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The State House Gavel shares updates about the South Carolina General Assembly, including legislative actions, debates and discussions. Featuring news and interviews, so you have access to the latest developments in policy and decisions that shape South Carolina’s future.

The State House Gavel: $1.8B error heats up Capitol, House Dem resigns

S.C. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville; House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter; and Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope, R-York in the S.C. House on Jan. 15, 2025.
GAVIN JACKSON
S.C. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville; House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter; and Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope, R-York in the S.C. House on Jan. 15, 2025.

Statehouse reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter are back at the Capitol reporting what you need to know when lawmakers are in Columbia. They'll post news, important schedules, photos/videos and behind-the-scenes interviews with policymakers.

It's Friday, and we're here to recap arguably one of the busiest starts to a Statehouse legislative session we can remember.

This is The State House Gavel, a new daily reporter notebook by reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter that will preview and capture what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse this year while lawmakers are in session.

Notebook highlights:

  • South Carolina House Rep. Will Wheeler resigns on the third day of session.
  • Lawmakers' attention to the $1.8 billion accounting error heats up.
  • Lawmakers want to revisit energy capacity legislation this year. So will that include revisiting the failed construction of two nuclear reactors at VC Summer?
The South Carolina Statehouse
GAVIN JACKSON
The South Carolina Statehouse

SC lawmaker resigns to run for judicial seat

As Rep. Will Wheeler so poetically put it Thursday, state lawmakers have a choice: You can either die in office, get booted from office or decide to leave the office on your own.

The latter is what Wheeler, a Lee County Democrat, decided to do.

Unexpectedly on the third day of session, Wheeler announced his resignation as the representative from District 50, which includes parts of Lee, Kershaw and Sumter counties. Wheeler is an attorney, who first joined the House in 2017. He ran unopposed in the November general election, cruising to reelection.

"This is not an easy moment for me, and the decision has been difficult," he said from the House floor.

Wheeler intends to run for a local judicial seat, a choice that requires him to be out of office for a full year. (He's not the first lawmaker to do this, and certainly not the last.)

In the background: Democrats currently hold 35 seats in the 124-member chamber. There is one listed vacancy (after former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis's exit) in a Democratic-leaning district. Wheeler's resignation drops Democrats to 34 seats. A special election to fill Wheeler's term in the Democratic-leaning district won't occur until months from now.

S.C. Rep. Will Wheeler, D-Lee, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, from the floor announced his resignation from the House of Representatives.
GAVIN JACKSON
S.C. Rep. Will Wheeler, D-Lee, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, from the floor announced his resignation from the House of Representatives.

$1.8B accounting error heats up the Statehouse

Yes, outside auditors paid $3 million by the state found that the mysterious $1.8 billion was not real cash. In fact, $1.6 billion of that was not real cash. About $245 million was, but has already been spent in previous budgets.

As we reported Thursday, this doesn't mean it's the end of the story.

The spotlight, particularly over the Treasurer and state Auditor's offices, became more intense Thursday, when a panel of House budget writers called the director of the state's administration department and two outside auditors hired to figure out what happened into a public hearing.

You can watch the hearing here and read the audit here.

A back-and-forth between the auditors, AlixPartners, and Lexington Republican Rep. Micah Caskey shed a bit more light into what specifically the firm found.

At minimum, the auditors said: the fault is shared.

Rep. Micah Caskey questions outside auditors over $1.8B error 1/16/25

We reported Wednesday that Sen. Larry Grooms, a Republican, has called on State Treasurer Curtis Loftis to resign. He did the same last year. On Thursday, Rep. Heather Bauer, a Richland County Democrat who has been critical of Loftis in the past, filed a resolution to start impeachment proceedings, which we don't expect the House to move on anytime soon.

But House Speaker Murrell Smith told reporters Thursday that changes will be coming ASAP (as in several weeks), per some of the recommendations the auditors laid out.

State Auditor George Kennedy, unlike Loftis, is not an elected official. He's not made any public statement since the audit was released. Loftis responded through an official statement and his Facebook page that taxpayer money is protected and "every dime is accounted for."

Last night, Loftis appeared on Fox Carolina and dismissed the calls for him to resign.

Read between the lines: The House and the Senate plan to call Loftis, Kennedy and Comptroller General Brian Gaines (his predecessor, former CG Richard Eckstrom, resigned last year after the wider $3.5 billion accounting error became public) into public hearings and likely put all three under oath.

We hear the House will likely call on all three to testify in early February.

The Senate committee run by Grooms is sure to do the same.

And remember, outside of this debate inside the Statehouse, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission has also launched an investigation (which is more than a year old), and there's no word on when that might wrap up.

Asked Thursday for comment, an SEC spokesman said, "The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation."

Here's the full interview with Speaker Smith Thursday.

House Speaker Murrell Smith speaks to reporters after $1.8B audit released 1/16/25

S.C. House budget writers listen to a presentation on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, by an outside audit firm looking into a $1.8 billion accounting error.
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
S.C. House budget writers listen to a presentation on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, by an outside audit firm looking into a $1.8 billion accounting error.

The power is strong. We break it down

Energy capacity is the name of the game this session — which we should subtly note is two years long.  

The problem: Republicans and Democrats, citing growing demand from industry and population growth, say the state needs to create more electricity since we’re tapping out and are buying it from other states. A problem the failed expansion of the VC Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield was set to address, before it became a $9 billion boondoggle that defrauded ratepayers are still paying.

Their solution: There were multiple off-session Senate hearings on legislation and the House was out of the gate this week with House Speaker Murrell Smith’s bill, H. 3309. The House LCI Subcommittee heard testimony Wednesday, including from several major utility leaders like Santee Cooper President and CEO Jimmy Staton, who says a request for proposals will go out next week to gauge interest in the VC Summer two and three reactor site.

“Santee Cooper does not plan to be the owner, nor do we intend to be the operator of whatever comes there. We do believe there are groups out there that are interested in potentially completing the work at VC Summer.”   

The need: Staton said the state-owned utility has 21 potential industrial and large-load projects across the wholesale and retail system and potential need in excess of 2,500 megawatts.  

How soon is now: “The consequences of decisions like this are generational, pun intended. These are things that if we mess them up, they have really long-term consequences. So us taking some time on this to make sure we get it right is a benefit to you,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said at Wednesday's state Chamber event. 

Speed bumps: At the LCI hearing, League of Women Voters lobbyist Lynn Teague voiced several concerns on H. 3309, including weakening regulations in addition to already cushy utility rates and construction cost offsets customers are paying for big businesses. “We’ve already given utilities a monopoly that gives them captive customers and a set return on investment.” 

FILE - Construction is well underway for two new nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville, S.C. on Monday, April 9, 2012. A judge threw out criminal charges Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, against former Westinghouse executive Jeffrey Benjamin for lying about the project's progress before it fell apart, but also left open the possibility federal prosecutors can indict Benjamin again. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)
Jeffrey Collins/AP
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AP
FILE - Construction is well underway for two new nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville, S.C. on Monday, April 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins, File)

For planning purposes

The House and Senate adjourned Thursday, and will be in what's called a perfunctory session (meaning they don't do any floor work) next week as many members return from an expected snowy Washington for the inauguration.

But lawmakers will be in Columbia to handle committee work so that the chamber's respective bills can get scheduled for floor debates.

Meanwhile, the Senate hit the pause button on its private school voucher debate dealing with Education Lottery dollars. They'll continue the debate in two weeks when they return to the floor and when Senate GOP Leader Shane Massey says he hopes for passage.

Mark your calendars now: The week of April 14, the House will be on furlough and may also take a week off after the chamber passes its version of the budget, which is slated to occur the week of March 11

Statehouse clips from around the state

Scuttled energy plan revived as SC seeks more power. Ratepayers at risk, critics say (The State)
Voters who approved SC's lottery never intended it to fund K-12 vouchers, Democrats argue (SC Daily Gazette)
Impeachment and investigation calls bubble against SC Treasurer Curtis Loftis amid SEC investigation (Post and Courier)

On TWISC tonight

Don't miss Gavin Jackson and Maayan Schechter's exclusive interview with House Speaker Murrell Smith.

Yes, it was already in podcast form, but now you can see it too — if you didn’t watch on YouTube already! 

You can catch the interview at 7:30 p.m. on SCETV.

South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith outlines his priorities for the 2025 legislative session with S.C. Lede Host Gavin Jackson and South Carolina Public Radio reporter Maayan Schechter.
Andre Bellamy
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SCETV
South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith outlines his priorities for the 2025 legislative session with S.C. Lede Host Gavin Jackson and South Carolina Public Radio reporter Maayan Schechter.

Maayan Schechter (My-yahn Schek-ter) is a news reporter with South Carolina Public Radio and ETV. She worked at South Carolina newspapers for a decade, previously working as a reporter and then editor of The State’s S.C. State House and politics team, and as a reporter at the Aiken Standard and the Greenville News. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2013.
Gavin Jackson graduated with a visual journalism degree from Kent State University in 2008 and has been in the news industry ever since. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Louisiana and most recently in South Carolina at the Florence Morning News and Charleston Post and Courier.
Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs. He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta. He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.