Welcome to Wednesday.
You're reading The State House Gavel, a daily reporter notebook by reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse this year while lawmakers are in session.
Since it was a late night for the South Carolina House (and reporters and anyone watching in person or online) and we're all still getting adjusted to daylight saving time, we'll spare you a long intro.
Notebook highlights:
- In the style of several budget cycles ago, the House passed its version of the budget late into the night, following Republican intraparty contention that spilled onto the floor during Day Two.
- Statehouse reporters speak to Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey about the future of his tort reform proposal and the possibility of a compromise (audio below).
- An outside audit firm clarifies report looking into $1.8 billion accounting error.
House OKs budget after multi-hour debate
After more than 13 hours of debate on Tuesday, the S.C. House passed its version of the $14 billion state operating budget in a 99-13 vote.
The budget includes millions to raise teacher and state employee pay, fix state-owned roads and bridges, and cover damage from Hurricane Helene.
In his closing remarks after 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, hit the highlights and told colleagues there’s a lot to be proud of in the budget, citing in part the acceleration of the income tax rate cut, money for infrastructure improvements and funding for health care services.
The budget now heads to the Senate, which is expected to debate the plan in late April.
Brief scheduling note: The House is finished for the week after it gave the perfunctory third read to the budget early Wednesday.
The budget vote was a forgone conclusion.
But it was slightly bumpy getting there.
Rewind: Almost an hour into the House's Tuesday debate over the budget — what was Day Two — House Speaker Pro Tempore Tommy Pope, R-York, remarked, "We're devolving here."
The quip gave a pretty decent preview of what was to come — events on the floor that we've seen and reported before.
On one side: The hardline House Freedom Caucus told reporters early this week that they planned to file 100-plus amendments that would, they said, help shrink government and cut $1 billion. Their argument? That over the years the budget has grown too big and, they say, the budget is full of nonessential spending that it shouldn't be covering.
On the other side: The House Republican Caucus argued that the House Freedom Caucus has gone about cuts the wrong way and are going too big without realizing the effects. In his closing remarks, Bannister said the freedom caucus's amendments would have only saved $100 million versus the $1 billion they intended.
How the debate devolved: Intraparty contention within the House Republican membership is not new. And, on Tuesday, it once again spilled over onto the House floor.
The budget is full of "crap," freedom caucus Rep. April Cromer, R-Anderson, said as she spoke on the Sea Grant Consortium budget section, part of a larger argument she made throughout the debate about shrinking the budget/government.
“I'm saying that the supermajority of people in South Carolina, they have voted,” Cromer said. “They want their money back. They want to cut the wasteful spending and the crap.”
After Cromer declined to take questions from House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, the Pickens Republican took the floor, telling colleagues that "South Carolina deserves better than what we're seeing."
You can watch his full floor speech below.
Leader talks tort reform compromise
After a weekend of phone calls, in-person meetings, texts and emails, the Senate on Tuesday agreed to "carry over" (move) to another day S. 244, the hotly-watched tort reform bill.
Brief background: The debate over the Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey's proposal came to an abrupt halt last Thursday, when a vote to table (vote down) an amendment to the bill proposed by Sen. Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, failed. Massey argued the amendment would essentially gut the bill.
A few reporters, who included SC Public Radio, spoke after session to Massey, who said there are ongoing conversations to broker a compromise that he hopes will return to the debate floor on Wednesday.
You can listen to most of that gaggle below:
Auditors seek to clear up 'inaccuracies'
Representatives of AlixPartners, the DC-based firm that conducted the $3 million forensic audit of the $1.8 billion accounting error returned to the Statehouse on Tuesday.
Why?
Following state Treasurer Curtis Loftis’s formal reaction to their report two weeks ago (you can read about that here), they asked Sen. Larry Grooms's Senate Finance panel to appear again to set the record straight.
Recall: The AlixPartners report concluded that the error and its fund originated in the Treasurer’s Office in 2017. Loftis maintained that the outside audit found no fault within his office.
AlixPartners John Bligh and Susan Markle reaffirmed the findings of their report that the Treasurer’s Office, and the state Comptroller General’s Office (both directors of those offices are elected by voters every four years) were both at fault, but that the original snafu occurred in the Treasurer’s Office.
They told senators that Loftis’s formal response to the report contained “factual inaccuracies.”
Here’s a snippet from the two-hour hearing of panel member Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, in an exchange with AlixPartners's Markle:
Meanwhile, in a March 10 letter to the panel provided to SC Public Radio, Loftis sought to clear up his own comments to the subcommittee in conjunction with a report by his office.
- In part, Loftis's letter said, "First, to the extent that I said anything that contradicted the State Treasurer’s Office Overview of Issues Surrounding SCEIS Fund 30350993 and Other Allegations (“STO Report”) submitted to you on February 27, 2025, please accept the Report as a correction to my testimony. The Report is thorough, and every assertion of fact is supported by evidence. To the best of my knowledge, it is a true and accurate representation of our complete understanding of the matters we discussed."
- Loftis added, in part, "You asked me if I did anything wrong or if I take responsibility for the $1.8 billion in SCEIS Fund 30350993. I want to be clear that I take full responsibility for the actions of the State Treasurer’s Office. What I am unwilling to do is accept responsibility for the statutory duties of the Comptroller General — namely overseeing SCEIS and the SCEIS conversion (including directing STO to make certain entries which ultimately proved incorrect, as demonstrated in the Report), and preparation of the ACFR."
What's next, starting with the House: The House has not waded as much into the debate over the error, sans a few hearings, but did briefly touch on the topic during the budget debate.
- For the second year in a row, Rep. Heather Bauer, D-Richland, unsuccessfully tried to defund Loftis’ $164,000 salary to $1. “I ask you, are you really OK with the state's top banker being unable to account for $1.8 billion that he didn't even realize was real or not?” Bauer asked. “And then after learning the truth, he continued to lie in front of the Senate. Instead of taking responsibility, he pointed fingers.” Bauer's amendment was nixed by voice vote after Dorchester Republican Rep. Chris Murphy said the effort was unconstitutional.
Now back to the Senate: Grooms, R-Berkeley, told reporters he hopes to have a report on his panel’s findings in about a week. Grooms has told reporters that he expects one recommendation will be that Loftis be removed from office.
Daily planner (3/12)
SC House
11 a.m. — Statehouse third floor conference room — 1st Congressional District Delegation
SC Senate
- 9 a.m. — Gressette 209 — LCI Regulatory and Local Government Subcommittee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 9:30 a.m. — Gressette 407 — Finance Higher Education Subcommittee budget hearing
Agenda Available - 10 a.m. — Gressette 209 — Finance Natural Resources and Economic Development Subcommittee budget hearing
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 10 a.m. — Gressette 105 — Senate Education Subcommittee on H.3196
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 10:45 a.m. — Gressette 408 — Savannah River Maritime Commission
Agenda Available - 11 a.m. — Statehouse third floor conference room — 1st Congressional District Delegation
Agenda Available - 11 a.m. — Gressette 209 — Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 11 a.m. — Gressette 308 — Senate Transportation Subcommittee
Agenda Available - Noon — Gressette 207 — Finance Transportation and Regulatory Subcommittee budget hearing
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - 1 p.m. — Senate in session
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only - After the Senate adjourns — Gressette 105 — Judiciary Subcommittee on S.52, S.168, S.192 and S.208
Agenda Available
Live Broadcast
Live Broadcast - Audio Only
Clips from around the state
- Environmental programs at risk if Trump purge extends to state agencies in SC (The State)
- Developer, GOP megadonor planning a casino near Orangeburg. He needs legislators' help to do it. (Post and Courier)
- Poll: Nancy Mace is South Carolina's most recognizable contender in 2026 governor's race (Post and Courier)
- The SC governor’s race has no official candidates yet, but who has the early edge? (The State)
- Trump administration may be selling two Upstate federal courthouses, overcrowding Greenville (WSPA)
- Masked man sets self ablaze after torching South Carolina Tesla ports in arson protest (Post and Courier)
- SC bill targets school meal debt, aims for more accessible free lunches (WLTX)
- SC one of 20 states to consider eliminating income taxes on tips (SC Daily Gazette)
