The state legislature will return to Columbia next week to once again consider what to do about next year’s operating budget. Uncertainty about the economy and how much state tax revenue it will generate has lawmakers in a quandary.
Florence Senator Hugh Leatherman, the veteran chairman of the powerful Senate Finance committee said this week that when it comes to the economic uncertainty being caused by the pandemic it’s the most uncertain of times he has ever seen.
This week the Finance Committee recommended that state government continue to operate using last year's budget. It also recommended the legislature set aside $500 Million of last year's budget surplus to protect state agencies from potential mid-year budget cuts.