtown parking facilities listed on this map, subject to availability and associated parking fees.
For those registered for the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government sessions on Wednesday, February 7, remote parking and a shuttle will not be provided. The group is smaller, and parking downtown should be easier at the hotel or one of the locations on the map. Attendees will be responsible for parking fees.
The Municipal Association is working on hosting future HLAD and MEO sessions at a new location, which will hopefully eliminate this problem.
Download the app
The Municipal Association app isn’t just for events, but it does offer plenty of HLAD information. Through the app, users can view the meeting agenda and decide on which of the concurrent sessions they want to attend. The app also gives users information on speakers, attendees and sponsors.
Download the app from Google Play and the App Store.
Stay in the know with From the Dome to Your Home
Beyond HLAD, there are some other steps city and town officials can also take to keep up with what’s happening at the State House, including by subscribing to From the Dome to Your Home, the Association’s weekly legislative report delivered by email every Friday during the session. There’s also a From the Dome to Your Home podcast taking a deeper dive into legislative action as it happens.