NEW FISCAL YEAR
A new fiscal year starts today and that means a new round of South Carolina laws go into effect. First, the state’s more than 14-billion-dollar general fund spending plan officially starts. The budget includes raises to teacher and state employee pay, 200-million-dollars for bridge fixes and a reduction of the top marginal income tax rate to 6 percent. It also includes millions to upgrade local airports, technical colleges and the state’s voting system.
Also taking effect today, most of the measures in the so-called educator assistance act. Its a bill passed this year, that includes more planning time for teachers and new regulations for blue crab fishing.
Today is also the start of a sweeping measure that tweaks how judges in the state are picked by the Legislature. The Legislature’s judicial vetting panel will increase to 12 members and allow the governor -for the first time - to appoint 4 of them.
South Carolina is one of two states where lawmakers pick judges.
MARLBORO CO. SCHOOL BUDGET
The Marlboro County School District is still without a budget, and still faces a nearly $7 million shortfall. At a special meeting Friday, the school board came within one vote of greenlighting its $45 million budget for the coming school year.
SC Public Radio reporter Scott Morgan, reported the proposed budget reflected about $3 million in cut expenses, but also included a 26-mill tax increase to help cut down some of a $6.8 million hole the district still needs to fill.
Marlboro School District remains under a fiscal watch by the state Department of Education.
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL & A.I.
Over the weekend, new changes were made to Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, after an outcry from lawmakers about the bill’s A.I. regulation ban. Originally, the regulation ban would prevent all states from passing A.I. legislation for ten years if they wanted access to $500 million in AI infrastructure included in the bill. Now the ban only lasts for five years and has exemptions for legislation focused on child safety and replicating name, image, and likeness.
Governor McMaster joined 16 other republican governors across the country who signed a letter against the ban… saying it hurts states’ abilities to protect its citizens. South Carolina recently signed 2 bills into law targeting AI-generated pornography and child abuse material.
NEWBERRY COLLEGE TO ACCEPT LIMESTONE NURSING STUDENTS
Newberry College has announced that they have received formal approval from the South Carolina Board of Nursing to accept and enroll a cohort of nursing students previously enrolled at Limestone University. The decision comes after Limestone University announced the closure of its undergraduate nursing program.
With the approval of the South Carolina Board of Nursing, the transition plan includes credit evaluation, academic advising, and clinical placement support. Students will be enrolled in Newberry’s accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.
CROSS-BORDER, MEDICAID FRAUD
Eight people stand accused of bilking Medicaid for more than $21 million, by billing for behavioral healthcare services they never provided to South Carolina children with severe disabilities.
The attorneys general of North and South Carolina say a cross-border scheme operated mainly from Charlotte, used real patient information to bill Medicaid for services never given.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said scammers set up companies as a way to dupe legitimate behavioral healthcare providers into applying for jobs … and then used providers’ credentials to file bogus claims. Wilson said officials first found the scam following a forensic audit in 2020.
TIRE SAFETY WEEK
This is National Tire Safety Week. AAA expects 72.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the holiday weekend. To help prepare you for traveling, The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association created National Tire Safety Week to remind people about the importance of tire safety and maintenance.
Here are some safety tips for getting the most out of your tires and keeping them in safe working condition:
- You should check your tire air pressure at least once a month and again before long trips. Summer heat can dramatically affect tire pressure.
- Check your alignment, when your suspension goes out of alignment, it causes irregular tire wear and steering inconsistencies.
- Be sure to rotate your tires every six thousand miles or earlier if you see uneven wear. Frequent rotations help prevent uneven treadwear and prolong your tires service life.
- Be sure to check your tires tread. Your tread is directly related to your vehicles stopping power.
- And make sure to check your trunk. Many new vehicles lack a spare tire. Therefore, you can either get a spare tire to have or have tools on hand in case of emergencies such as inflation kits.
For more information you can visit www.ustires.org.
