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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: Treasurer goes to GOP faithful as fight over $1.8B error heats up

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,

Russ McKinney, Gavin Jackson

Published April 15, 2025 at 6:01 AM EDT

S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis speaks to reporters Monday, April 14, 2025, at the Greenville County Republican Party Convention in Greenville, S.C.

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.

Happy Tuesday.

Welcome to Week 14 of the South Carolina legislative session.

The House is taking off this week, and the Senate gavels in today at noon.

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.

In case you missed it, last week we hit 50 Gavel posts. So thank you again to our readers and listeners who've been following the Gavel since its inception.

And there's much more to come!

Notebook highlights:

Maayan Schechter went to the Upstate for the Greenville GOP Convention, offering a preview of the 2026 Republican race for governor.
What we're watching in Week 14 of the legislative session as the deadline for lawmakers to go home nears.

Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson

In Upstate, Republicans test party strength

Monday night, embattled state Treasurer Curtis Loftis told the Greenville County Republican Convention that he will run for reelection next year — even if the Senate votes to remove him from office over the $1.8 billion accounting error that senators say shows the Republican willfully neglected his statutory duties.

You might have heard "(I'm in a) spot of trouble back home," Loftis told the party faithful. "I don't work for them. I work for y'all. ... I'm not going to let them (the Senate) win."

Loftis says he intends to fight the Senate's Monday hearing.

That is if the state Supreme Court refuses to intervene beforehand.

Last week, Loftis asked the high court to block the hearing altogether, calling into question whether the Senate's removal efforts are constitutional.

As background: A 58-page Senate report that said South Carolina's financial books were not correct for a decade called for Loftis's removal. The Legislature spent $3 million and hired outside audit firm AlixPartners hired to inspect the error. The firm found that most of the fund was not in fact real money, and reported that the offices of treasurer, comptroller general and auditor had shared responsibility. The error has resulted in millions of dollars amid a federal Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that involves the error and the previously disclosed $3.5 billion error that resulted in the resignation of then-Comptroller Richard Eckstrom. The now-former auditor, George Kennedy, resigned early this year.

What happens after the Senate hearing — if it happens at all — is in question, though Loftis told SC Public Radio he doesn't believe the lower chamber will move.

Loftis said House leadership has told him they don’t plan to take the matter up.

Treasurer Curtis Loftis tells supportive crowd that they may have heard he's in a "spot of trouble back home."

"I don't work for them. I work for y'all. ... I'm not going to let them (the Senate) win."https://t.co/FGUuSDfRui
— Maayan Schechter (@MaayanSchechter) April 14, 2025

Loftis wasn't the only Republican finding goodwill in Greenville.

First District Congresswoman Nancy Mace tested the 2026 gubernatorial waters in one of the state's most conservative regions with an active Republican Party voter base.

If Mace runs — she told reporters she is very close to deciding — she will join a crowded race that is expected to include Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and potentially state Sens. Sean Bennett of Dorchester and Josh Kimbrell of Spartanburg.

Mace told reporters her message resonates with the county’s GOP voters. Her remarks to the crowd were very much a speech one would give if they planned to run for governor next year.

She spent time introducing herself. She praised President Donald Trump. And she waded into conservative social issues.

"This is Trump country. This is God’s country," she told reporters.

She also emphasized the governor's race next year, telling the Upstate that they need to elect a governor who is "truly a conservative," and she said she wants to see Trump's agenda implemented from the state down to the local level.

Nancy Mace, she said in third person, "is done being nice."

South Carolina's First District Congresswoman Nancy Mace speaks Monday, April 14, 2025, to reporters at the Greenville County Republican Convention in Greenville, S.C.

What's on tap for Week 14

There are 12 more days on the Legislature's work calendar until sine die (last day of regular session) at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 8.

And with the House out of town, the upper chamber is smoothing out its calendar to prepare for the final day's paperwork showdown over legislation before the General Assembly heads home for the year.

As a reminder, both chambers have already worked out a sine die agreement, an outline that limits what lawmakers can return to Columbia to take up after session ends. But leadership remains clear that, with only a few exceptions — budget and vetoes — they don't intend to stick around.

The main bill we'll be watching for on the floor this week?

The legislation (S. 62) to revive the K-12 private school tuition voucher program that the Senate paid for using Lottery funds while the House installed a trustee to oversee the program.

The Senate can accept the House changes and send the bill to the governor, or make changes and possibly force negotiations with the House.

Here's what else we're tracking this week.

Tuesday:

Myra Reece, Gov. Henry McMaster's nominee to lead the Department of Environmental Services has her second confirmation hearing at 10 a.m. in front of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
About 30 minutes after session ends, the Senate Finance Committee's property tax panel meets on several bills, including two that would add qualifications to anyone who runs for county treasurer and auditor. Another bill — S. 317 — would cut property taxes in half for boat owners, and S. 102 would allow municipalities without an operating millage to implement one.
The full Senate Judiciary Committee meets after the chamber adjourns on 15 bills, ranging from the mistreatment of police horses to the Minority Affairs Commission makeup and civil litigation changes.

Wednesday:

A Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee meets at 9:30 a.m. to discuss, in part, S. 434, a bill that would require someone giving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to have a signed written consent form from the recipient.
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee meets at 10 a.m. in part to decide whether to advance S. 325, a bill to move the Department of Consumer Affairs into the Governor's Cabinet.
At 11 a.m., a Senate Transportation subcommittee meets on four bills, including H. 3292, a bill allowing municipalities to pass ordinances so golf cart drivers can drive in certain areas at night.

Thursday:

A subcommittee of the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee will meet at 9 a.m. to review the Attorney General's Office.
And at 10 a.m., a special panel of the Senate's Family and Veterans' Services Committee will take up S. 383, a bill to designate the Prothonotary Warbler — a "golden-yellow songbird that migrates annually between South Carolina and its wintering grounds in Central and South America" — South Carolina's official migratory bird.

Editor's Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Also, schedules get updated daily, and some of this information may change based on scheduling updates.