Budget and Control Board
BCB OKs $21 Million More for Clemson Wind Turbine Center
May 10, 2012, 6 a.m. by Kevin DietrichClemson gets OK to boost budget for wind turbine test facility by $21 million.
House Axes Budget and Control Board in New Restructuring Plan
May 3, 2012, 5:55 a.m. by Eric K. WardThe S.C. House passed a counterproposal Wednesday to a Senate plan for restructuring state government, going much further than the House’s original blueprint and outstripping the Senate in some areas.
Politics Threatens to Derail Restructuring
April 25, 2012, 5:55 a.m. by Eric K. WardCausal and keen observers alike might have heard rumblings about expanding government bureaucracy, along with concerns about protecting the state’s credit rating. The facts, however, do not confirm alarms about those matters.
Market Bulletin Mystery Raises Legal, Constitutional Questions
March 26, 2012, 6 a.m. by Eric K. WardIt might sound like a trivial affair, but it actually carries legal and constitutional implications: The S.C. Department of Agriculture and Gov. Nikki Haley’s office disagree about whether the department’s Market Bulletin publication is a money-losing operation.
Obscure New Agency Would Grow Under Restructuring Bill
March 12, 2012, 6 a.m. by Rick BrundrettA little-known state economic development agency created two years ago but not yet in operation would grow even more under the S.C. Senate’s version of a bill creating a Department of Administration.
Grassroots' Organizations Call on State Leaders for 'Real Reform'
March 6, 2012, 4:54 p.m. by Kevin DietrichGrassroots activists takes lawmakers and the governor to task over Department of Administration bill.
S.C. Legislature Uses Secrecy Law to Thwart Records Requests by Grassroots Groups
Feb. 28, 2012, 6 a.m. by Rick BrundrettGrassroots groups pushing for more accountability and transparency in state government are running into a wall of secrecy in the S.C. General Assembly in trying to obtain legislative communications involving a controversial bill.
South Carolina’s $1.5 Billion Piggy Bank
Feb. 15, 2012, 6 a.m. by Rick BrundrettThe Nerve’s review of a 656-page document produced by the Office of State Budget, formally known as the “detailed base budget” and dubbed “the brick,” found that 99 state agencies, divisions and separate funds started this fiscal year on July 1 with a collective $1.498 billion surplus in “other” funds.
Restructuring Could Face Filibuster in Senate
Feb. 7, 2012, 1:40 p.m. by Eric K. WardSen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, told The Nerve on Monday that he and some other senators plan to help Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, lead a filibuster against the bill in an effort to defeat it in their chamber.
Senate Faces Choice on Dept. of Administration: True Change or Fig-Leaf Reform
Jan. 27, 2012, 3:42 p.m. by Eric K. WardThe S.C. Senate is debating a bill to abolish the Budget and Control Board, but will the Senate embrace real change or fig-leaf reform?
Boeing Not a ‘Public Body,’ Federal Judge Rules
Jan. 16, 2012, 6 a.m. by Rick BrundrettDespite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-backed incentives from South Carolina, aerospace giant Boeing is not a public body under the state’s whistleblower law, a federal judge has ruled.
Senator Proposes Pension Changes for Lawmakers
Jan. 3, 2012, 6 a.m. by Rick BrundrettS.C. Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston pre-filed a bill (S. 1038) that would close the defined-benefit retirement program for the 170-member General Assembly after this year and move lawmakers into a defined-contribution plan mirroring the state Optional Retirement Program, which is like a 401k plan.
Eckstrom Questions Timing of Sale of State-Owned Land
Dec. 21, 2011, 11:34 a.m. by Kevin DietrichComptroller General Eckstrom argues during the Dec. 15 Budget and Control Board meeting that a proposal to sell a piece of property owned by the S.C. Department of Transportation should be carried forward, given real estate market conditions.
Restructuring: Lots of Talk, Little Action
Dec. 15, 2011, 6 a.m. by Rick Brundrett“Restructuring” might have been the buzzword of this year’s legislative session, but in the end, there was a whole lot of talk – and even an emergency S.C. Supreme Court ruling – with no concrete results.
The Quest for a Job-Announcement List
Nov. 15, 2011, 8:25 a.m. by Kevin DietrichTreasurer Curtis Loftis asks S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt during the Nov. 4 Budget and Control Board meeting if Commerce has a jobs-announcement list that he can see.
Hitt says that all Commerce's press releases are online but never directly says there is a list showing jobs explicitly brought in by Commerce employees.
Merits of Commerce's Incentives-Pay Plan Discussed
Nov. 14, 2011, 8:25 a.m. by Kevin DietrichTreasurer Curtis Loftis questions S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt on an incentives plan being discussed during the Nov. 4 Budget and Control Board meeting.
Loftis Spars with Eckstrom at BCB Meeting
Nov. 9, 2011, 8:25 a.m. by Kevin DietrichAfter a brief explanation of how the state Infrastructure Bank works, S.C. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom (out of view) draws the ire of state Treasurer Curtis Loftis by asking why he didn't know that the S.C. Department of Transportation was behind in its payments.
Loftis Expresses Lack of Confidence in DOT
Nov. 8, 2011, 8:25 a.m. by Kevin DietrichTreasurer Curtis Loftis expresses his displeasure with problems at the S.C. Department of Transportation to DOT chief Robert St. Onge during the Nov. 4 Budget and Control Board meeting.
Not once has DOT been forthcoming about its difficulties, Loftis tells St. Onge.
Commerce Pay Incentives Nab Big Part Share of BCB's Attention
Nov. 4, 2011, 8:30 a.m. by Kevin DietrichAgencies Bank Millions in General Fund Surpluses
Sept. 5, 2011, 8:45 a.m. by Rick BrundrettWhile many state agencies have publicly cried poverty over the past several years, at least 16 agencies started fiscal 2011-12 with a general fund surplus of more than $1 million, The Nerve found in a review of a state financial report.
BCB Handles Public Relations Work for Private Business
July 14, 2011, 8:45 a.m. by Kevin DietrichBy all accounts, Midlands BioFuels is an alternative fuels success story. The Winnsboro company produces 25,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel a month from waste vegetable oil, and while it has received some government support since its inception, Midlands BioFuels is profitable and would be even without government largesse, co-founder Joe Renwick says.
'Extra Session' Dustup Could Eclipse Vote to Nix BCB
June 6, 2011, 9:11 a.m. by Eric K. WardIn a perhaps unprecedented move, the S.C. Senate has voted unanimously to abolish the unique, long-criticized hybrid of the executive and legislative branches of state government that is the Budget and Control Board.
In doing so, however, the Senate set itself on a collision course with Gov. Nikki Haley in a showdown that could end up being decided by the third branch of state government – the judiciary.
Budget and Control Board Seeks Second Opinion on Retirement Gap
May 12, 2011, 8:30 a.m. by Eric K. WardNothing for Certain with Administration Agency
April 1, 2011, 9:23 a.m. by Eric K. WardA skeptic might say to supporters of a proposed Department of Administration that it would not necessarily lead to savings and efficiencies in state government – and in fact could end up costing taxpayers more money.
Bills Would Restructure Budget and Control Board
Feb. 8, 2011, 8:30 a.m. by Eric K. WardThe S.C. Budget and Control planned to meet this morning in a spacious new abode, abandoning the board’s former pint-sized meeting venue after The Nerve exposed the inadequacy of the old location in several stories beginning in July.
Bills Target Legislature's Lopsided Power
Jan. 4, 2011, 8:30 a.m. by Eric K. WardGov. Mark Sanford has pushed to restructure state government for the duration of his administration. But such efforts began long before Sanford took office, and it looks like they will continue well after he leaves office.
At least three restructuring bills have been prefiled for a new legislative session set to begin next week, and one of the measures has bipartisan support.