Advocacy might conclude with legislative action taken by the General Assembly impacting South Carolina's cities and towns, but it begins with leaders in each community expressing what challenges their local governments face and what would help.
For this purpose, the Municipal Association of South Carolina hosts 10 Regional Advocacy Meetings around the state from mid-August to September each year. These meetings give local leaders a chance to learn about what happened in the past legislative session and what issues are likely to emerge in the next session. The meetings also play a role in identifying key initiatives for the Association's legislative team for the upcoming year.
"It's critical for elected officials and city staff to use these meetings to get their local issues heard, but the exciting part for us is that they don't share just their challenges, they also get to share their ideas on what potential solutions might be available through statewide legislation as well," said Tiger Wells, the Association's director of governmental affairs.
Since these regional advocacy meetings will take place in the middle of a two-year legislative session, there will be plenty to talk about. Each meeting begins at 11 a.m. and concludes by 1 p.m. with lunch included. The locations are organized to include one session in each council of governments region, but officials may attend any session even when it is not in their home region.
There is no charge for the meetings, but registration is required for an accurate head count for lunch and handouts.
- August 13 – The Arts Center of Greenwood, City of Greenwood
- August 14 – Myrtle Beach Train Depot, City of Myrtle Beach
- August 15 – Goose Creek Fire Department, City of Goose Creek
- August 20 – Beaufort City Hall Conference Center, City of Beaufort
- August 21 – North Augusta Municipal Building, City of North Augusta
- August 22 – Mauldin Cultural Center, City of Mauldin
- August 27 – Bean Market Museum, City of Lake City
- August 28 – Sumter City Centre, City of Sumter
- August 29 – Rock Hill Operations Center, City of Rock Hill
- September 4 – Lexington Municipal Complex, Town of Lexington
For more information, contact Ashleigh Hair at ahair@masc.sc or 803.933.1288.