USC Eyes Another Tuition Hike, Buys More Buildings

Despite concerns across the country about a higher education “tuition bubble,” the University of South Carolina is looking at implementing yet another tuition increase in the fall.

District 5: Home of the Fallacy of the Irrelevant Argument

Lexington-Richland School District 5 board member Beth Watson takes umbrage when fellow board member Kim Murphy raises concerns over members attending an upcoming conference at Hilton Head.

Senate Panel Waters Down Lobbying Ban

The S.C. Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Republican Sen. Hugh Leatherman of Florence and responsible for writing the Senate’s version of the annual state budget, has watered down a House-passed proviso designed to eliminate taxpayer-funded lobbying.

Retirement Tab Increases For S.C. Taxpayers

For the entirety of the previous decade a train wreck rolled toward South Carolina’s unemployment insurance system; and as it did, a few voices in the wilderness warned of impending disaster.

Their warnings, however, were ignored – and the train wrecked.

Senate Passes Roll Call Voting Bill

For advocates of roll call voting by members of the General Assembly, it’s been a long time coming.

The S.C. Senate passed a stand-alone roll call voting bill on Thursday. The bill is almost identical to roll call voting legislation the House passed in January, all but ensuring that a law requiring legislators to vote on the record is imminent.

Proviso Aims to Quiet Ethics Agency

Harrell: Repeal Amendment a Priority

S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell says that passing the "Repeal Amendment'' is one of the priorities of the GOP House Caucus during a Jan. 6 press conference. According to Harrell, the Repeal Amendment would protect state sovereignty against unfunded mandates in that if two-thirds of all state legislatures voted to repeal an overreaching federal law, the law would be struck down.

Ports Authority Spends 29K on Panama Trip

At least $29,000 was spent on a three-day trip to Panama last September sponsored by the S.C. State Ports Authority, and that included five state lawmakers on a commission overseeing the authority, according to documents obtained by The Nerve.

Controversial Judge Patrick Watts Resigns

An embattled Dorchester County judge has resigned following accusations that he mishandled foreclosure cases, though he isn’t facing any serious ethical charges stemming from the cases.

Millions Flow to Senators’ Businesses

For some S.C. senators, it pays to have connections with state government.

From 2007 through 2009, S.C. Sen. Kevin Bryant’s pharmacy earned $5 million in payments through the state health plan and Medicaid programs, according to his statements of economic interests filed with the S.C. Ethics Commission.