Americans for Free Markets (AFFM) Executive Director David Ibsen   South Carolina is the fastest-growing state in the nation, attracting talent and investment with a regulatory environment that minimizes bureaucratic hurdles and unnecessary burdens on businesses.   The Guarantee Banking Act (HB 5538/ SB 1069) – which passed the state House and is now in the Senate — risks undermining that business-friendly environment by overreaching on an issue already being solved in Washington, under the leadership of South Carolina’s own U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). I recently traveled to Columbia to testify before the House Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry because the stakes are real — and the risks of getting this wrong are significant.   Under the Obama and Biden administrations, federal regulators weaponized the financial system — wrongfully closing accounts of individuals, businesses and industries disfavored for political or ideological reasons.   This bill is intended as a response, and while the intent is right, the instrument of state-level action is wrong. Politicized debanking results from the abuse of federal power and therefore requires a federal solution. That is exactly why President Trump signed an executive order last summer to ensure that financial institutions across the country […]