Lawmakers to look at impact fee issue

State lawmakers will look at reducing or eliminating fees to encourage businesses to add sprinkler systems, Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said Friday.

That's one of several ideas state lawmakers will consider next year, in the wake of the deadly fire that killed nine Charleston firefighters.

"We have this experience behind us. We need to stop and say, 'How can we make things better?' " said McConnell, whose West Ashley district includes the Sofa Super Store.

"I'm not pointing a finger at anybody. I'm just saying that this is a time we need to bring the business community and the firefighting community together and look at what are the obstacles to getting these sprinkler systems in place. What are things we can do to encourage businesses to voluntarily make these upgrades? And what's reasonable to require when a building is added onto or is renovated?"

McConnell, R-Charleston, said he was unaware of the high impact fees that some utilities charge to businesses that install new pipes for a sprinkler system.

"It seems to me that a high fee is an obstacle to people upgrading to sprinklers, and quite frankly, I think we need to look at tax credits and reducing these impact fees to encourage businesses to get sprinkler systems," he said. The state also could look at requiring mandatory insurance breaks for properties with sprinklers.

While state government doesn't regulate the rates of the Charleston Water System or other public utilities, the state's Public Services Commission does review charges by investor-owned and private water companies. Their charges will face new scrutiny, too. "I want to make sure they discourage high impact fees for putting sprinkler systems in," McConnell said. "That's one thing I know I can do on a statewide level."

McConnell's support for any change could be crucial. He blocked earlier efforts to require that all hotels be retrofitted with sprinklers after a 2003 fire claimed six lives in a Greenville hotel. McConnell said he was concerned about the impact on historic hotels, a concern that remains. "I'm not for mandating sprinkler systems for every building not undergoing a renovation," he said.

McConnell said the state can consider new incentives for sprinklers, including tax credits and mandatory insurance deductions for those who have them. "I want to be very practical. I don't want to make this cost-prohibitive for anybody, but I think there's a lot we can do to put incentives there to encourage people to put them in."

It also can look at how codes deal with sprinklers, the storage of flammable goods and fire partitions.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said House members also will look at what can be done to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.

"I'm hesitant to lay out a plan of what we should do," he said. "I think what we need to do is allow all of the investigations to run their course and then hear from the entities that did those investigations. There's a lot to come."

McConnell said he remembers when the Sofa Super Store building on Savannah Highway housed a Piggly Wiggly.

"It's like a big blanket of sorrow has just descended on us out of that tragedy," he said. "At this point, nobody needs to be defensive. Everybody needs to be cooperative."

Gov. Mark Sanford's spokesman Joel Sawyer said he hasn't heard of any specific legislative proposals arising in the wake of last week's fire, but he expects some will emerge before the Legislature reconvenes in January.