South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus

It’s a movie that House Speaker Doug Smith has seen before – a comedy turned drama with a tragic ending that leaves everyone frustrated.

Giddy with the smell of cash in good times, South Carolina lawmakers send money to every corner of the state. Then come the bad times, and legislators must take back large chunks of the bounty.

With the bad times comes a familiar song and dance, a tune that ends with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle singing never again. And that’s where the story ends.

Fade to black, roll the credits and start the show over again. Read the rest of this entry »

Gov. Mark Sanford has until Thursday to decide whether to veto any of the $488 million in budget cuts the Legislature sent him Friday.

The cuts in the state’s $7 billion budget carve deeply into health care and college spending, with health-related programs giving up $160 million and universities and technical colleges losing $123 million. State sales tax collections have fallen short of expectations and legislators returned to Columbia on Monday to put spending back in line.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell sent the bill Friday to the Republican governor, who already has misgivings about parts of the plans the Republican-dominated Legislature approved. Read the rest of this entry »

$2 million slashed from agency that monitors habitual criminals free on probation, parole

South Carolina is gambling with the public’s safety by cutting $2 million from the agency that monitors thousands of habitual criminals free on probation and parole, top law enforcement officials warned Thursday.

Just last month, legislative leaders talked of boosting money for the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, saying the agency is seriously understaffed and needs more resources to effectively perform its mission. But that was before the current economic crisis sent South Carolina’s budget into a tailspin.

Now the struggling agency is facing a deep cut that will leave less money to keep tabs on criminals in the community, monitor sex offenders and perform other duties. The agency has an annual budget of about $50 million and oversees some 48,000 criminals across the state. 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 »

Lawmakers decide not to change House bill; Sanford indicates he might veto some items

The South Carolina Senate approved $488 million in spending cuts Thursday, refusing to change a bill the House approved earlier this week.

Slashing state support for higher education, state agencies and conservation while limiting the reduction to K-12 education, lawmakers tried to spend money where it was needed most. The cuts were required after state economists lowered revenue projections earlier this month. Read the rest of this entry »

Senators unanimously overode the Governor’s veto of a bill that would expand the use of genetic information in criminal cases.

Senate President Pro Temp Glenn McConnell says the bill — that would allow DNA samples to be taken when suspected felons are arrested — will protect citizens. He says it will also allow people already in prison to use DNA to clear themselves.

Governor Sanford calls it an invasion of privacy.

The House is taking up the issue later today. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Legislature gathers this week to slash the budget, jobs probably will be on the line

They had the budget talk at Sea Grant Consortium the other day, the same one folks at every state agency in South Carolina have had recently.

Rick DeVoe, the executive director, told his staff what’s going on: The state Legislature has to cut nearly half a billion dollars out of the budget, and the governor has asked for a list of recommended cuts.

The good news: Only 11 percent of the budget at Sea Grant comes from the state. The bad news: That’s the money that pays their salaries. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Legislature gathers this week to slash the budget, jobs probably will be on the line

They had the budget talk at Sea Grant Consortium the other day, the same one folks at every state agency in South Carolina have had recently.

Rick DeVoe, the executive director, told his staff what’s going on: The state Legislature has to cut nearly half a billion dollars out of the budget, and the governor has asked for a list of recommended cuts.

The good news: Only 11 percent of the budget at Sea Grant comes from the state. The bad news: That’s the money that pays their salaries. Read the rest of this entry »

Lawmakers must find $500M in reductions

Cutting costs

State agencies last week submitted a list of recommended cuts to the governor’s office. Altogether, the cuts make up about $321 million and would result in hundreds of layoffs.

The Legislature may or may not consider these suggestions when it convenes to cut state spending next week.

Here are some cuts that would affect the Charleston area:

The Citadel: $1.6 million. This money would come from delaying a few programs and cutbacks in travel and library funds, as well as leaving open positions unfilled. Some layoffs are possible. Read the rest of this entry »

Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senator Glenn McConnell just released the following statement:

General Assembly to Return October 20th for Targeted Budget Cuts

(Columbia, SC) – In a joint statement about the Legislature returning to make targeted budget cuts, House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell said:

“The House and Senate will return in session Monday, October 20th in order to make targeted budget cuts. Using input from members from both bodies and the Executive Branch, House and Senate Leaders are putting together a proposed plan and have been seeking input from members.

“The plan will make targeted cuts to agencies while protecting the funding for some of the most critical areas of government. Additionally, we are recommending that our cuts need to go beyond the 6 percent requirement of the Board of Economic Advisors. Our budget plan will go an additional percentage point and addresses a 7 percent reduction in spending to better secure this budget and future budgets.

“No Representative or Senator will receive any salary for the time spent in Columbia working on this budget plan. Reimbursements for mileage and lodging will be available for members.

“In an effort to save the taxpayers as much money as possible, we knew a plan must be in hand before a date was set. This date to return was decided by the House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tempore today and we have been contacting members today to try and give them as much time as possible to prepare for a Legislative session next week.

“To pass this measure, a bill must be reported out and read three times in each body. By law, each of the three readings must take place on separate legislative days. This Friday, October 17th at 10:00 am the House Ways and Means Committee will meet to debate these cuts and report out a bill containing targeted cuts. The full House will take up that bill when it convenes at Noon on the 20th. Also, the Senate Finance committee will begin meeting on the targeted cuts Monday, October 20th.”

Cities, counties, schools wrestle with budget woes

Local schools and governmental bodies are scrambling to figure out how they will manage with less state revenue.

On the heels of a 3 percent budget cut in August, state officials announced this past week that the state will have to do without an additional 6 percent.

The state’s Board of Economic Advisers said Wednesday that escalating fuel and food prices, sagging home sales, slumping home values and a shaky job market are to blame. Read the rest of this entry »

Painful S.C. budget cuts may extend to schools, law enforcement efforts

Specialist Justin Bohan holds his head as he works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday Oct. 9, 2008. Stocks plunged in the final minutes of trading Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrials down more than 675 points, or more than 7 percent.

Cutting high school sports, conservation efforts and crimes investigated by state law enforcement are all possibilities in the looming South Carolina budget crisis.

Legislative leaders were negotiating on how to slash hundreds of millions from the state’s $7 billion budget, following a move Wednesday by the state’s economic advisers to cut revenue projections by a total of $554 million. Read the rest of this entry »