Proposed $100 dollar cap on business licenses draws ire

A bill recently introduced by a Lexington County lawmaker that would cap business license fees at $100 dollars drew the ire yesterday of municipal leaders from Oconee and Pickens counties. But they were told by a state municipal official that the $100 dollar cap “isn’t going anywhere.” Nevertheless, House Bill 3490, in the view of Oconee Home Builders’ officer Russell Price, may serve as a negotiating point to make some changes that are costing members of his profession. Municipal leaders from Seneca, Westminster, Central, Six Mile, Easley and Clemson spoke of the devastating effect that the potential loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue could have on municipal budgets, impacting basic public services such as police and fire. Of them all, Seneca’s Greg Dietterick was, perhaps, the most blunt. The city administrator called for the state legislature to stay out of the cities’ business.