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Changes in store for handling state finances

January 11, 2010 By

As lawmakers return to Columbia tomorrow to resume this legislative session, they will already be prepared to deal with future budget shortages. Their plan includes a mechanism that will activate across-the-board cuts as soon as state revenues drop to a certain level.

Currently lawmakers don’t have that power. It’s in the hands of the state  Budget and Control Board, on advice from the Board of Economic Advisers. Spending is cut when actual revenues are four percent below expected revenues, which are projected by the financial advisers. The proposed change would lower that to two percent, and the cuts would be automatic, unless all five members of the board vote against them. Currently the Board can ignore the trigger if it desires. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Economy, Legislature, News, Uncategorized

Confederate Flag still hot button issue for NAACP

January 11, 2010 By

The state chapter of the NAACP will hold its 10th annual King at the Dome rally at the State House in Columbia on January 18th in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. President of the National NAACP Benjamin Jealous will be the featured speaker for the rally which is scheduled to begin shortly after 10 am. Jealous was scheduled to speak at last year’s event, but inclement weather kept him from Columbia. In announcing the event during a Thursday press conference, State NAACP Conference President Lonnie Randolph outlined a number of goals of the state organization has for 2010, including involving more minority citizens in voting and seeking to get a greater response from minority communities during this year’s census count.

Randolph says the main goal of the rally is to continue to send a strong message calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds: “As Dr. King so eloquently stated on many occasions, ‘Injustice is a threat to justice anywhere.’”  To that end Randolph adds that “one of the greatest injustices is this state’s endorsement and continuing support to fly a symbol of bigotry, hatred, and white supremacy on the grounds of the people of South Carolina.”   [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government

Lawmakers return to Columbia, face censure resolution

January 11, 2010 By

State lawmakes return to the statehouse Tuesday to begin another legislative year. One of the first items on the House’s agenda will be a resolution to censure Governor Mark Sanford.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Harrison says the focus will be on censure, not on the impeachment resolution, which his committee dealt with in December.  “The only way the impeachment resolution could come foward at this point is if a majority of members of the House move to recall it to the floor, and a majority vote to approve that,” says Harrison.  “I don’t see that happening unless some new revelations come out about additional misconduct.”

Harrison says a censure is a serious matter for any governor.  “If the House and Senate passes it, it will be a historical document in the record admonishing the governor for miscondct,” he says.  “And I’m sure that the governor would rather us not censure him.  Just how history looks at this will define how serious a censure is.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislature, News, Politics & Government

SC Lawmakers, agencies face budget gap

January 11, 2010 By

Reported by Matt Long, SCRN

Legislators will return to session trying to resolve a half-billion dollar gap between expected revenue and the state’s budget for the upcoming year.

The Office of State Budget said Friday it expects a $560 million difference, which legislators said likely means across-the-board agency cuts. The report adds that next year will be even worse as federal stimulus and Medicaid match funds run out. The report says the state’s deficit will be $1.3 billion in 2011 and $1.4 billion a year later. Governor Mark Sanford, who lost a court case last summer that forced South Carolina to accept the federal money, says there isn’t much the state can do about that funding.

However, House Speaker Bobby Harrell is skeptical of the projections. He says the Budget Office predicted last year would be a good year financially–which did not happen.

Filed Under: Economy, Legislature, News
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