The Nerve

Next Tuesday, the legislatively controlled Public Utilities Review Committee (PURC) will perform the annual performance review of the Public Service Commission (PSC) – the board that regulates public utilities. State law requires the PURC – which also screens and nominates PSC members – to evaluate each PSC member to help lawmakers judge whether the energy […]

Earlier this week, The Nerve reported that the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank board, which includes Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, discussed expanding interstates through the STIB. This week’s throwback deals with a multibillion-dollar interstate construction project that lawmakers (including Leatherman, the longtime Senate Finance Committee chairman) have pushed for years – the South Carolina portion of […]

Members of the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB) board recently discussed their desire to explore expanding South Carolina’s interstates through the STIB. While nothing was voted on or confirmed, the ideas floated included finding additional funding streams, “encouraging” the state Department of Transportation to partner with STIB to build interstates, and expanding the STIB’s charter […]

The Comptroller General’s Office announced a $350 million surplus when the books were closed this month. The comptroller – the state’s accountant – advised lawmakers to “forgo the ‘spending spree’ temptation,” recommending instead that at least some of the surplus go toward paying down the pension system’s unfunded liability. The pension deficit amount, it should […]

During a State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB) board meeting this week, Sen. Hugh Leatherman directed his staff to explore the STIB’s options for building/expanding interstates. In response, fellow board member and ex-Rep. Chip Limehouse remarked that if the STIB plans to tackle interstates, it will need more revenue and should be “creative” in locating new […]

Former S.C. Department of Transportation commissioner John Hardee (son-in-law of state Sen. Hugh Leatherman) has been in the news lately related to allegations in a federal case that he received payments from an unidentified businessman in exchange for DOT contract awards – not to mention his arrest on a prostitution charge the day after he […]

This week, the Public Service Commission terminated a contract with consultants hired to help set the price for solar energy purchased from small solar companies by large utilities. This decision followed the revelation that the consulting company in question had deep ties to investor-owned utilities – prompting public outcry and legislative disapproval. While public trust […]

At a Joint Bond Review Committee (JBRC) meeting this week, several universities and one tech school openly violated a state law requiring colleges and universities to get the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHE) approval for proposed permanent improvement projects before going before the JBRC with their requests. Lawmakers overlooked that legal requirement for two of […]

This month the Senate Education Committee resumed hearings on its version of the education omnibus bill that passed the House earlier this year, with the primary topic being governance reform. However, the “reforms” under discussion are focused solely on state intervention into local schools – to the point of suspending local school boards under certain […]

At the close of this week’s one-day special session, the Senate confirmed – without warning – the appointment of former state Rep. Mike Pitts to a magistrate seat in Laurens County.  Pitts’ first attempt to secure a government job fell through earlier this year. After his Senate confirmation for the directorship of the Conservation Bank […]