South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus

Almost $500 million of spending cuts are on the desk of the South Carolina governor. Lawmakers say it’s a necessary evil but, it’s an evil parents with special needs kids do not want to see.

Margie Williamson waited three and a half years for her son Wesley, who has autism, to speak his first word. Now he’s in a normal first grade classroom.

“He still has a long way to go,” Margie said.

That progress could be stalled for her and other parents. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone seems to have an opinion on state’s money woes, and what can be done to resolve them

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell talks about approving the state budget bill to meet deadlines Thursday as the Senate worked to pass budget cuts of $488 million.

As lawmakers found themselves in the position of cutting services for autistic children, draining funds for land conservation and eliminating an advocacy program for disabled residents, they started asking the half-a-billion-dollar question:

What’s happening to the state’s money?

The latest revenue collections forced the Legislature this week to cut $488 million from the budget after a session in which they approved a sales tax holiday for guns and an income tax break worth about $66 a year for the average worker. Read the rest of this entry »

Columbia, SC - Today, the South Carolina Senate passed a $488 million budget reduction plan. The plan, which calls for a seven percent reduction in the state budget, is an aggressive move that lawmakers hope will prevent further reductions in the current budget year.

³We were able to make the targeted reductions necessary without raising taxes,² says Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence). ³These reductions are painful no doubt, but the Senate took a positive step today toward living within our means and as we move forward we will need to reduce spending to reflect the realities of our current economic times.² Read the rest of this entry »

Reduction plan sent to Sanford

The Senate on Thursday gave key approval to nearly $500 million in budget cuts, after swatting down proposals to shorten next year’s legislative session, raise the cigarette tax or use one agency’s surplus to pay for shortfalls in children’s programs.

Gov. Mark Sanford criticized some parts of the budget-cutting plan and attacked what he called “misinformation” used on the Senate floor during the debate about an agency’s surplus.

“While we’re pleased that the Senate stuck with the overall approach we called for in making targeted cuts, we’re disappointed that they didn’t take this opportunity to address some real flaws in this spending plan,” Sanford said in a statement. Read the rest of this entry »