The Nerve

By RICK BRUNDRETT New S.C. Senate president Thomas Alexander reported a total of more than $850,000 in income over a 10-year period from Upstate public agencies through his office supply business, The Nerve found in a review of his annual income-disclosure records. No one has accused the longtime Oconee County Republican of any wrongdoing. But, […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT S.C. lawmakers would receive an annual $18,000 pay hike under a House proposal, with the bill’s sponsor contending that legislators deserve the raise. “This is not a part-time job,” Rep. Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston, a former Charleston City Council member who was first elected to the S.C. House in 2008, told The Nerve […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Last week, a legislatively controlled committee quietly approved five-figure salary hikes for six state agency heads, including increases for two university presidents whose total annual compensation is much more than their state pay. Medical University of South Carolina president David Cole received a $42,308, or 13.5%, raise from the state Agency Head […]

  By RICK BRUNDRETT Lawmakers just can’t resist trying to exert more power over another branch of government. Reps. John King, D-York; Annie McDaniel, D-Fairfield; and Wendy Brawley, D-Richland, prefiled a bill last week that would require separate majorities in the 124-member House and 46-member Senate to give final approval to any pay raises for […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Another year, another round of raises for higher-paid S.C. House and Senate staffers. The Nerve’s review of chamber records provided under the state Freedom of Information Act show that over the past year, 76 House staffers making at least $50,000 received raises ranging from $1,602 to $34,857. The median increase, which represents […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT As a special legislative panel considers a yet-to-be-revealed road funding proposal, the state Department of Transportation continues to plod along in fixing South Carolina’s bad roads and bridges while sitting on a massive reserve created with the 2017 gas-tax-hike law. Recently released DOT records show that through September, a special fund created […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Major repaving or road reconstruction projects in South Carolina could take on average at least a year and possibly more than two years to complete, The Nerve found in a review of state Department of Transportation records. But it’s unclear exactly how long it takes to finish road projects funded with gas-tax-hike […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT South Carolina will need almost $43 billion more by 2040 to fix its bad roads and handle increased traffic with projected growth, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, which gave the state’s roads a “D” grade in its annual infrastructure report card. Meanwhile, the S.C. Department of Transportation continues to […]

    By RICK BRUNDRETT The S.C. Department of Transportation since 2016 has awarded 56 bridge contracts totaling $8.4 million to a company with ties to Sen. Hugh Leatherman – one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers, records provided to The Nerve show. The contracts with Florence Concrete Products, Inc. ranged from $50,164 for a […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Since 2017, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson has hired at least six current or former lawyer-legislators to handle certain civil cases, including the chairman of a House committee that first approves the annual state budget, which funds Wilson’s office, records show. The outside lawyers hired to assist the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) […]