Budget battle easingNew money may cool old fightsBy Bill Davis, senior editor MAY 23, 2014 -- An $86 million infusion of additional new revenues projected by the state Board of Economic Advisors this week may cut short looming budget battles between the state House and Senate.
 It may also usher back in elements of “pork,” such as a college pigskin all-star bowl, that had been trimmed from the past five fiscal year budgets.
According to the BEA, close to $60 million of the new money will come from additional unanticipated General Fund revenues for 2014-15 as the job market and state economy continues to improve.
Additionally, nearly $19 million from state lottery profits and $6 million in Education Improvement Act revenues have been added to the pot for the coming fiscal year.
Prior to the BEA announcement, the big winner in both House and Senate budget plans, according to several observers and legislators, was K-12 education thanks to large infusions for the GOP’s Read to Succeed increased literacy program and, at least in the Senate plan, expanded 4-year-old kindergarten programs.
With General Fund collections projected to return to pre-Great Recession levels, about $7 billion, senators and representatives have been gearing up to fight over two remaining slices of the budget pie: local government and higher education funding.
Advocates for both slices have whinged that they’ve been dinged in the proposed budgets from both chambers. And they wonder why their line items don’t better mirror the more robust amounts they received in the 2008-2009 fiscal year budget, from back before the nation’s economy went kerflooey.
Insiders say the biggest culprit in the budget tightening in now-flusher times is due to the ongoing increases in Medicaid and state health care programs. The head of Social Services, Tony Keck, agrees.
“We do suck up too much – that’s what I’ve been arguing,” said Keck, a member of Haley’s cabinet. He points out that under his watch, Medicaid spending has increased at about 4 percent a year – on par with national averages -- but that “4 percent of $6.5 billion is a ton of money.”
Same, but less
Higher education advocates have argued that by receiving the exact same amount as it did in the current fiscal year budget in the House plan, their budget line represents a significant inflationary cut, as it is a smaller slice of a bigger pie that does not take into account state revenue increases or cost increases.
 Local government advocates have argued the General Assembly continues to ignore state law requiring it to pass on a specific amount, 4.5 percent of the previous year’s fiscal budget, to counties, cities, and public service districts.
The last time the legislature hit the 4.5 percent mark: 2008.
This year’s House plan, pre-BEA infusion, called for about $30 million in annualized spending to be redirected to the fund, whereas the Senate’s plan reduced that amount by $16 million.
Some senators have argued their budget plan is actually the fuller one, as they have included more total funding to local governments via direct programs.
Rough cuts
Tim Winslow, assistant general counsel for the S.C. Association of Counties, agreed there was more money in other line items in the Senate plan. But by not meeting the statutory requirements, counties were being shorted somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 million, he said.
Any kind of shortage is especially tough in poor, rural counties like Allendale and McCormick, where, Winslow said, counties would have to cut services to offset shortages.
At the same time, he said the reduction in funding comes as counties continue to fund functions of state agencies, such as courthouse space and some court staff.
Winslow said he didn’t understand the thinking of legislators backing funding the Medal of Honor Bowl, a college all-star game to be held on The Citadel’s home turf, over increasing funding for either higher education or local governments.
Light, end, tunnel
But now, with the help of the BEA, several legislators are hopeful that a conference committee that will be named next week from members of both chambers will be able to negotiate a quick compromise for a budget bill to then be presented to Haley.
That way, legislators say they hope the legislature can finish its session by June 5, which is it’s scheduled end date, and only return via special order to deal with various gubernatorial vetoes.
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Wooden bridge, Williamsburg County
Wooden bridges are not an uncommon sight on dirt roads in South Carolina’s rural counties, writes retired editor and photographer Linda W. Brown of Kingstree, S.C. The bridge above is on Smith Swamp Road in northeastern Williamsburg County. More photos: SouthernCrescent.org.
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Two weeks to go; highway fundingLegislators have two weeks to go to finish with the state budget and consider a raft of bills available for conference, or compromise, committees.
Meanwhile,the Senate next week will debate on the floor a bill originally authored by House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R-Charleston) that could provide a blueprint for funding lagging state roads projects. Harrell’s original bill called for the remaining half of revenues generated by car sales tax to be dedicated to roads projects. A bill passed last year dedicated the first half, about $41 million, to be used to for bonding of projects. Currently, the state is saddled with $27 billion in identified roads and infrastructure projects and maintenance. But when Harrell’s bill got to the Senate, numerous amendments were tacked on to it, using it as a vehicle to push other political agendas and skirt a deadline requiring higher majority votes to pass bill back and forth between the two chambers. One of those amendments, authored by Murrells Inlet Republican Sen. Ray Cleary, called for an automatic increase in the state’s lowly gas tax. Cleary’s plan would increase the gas tax 2 percent every year for the next decade. Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell, soon to leave the Statehouse for an equally political one as president of the College of Charleston, has said that there is no more money in the General Fund portion of the state’s annual fiscal year budget, and that the gas tax is the state’s only legitimate avenue for infrastructure funding. Some are questioning why anyone should bother with increases as the House, and Gov, Nikki Haley have made it very clear they have no interest in a gas-tax increase, especially in an election year. On the calendar at publication time: - Brewpubs. A conference committee meets 1 p.m. May 27 in the third floor conference room of the Statehouse to consider a measure that would give more flexibility to brewpubs, with several provisions. Agenda.
- Senate Judiciary. The full committee will meet 3 p.m. May 27 or 30 minutes after Senate adjournment (whichever is later) to discuss three bills including the sine die resolution to adjourn the session on June 5. Agenda.
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A good reason to lift a glassA pending bill that could get action by the end of the session would allow craft brewers to sell food and more beer, including competing brands, at breweries. The so-called Stone Bill would also strip caps on beer production in an effort to attract new craft brewers to the state and support existing ones, according to supporters. Currently, a brewery that serves food is limited to making 2,000 barrels of beer a year, while a brewery that doesn’t serve food can produce a lot more beer, but can only serve a small amount of its beer on-site. A conference committee meets May 27 to work out a compromise. More here and here.
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How low can we go?The state’s unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in April, the lowest point since June 2001. This begs a political question about whether it will keep falling -- which will continue to help Gov. Nikki Haley in her reelection bid -- or whether it will start rising, which would take away some of the sting for Democratic challenger Vincent Sheheen, who has got to know that the jobs recovery is helping the governor’s campaign. If you’re a betting person, you can bet your bottom dollar that Haley and Sheheen will figure out some way by October to take advantage of the state’s economic circumstances to bolster their positions. Making up stuff Thumbs down to the state Commission on Higher Education for forcing citizens seeking to attend a Monday public hearing and meeting to sign in to get access. That’s blatantly illegal. No one should have to sign in to sit in a public meeting. The state and country have a long history of people being able to attend public meetings anonymously -- and without gatekeepers. As S.C. Press Association attorney Jay Bender told us, “That’s just another example of people making stuff up.” Perhaps the CHE staff can bone up on the law by reading this. (P.S. "John Galt" signed up on Monday to thwart your list-taking nonsense.)
Thanks, AP, for the schedule change It looks like SCETV’s traditional election night coverage won’t be happening this year thanks to the Associated Press. Sources tell us that the AP has issued an edict to keep public television stations from receiving election night numbers as the polls close and votes are counted. Without the numbers, SCETV can’t stream updated results along the bottom of television screens. And that also makes it difficult for analysts to keep on top of the latest -- without turning to commercial stations for numbers. SCETV traditionally purchases the election night numbers, but isn’t allowed to this year, sources say, because the AP says public television coverage of elections across the nation may hurt its commercial broadcast clients.
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Could Dems, independents be secret GOP weapon?By Andy Brack, editor and publisher MAY 23, 2014 -- Independents and Democrats may be a secret weapon for statewide Republicans who don’t kowtow to the freak show of tea party politics in the June 10 primary elections.
 Just look at the U.S. Senate race for a six-year term. Five Six right-wing challengers face U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is no slouch as a conservative but who is known for reasonable bipartisan tendencies (which got him in trouble with conservatives in the first place).
Graham, with millions in the bank, is airing especially effective campaign ads that appeal to voters across the spectrum. A good number of thinking independents and Democrats may figure that a vote for Graham is a vote for normalcy. Instead of staying home or voting in the Democratic primary, they may head to the polls to keep Graham in the general election in November.
That doesn’t mean they’ll vote for Graham in November, but the lure of sending a clear message that thumps the tea party may be just too much, as it was in recent primary elections in North Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky. Even without Democrats and independents, Graham may beat his challengers without a runoff, according to many analysts.
 Another reason that Democrats, in particular, might be inclined to jump ship in the primary is that its party candidates -- state Sen. Brad Hutto of Orangeburg and relative unknown Jay Stamper of Columbia -- haven’t been much in the media.
Hutto is a latecomer to the race, brought in to be a viable candidate to Stamper, who has faced controversies that have mainstream Democrats worried he could be another Alvin Greene. (Greene, you may remember, was the unknown Democrat with several problems who allowed Jim DeMint to coast to victory in 2010). Many expect Hutto, based on his statewide leadership through the years, to prevail this year with little trouble.
“The conspiracy theory never plays out,” says Republican consultant Wesley Donehue of Columbia. “It’s hard enough getting voters to turn out in primaries,” adding that non-Republican voters generally wouldn’t turn out for a primary they weren’t used to voting in just to mess with election results.
Another analyst noted that in fending off conservatives in the primary, Graham has highlighted some conservative messages which may have diminished his appeal to moderates.
But historian Jack Bass of Charleston offers a different perspective. “The big question, of course, is whether Graham has to face a runoff. Dems may save him from one, and he’d likely be the winner.”
 Quite simply, Republicans have a much more interesting ballot in June than Democrats, who have only three statewide primaries. The GOP is offering seven primary battles, plus ballot questions on abortion and getting rid of income taxes added to lure voters to the GOP primary.
Other races may draw Democrats and independents to the Republican primary:
- Lieutenant governor: Former Attorney General Henry McMaster entered the fray late in a race that also features a Haley-picked candidate, businessman Pat McKinney, as well as Mike Campbell and Ray Moore. McMaster, a fixture in South Carolina politics, has good name recognition and solid service that might attract crossover voters. The winner of the primary will face state Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Bamberg, in the fall.
- State superintendent: This relatively low-key GOP race to head the state’s public schools has a mix of eight candidates. Of all in the race, former state Rep. Molly Spearman of Greenwood is recognized as an education leader and moderate to some of the wacky ideas coming from most of the rest of the candidates. Her leading challengers are Sally Atwater of Walterboro, wife of the late Lee Atwater, and Meka Childs, a former state Education Department official under current Superintendent Mick Zais, who is not running for re-election.
Other races to watch include the race for the unexpired U.S. Senate seat now held by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who faces a relative unknown. Democrats have three primary candidates but none with statewide recognition.
Also watch the GOP primary for Commissioner of Agriculture. Incumbent Hugh Weathers faces a guy with the coolest political name ever -- Joe Farmer of Greenville.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. He can be reached at: brack@statehousereport.com.
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Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology  The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring Statehouse Report to you at no cost. In today's issue, we heartily welcome a new underwriter, the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology, which is the Southeast’s premier technical service provider and training facility for industry. SiMT’s mission is to provide customers with strategic training and manufacturing technology solutions that maximize workforce productivity in advanced manufacturing environments. SiMT’s state-of-the-art facilities are located in Florence, S.C., on a 146-acre campus adjacent to Florence-Darlington Technical College.
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Questions for advocates of pilot project on food stampsTo the editor:  Thanks for the story on the proposed new SNAP pilot project. I was left with two questions.
1. What would happen if we applied that same proposed work requirement to recipients of other entitlement programs, like subsidized Federal Flood Insurance? Maybe, if we could convince those people to get jobs or better paying jobs, their houses wouldn’t be flooded as much. 2. Do people get fatter when they are receiving SNAP benefits? I know the answer to this one, and it is, “of course.” According to my unscientific observation, hungry people generally prefer food that will fill them up for longer periods. That SNAP recipients “splurge” on pasta, bread and high-carb foods when they can buy food hardly qualifies as one of the world’s great mysteries. If you had only $10 to feed your children for the weekend, would you buy them a bag of apples or a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter?
Another way of looking at this question is to understand that people without food over time tend to be underweight. Consequently, when they enroll in a program like SNAP and have even limited access to food, they gain weight. -- Steve Skardon Jr, executive director, Palmetto Project, Mount Pleasant, S.C. EDITOR'S NOTE: The story on the SNAP proposal was a joint project of Statehouse Report and The (Columbia) Free-Times. Read two more letters on the story that were in the Free-Times.
Don't keep your opinions to yourself. We love hearing from our readers and encourage you to share your opinions. But you've got to provide us with contact information so we can verify your letters. Letters to the editor are published weekly. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.We generally publish all comments about South Carolina politics or policy issues, unless they are libelous or unnecessarily inflammatory. One submission is allowed per month. Submission of a comment grants permission to us to reprint. Comments are limited to 250 words or less. Please include your name and contact information. Send your letters to:
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Lots of good things this week Winner. A full military salute to Lexington native Marine Cp. William Kyle Carpenter, a USC student injured in Afghanistan who will receive the Medal of Honor from President Obama. More.
Ethics reform. Hats off to the S.C. House for passing a sweeping ethics reform bill. Now let’s see what the Senate does with it. More.
Ethics probe. Thumbs up to Attorney General Alan Wilson for trying to keep the ethics investigation into House Speaker Bobby Harrell going, but we fear the result he seeks is not going to happen because of backroom deals. At least the Supreme Court says he can keep probing until his appeal is settled.
More money. Local governments have to be smiling because an upward projection of about $86 million in revenues mean they might get a little more money this year. More.
Sunshine. Kudos to the House for unanimously passing a bill that will put more emphasis on renewable energy, such as solar. Because the Senate already passed a similar bill, it’s likely minor differences will be worked out and we’ll let the sun shine in with new tools and technologies. More.
Jett lag. Independent Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Ervin is punching GOP Gov. Nikki Haley for being out of the state having lunch with rocker Joan Jett while ethics reform legislation was being discussed. Interesting attack, but there is stuff out there that’s a lot better to use.
Mammoth. It’s nice that the woolly mammoth has become the state’s official fossil, but we can’t get that worked up about it. There are about 50 different things that are the state’s official something -- from milk (beverage) and dog (Boykin spaniel) to snack (boiled peanuts) and heritage work horse (mule). More.
Corrections. Thumbs down to the state Department of Corrections for appealing a circuit court ruling on better mental health treatment for inmates. Earlier this year, Judge Mike Baxley ordered the department to make changes to improve conditions to keep inmates from dying. That’s what the department needs to do, not keep appealing and wasting everybody’s time. More.
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