ICYMI: AFP-SC Joins State Legislators, South Carolina Business Owners to Share Why Regulatory Reform Is Needed – “The Sky’s Not the Limit. The Rules and Regulations Are the Limit.”

Jan 20, 2026 by AFP

COLUMBIA, SC – In case you missed it, last week, Americans for Prosperity-South Carolina (AFP-SC) joined state legislators and small business owners from across the state for a press conference to discuss how H. 3021, the Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act, will remove unnecessary red tape and make it easier to start and run a business in South Carolina. The stories of three small business owners, including one who spoke at AFP-SC’s press conference, were profiled in a piece published yesterday by Jessica Holdman of the South Carolina Daily Gazette.

Read excerpts of the article below:

“We got enough together to buy our own property and build our own building. And we were so excited. We thought the sky was the limit,” [Gail] Nicholls said. “The sky’s not the limit. The rules and regulations are the limit. You can only go as far as they let you go. There are license after license on the books.”

…

[Kathleen Stevens] opened Rainbow Rooster Boutique four years ago with plans of operating a small cafe in the back of the store.

“I just wanted to serve a little coffee and pastries,” Stevens said.

The cafe space remains empty, she said, because she doesn’t have the money to install all the equipment regulators told her she needed. She pulled the application.

“I was overwhelmed,” she said.

…

“When Holt purchased an existing restaurant space in Hartsville a couple of years ago for a new location of Holt Bros BBQ, state highway regulators told him the sign that had been in place under previous ownership was too close to the state road.

“While Holt didn’t put it there, the state still required him to move it. That, along with permitting delays at the city level, held up his grand opening for nine months, he said.

“‘That’s nine months’ worth of lost revenue and income,’ he said.”

Read the full article here.