SPEAKING FREELY ABOUT GIL GATCH REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR HOUSE DISTRICT 94

One in a series of posts about our republican opponents in november

In the tidal wave of bad legislation that flows out of Columbia every session, two
bills stand out as particularly harmful. Gil Gatch, the House District 94
Republican running for a fourth term, is at the center of both.

One is the latest Republican push to strip women of any possibility to control
their own reproductive health. This bill, which Gatch co-sponsored, would have
classified mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV controlled substances.
Anyone possessing these medications without a prescription, or using them to
obtain an abortion, would be facing up to five years in prison and a $100,000
fine. The bill is meant to intimidate doctors, women, pharmacists, and others
seeking access to these medications.

The bill creates a vague cause of civil action permitting anyone supposedly
impacted by their use to sue manufacturers, distributors, and providers for
damages if the use of the two drugs results in “harm.”

Once classified as controlled substances, these drugs would be more difficult
for everyone to obtain, such as those suffering from postpartum hemorrhage,
miscarriage, stomach ulcers, and Cushing’s Syndrome.

In his zeal to outlaw abortion, Gatch can’t be bothered to consider how his bill
would impact thousands of South Carolinians who need the drugs for diverse
reasons.

Fortunately, the bill failed in the Senate, so it is not yet law. But Gatch will be
back at this mischief if he is re-elected. That is how the relentless anti-woman
cabal in Columbia works.

The second bad bill, which did become law, is the “South Carolina Energy
Security Act.” As the First Vice Chair of the House Labor, Commerce and
Industry Committee, Gatch played a role in its passage.

Put simply, he was rolled by the electric utility industry, which was angry that its
wings had been clipped by the Legislature seven years ago.

The industry didn’t like that its long-term planning and rate-setting methods
were subjected to greater scrutiny after the scandal around the V.C. Summer
Nuclear Station. Recall that SCE&G and Santee Cooper spent $9 billion of ratepayers’
money for nuclear plants that were abandoned and have never
produced a kilowatt of power. The two companies consistently lied to the public
about design and construction problems that led to endless delays.

Counting on the short-term memories of legislators in Columbia (and on their
considerable lobbying and campaign-contribution clout), the utilities decided it
was time to change the rules. They wanted much more freedom to build fossil
fuel plants faster, given their projections for power demands from data centers
and the surge in population in South Carolina.

Thanks to legislators like Gatch, they got what they wanted, and we will all be
paying for it down the line.

The bill allows fast-tracking of new natural gas plants, with less opportunity for
environmental oversight. The bill permits utilities to charge rate payers the costs
of construction before the plants come online. (Nothing was learned from the
nuclear scam.) Utilities will now be able to raise rates for electricity every year,
with less oversight from the State.

Not only did Gatch genuflect to the utility industry in supporting this bill, he has
so far been totally silent about the wisdom of the proposed takeover of
Dominion Energy (successor to SCE&G) by NextEra, the scandal-plagued
Florida-based power company. NextEra’s goal is to create a single huge electric
utility serving customers from Florida to Virginia.

From his position on the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, Gatch
should show leadership on the wisdom of this merger. The Legislature will have
to grant the merger’s approval, so Gatch has some influence here.

Does Gatch know, or care, that NextEra was deeply involved in Florida electoral
politics, allegedly funding ghost candidates to run against their opponents,
surveilling a journalist who was investigating the company, and funding dark money
networks to support its favored candidates? All this led to a lawsuit
against the company by shareholders, which was settled for $150 million last
month. Its sleazy election tactics also forced NextEra’s CEO to resign in June of
2023.

If NextEra takes over Dominion, rates will go up and the utility will push for the
construction of more and more data centers, demanding ever more electric
power.

Let’s see if Gatch has anything to say on this merger before the election.
Gatch’s campaign website promises to get rid of the state income tax. It’s a
standard campaign ploy. But he is silent on how he would replace $6.8 billion,
or 45 percent, of the state budget. That is the hole Gatch would blast in state
finances.

Would he start taxing services and groceries or raise the state sales tax? These
are regressive actions that hit the middle and poorer classes hardest. Would he
drastically reduce state funding and simply cut $6.8 billion? South Carolina
already ranks near the bottom of all states in expenditures per person. Would
Gatch vote to increase corporate and business taxes to make up the $6.8
billion? Don’t count on that from a Republican.

In short, the proposal demonstrates that Gatch is not serious about the state’s
finances.

Finally, Gatch is one of those lawyer/legislators who makes a living representing
clients in front of the very judges the Legislature has chosen. South Carolina is
one of only two states in the Union to select its judges this way, and it is
scandalous. Gatch is part of this scheme.

While he can take any client he chooses, one must question his behavior in
representing one Walter Clayton Pate III. Gatch managed to convince 9th
Circuit Judge Bentley Price (no longer on the bench) to let Pate out on bail even
though he was facing charges of sexual assault, kidnapping and attempted
murder. While out on bail, Pate was arrested in connection with another assault
and kidnapping. Gatch also tried to stop prosecutors from gaining access to a
psychiatric evaluation of Pate.

Clearly Gatch endangered the community by arguing that Pate deserved bail.
As a lawyer in private practice, that is his misguided privilege. But as a member
of the House, for whom public safety should be the paramount concern, it is
unacceptable.

For his disregard for public safety, his lack of oversight of the utility industry, and
his consistent disrespect for women’s reproductive rights, Gatch should be
retired in November.

In Sally Hebert we have the candidate to do it. You can read about her on the
DCDP website in the Speaking Freely blog. Also, visit her campaign website:
https://www.sally94.com/volunteer.