By RICK BRUNDRETT As a sitting S.C. Supreme Court justice, George James is first up Monday in a series of screening hearings by a legislatively controlled panel that will determine whether he and other lower-court judges will be nominated for election in the General Assembly. James, who is seeking his first full 10-year term on […]
November 14, 2019
Throwback Thursday: Harrell’s Indictments – What They Didn’t Include
Five years ago last month, former S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell pleaded guilty to six counts of misuse of campaign funds, and agreed to resign his speakership and House seat. According to the Richland County indictments, Harrell, who received three years’ probation, claimed campaign-fund reimbursements for legislative travel in his private airplane, though some of […]
November 13, 2019
S.C. lawmakers spending campaign funds on favorite charities, other ‘gifts’
By RICK BRUNDRETT During this year’s legislative session, S.C. Sen. Hugh Leatherman spent a total of $14,769 for constituent “gifts” through ChemArt, a Rhode Island-based ornament company, plus another collective $1,364 for constituent meals at the upscale Palmetto Club near the State House – all paid for with campaign funds, records show. The Florence County […]
November 8, 2019
S.C. lawmakers paying for trips to Egypt, other countries with campaign funds
By RICK BRUNDRETT As many as 17 S.C. lawmakers traveled to Egypt last month, most of whom paid their way with campaign funds, State Ethics Commission records show. Two legislators who used campaign money for the trip – Reps. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, and John King, D-York – also tapped their campaign accounts for costs related […]
November 7, 2019
Throwback Thursday: 2020 Budget Kickoff – Why Process Matters
The 2020 budget process officially began this month, with agency budget requests due to the governor by Nov. 1. According to news reports, lawmakers are likely to have at least an extra $1 billion to spend in the 2020 budget – in addition to the $350 million surplus leftover from the previous fiscal year. Unfortunately, […]
November 6, 2019
Millions from civil settlements paid to S.C. AG’s Office, outside law firms
By RICK BRUNDRETT Over the past four fiscal years, the state Attorney General’s Office settled 33 civil cases against various companies for a total of nearly $210 million, though agency records show that the proceeds typically didn’t go directly to affected South Carolina consumers. Instead, most of the money was used by lawmakers to help […]
October 31, 2019
Throwback Thursday: Not all state agencies comply with FOIA requests
This week a lawsuit filed by Sen. Dick Harpootlian over the Department of Commerce’s refusal to disclose records regarding two corporate incentive deals received a court hearing. During the hearing, Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt defended the agency’s disclosure policies and stated that Harpootlian was the first to challenge Commerce’s actions in court. The state’s Freedom […]
October 25, 2019
Thousands of state employees in the $100K-plus club
By RICK BRUNDRETT In 2018, University of South Carolina head football coach Will Muschamp received a new six-year deal that paid him $4.2 million in the first year and is worth a total of more than $28 million over the life of the contract. His total compensation includes $1.1 million in state salary – the […]
October 24, 2019
Throwback Thursday: Rising college tuition tied to increasing higher education debt
A recent study covered by The Greenville News revealed that South Carolina has one of the highest student loan default rates in the country, with over one out of every ten students defaulting within two years of starting repayment. This is just the latest evidence of how increasingly unaffordable higher education is becoming for many […]
October 23, 2019
The $4 billion piggy bank hidden from South Carolinians
By RICK BRUNDRETT As state agencies prepare their proposed fiscal 2020-21 budgets, what they likely won’t reveal is the amount of “other” fund surpluses carried over year after year – collectively billions of dollars. As of June 30 – the end of the 2018-19 fiscal year – state agencies and divisions, plus several major state […]
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SCDOT still sitting on huge gas-tax-hike surpluses; few major projects completed
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Ties to lawmakers present in judicial screening hearings; records kept secret
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Throwback Thursday: Harrell’s Indictments – What They Didn’t Include
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S.C. lawmakers spending campaign funds on favorite charities, other ‘gifts’
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S.C. lawmakers paying for trips to Egypt, other countries with campaign funds
November 15, 2019
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