South Carolina lawmakers have been patting themselves on the back this year for passing “tort reform” and “advancing transparency,” but when it comes to serving the Palmetto state’s liberal trial lawyer lobby, they are once again operating in the shadows.
In fact, the State Senate is about to ram through “anti-tort reform” legislation with far-reaching implications [...]
Anti-Transparency Trial Lawyers Strike Again
Inside SC’s “Pension-gate”
S.C. Retirement Systems executive director Peggy Boykin was terminated for her opposition to a controversial investment scheme that would have funneled state investments into a new “private company” with no transparency or accountability, sources tell FITS.
Meanwhile, the appointment of Boykin’s replacement – retired CPA William Blume – suggests that a deal has been struck between [...]
More SC Budget Board Sniping
The battle between S.C. Ways and Means Chairman Danny Cooper (RINO-Anderson) and state Budget and Control Board (B&CB) executive director Eleanor Kitzman is raging on …
According to emails obtained by FITS, the acrimonious sniping between the two prominent Palmetto politicos intensified shortly after we published our explosive report Monday afternoon regarding a caustic letter sent [...]
Haley, Board Approve Another Medicaid Bailout
South Carolina’s Medicaid agency has received another taxpayer-funded bailout from Gov. Nikki Haley and her “Republican” allies on the S.C. Budget and Control Board (B&CB).
This bailout – totaling $100 million – comes just six weeks after Haley and the B&CB gave the agency an initial $100 million bailout.
Even worse, the tab is still open … [...]
Haley Or Ard: Who Is SC’s “Biggest Loser?”
Who is South Carolina’s “Biggest (Political) Loser?”
In their first few weeks in office, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and Lt. Gov. Ken Ard both appear to be doing everything within their power to claim this not-so-coveted “distinction” for themselves.
Ard has been in office less than sixty days is already facing more than 100 ethics violations … [...]
Loftis Responds To Cooper Letter
Eleanor,
I concur with Chairman Cooper’s comments in his letter to you dated March 21, 2011, regarding your process of polling Budget and Control Board members on the business of the Board.
The process that you have employed is counterproductive to our shared goals of transparency and accountability, both to the public and to each other. It [...]
SC Budget Board Battle Erupts
Angered by the dismissal of a top government staffer, outgoing S.C. House Ways and Means Chairman Danny Cooper (RINO-Anderson) fired off a caustic letter on Monday to Eleanor Kitzman – S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s hand-picked leader of the state Budget and Control Board (B&CB).
In the letter, Cooper rips Kitzman not only for the staffing move [...]
Mike Huckabee Courting SC Endorsements
Is Mike Huckabee running for president or not?
No one knows for sure yet … although early primary polls across the south (and in the “First-in-the-South” Palmetto presidential primary) look good for the former Arkansas governor – even if our founding editor has deemed him unelectable beyond that.
And while Huckabee’s “final answer” on a presidential run [...]
This Story’s Got Legs
We have no idea who Katrina Daniel is … and we’ve never heard of Greenville (S.C.) Business Magazine.
We’re gonna go out on a limb and guess that Daniel is a reporter … and that the publication she’s writing for has something to do with business … perhaps in Greenville?
We could be wrong about all that, [...]
Patriots Point Plot Thickens
The S.C. State Ethics Commission (SEC) has been asked to investigate potential issues of non-disclosure regarding the Patriots Point Development Authority and its $5,000 a month lobbyist, Brandon Dermody.
The request comes after S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis began investigating the troubled authority in the wake of its failure to pay back a $9.2 million taxpayer-funded loan [...]
SC Budget: $21.6 Billion
The S.C. House Ways and Means committee officially published its version of the FY 2011-12 state budget on Tuesday … a record-setting $21.6 billion spending plan that represents an $800 million increase over the current year’s expenditures.
For those of you keeping score at home, the proposed Ways and Means budget would spend $5.3 billion in [...]
Curtis Loftis: The Audacity Of Trial Balloons
In contrast to the multiple transparency headaches endured by S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley since taking office, State Treasurer Curtis Loftis has been getting some pretty good ink lately for simply walking the walk on this issue.
In fact, we ran Loftis’ oped on the subject two weeks ago … just as the Transparency Queen was rocked [...]
