Rhetoric vs. Reality in the State Budget
WHAT WAS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT? (HINT: NOT MUCH) The battle over the state budget is over. The state’s spending plan for fiscal year 2012-2013 is a done deal. As…
Budget Vetoes: Were lawmakers even there?
THE BUDGET VETO “DEBATE” INVOLVED PRECIOUS LITTLE DEBATE If you followed the coverage of the governor’s budget vetoes – rallies outside the State House, op-eds denouncing specific vetoes – you…
Veto Recap
LAWMAKERS REDUCED THE STATE BUDGET BY A TINY FRACTION OF A TINY FRACTION Lawmakers began public meetings on the state’s 2012-13 budget January 10 of this year – the first…
What Did – and Didn’t – Gov. Haley Veto?
$57.1 MILLION SOUNDS LIKE A LOT. BUT IS IT? The release of the Governor Nikki Haley’s vetoes for the 2012-2013 budget has predictably been met with cries that the governor…
Budget quiz!
THINK YOU KNOW THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE BUDGET? 1) Including state, federal, and “other” funds, the budget totals approximately a. $6.6 Billion b. $8.6 Billion c. $17.3 Billion d.…
The State Budget: Your priorities – or theirs?
YOU’RE A TAXPAYER? SORRY, YOU DIDN’T MAKE THE PRIORITY LIST This year, the General Assembly had more than $1 billion in new revenue to appropriate. The final version of the…
Senate Budget Priorities: The Un-funded Tax Relief Reserve Fund
The Senate has passed their version of the budget, and it is now headed to the House for a final vote there. The budget includes an un-funded tax relief reserve…
The Great Pork Debate
Tucked away at the tail end of part 1B of the budget bill is proviso 90.20, which deals with state non-recurring revenue: that is, revenue that’s only available for one…
Ask Not, and Ye Shall Receive Anyway
Most state agencies submitted their budget requests back in November. (State law requires them to submit requests, but a few just never get around to it.) When an agency submits…
Ways and Means Budget Largest in State History – Yet Again
The House is currently debating the budget recommended by the Ways and Means committee after months of hearings. With just over $535 million in “new” recurring revenue[1], lawmakers justify spending…
The Governor’s Budget – A Sign of What’s to Come?
The governor’s budget is only the first in a series of budget drafts before we arrive at the final state budget later in the spring. Generally – in fact, without…