FY24 budget proposals: SC needs (and can afford) a bigger tax cut
By Bryce Fiedler and Vance Ginn, Ph.D. In January, the South Carolina Policy Council published The 2024 SC Sustainable Budget (SCSB) – an ambitious new project with the goal of…
Lawmakers side with McMaster on common-sense budget vetoes
South Carolina lawmakers returned to Columbia this week to take up the governor’s vetoes on the FY22-23 state budget, which went into effect July 1. The governor’s veto list – released on…
Check-in: Budget transparency hits a new low
Transparency for taxpayers hit a new low this week. On Wednesday and Thursday, the S.C. Senate held a total of nine budget subcommittee hearings – the most it has held in one…
Half of House budget meetings not streamed in first week (now updated weekly)
Budget meetings sorted by week As part of our push for more government transparency, we have been tracking the streaming of legislative budget meetings each week. Below is list of…
Explosive spending, questionable provisos define next year’s budget
State lawmakers this week approved what will be the final version of next fiscal year’s $32 billion-plus budget, pending vetoes issued by the governor. The General Assembly will take up any vetoed items when it reconvenes next Tuesday for the final…
Examining South Carolina’s massive proposed budget
While the 2021 regular legislative session ends this week, lawmakers are set to return to Columbia in June – possibly on three separate occasions – to address a number of…
H.3137 – Altering the Local Government Fund
UPDATE: The Senate Finance Committee amended this bill to require LGF appropriations to increase or decrease by the same percentage as the general fund, capped at a 5% change. The…
Spending Growth, Priorities in the 2018 House Budget
UPDATE: When the Senate’s version of the budget returned to the House, the latter readopted the original House budget with additional amendments. The total budget spending approved by the House is…
The State Budget: What You’re Spending in 2017
GOVERNMENT OUTPACING THE ECONOMY – BY A LOT The General Assembly just passed a $27.42 billion budget – by far the largest in state history and a $1.1 billion increase from…
Why USC’s Budget Proviso Is Unconstitutional
SOUTH CAROLINA’S FLAGSHIP UNIVERSITY GOES AROUND THE LAW Recently the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education found itself the subject of debate in newspapers and on the Senate floor. A…
Budget Growth Since 2007 – Fast and Furious
LAWMAKERS OVERSEE EXPLOSION IN FEDERAL FUNDS, FINES & FEES Each year during the budget debate, legislators talk about the responsible spending included in the budget. In this year’s debate, for…
The Return of ‘Competitive Grants’
THAT’S A EUPHEMISM FOR ‘PORK BY COMMITTEE’ [Update: This proviso was struck from the House budget when the bill went to the floor.] Buried in this year’s state budget bill…
S.145 – Enacting a Biennial State Budget
S.145 would enact a biennial state budget to be considered and passed during odd-numbered years. However, the General Assembly would be permitted to enact a supplemental appropriations bill or a…
H.3311 – New Workforce Programs, Grant Fund, Tax Credit
H.3311 would create a Pathways Initiative to target workforce development and increase employment. One of the programs included in this initiative would invest in school-to-workforce development with a focus on…
H.3081 – Creating the Poverty Elimination Bank
H.3081 would create a “Poverty Elimination Bank” and require the General Assembly to appropriate funds to it every year. The bank would also be added to the list of funds…
H.3076 – Zero-Based Budget Review for State Agencies Every Ten Years
H.3076 would implement a zero-based budget process for each state agency and entity at least once every ten years. While this would be a good practice, it is unclear whether…