It's curious to see how S.C. lawmakers and Gov. Nikki Haley are patting themselves on the back for what they - and the mainstream media - are referring to as $146 million in "unemployment insurance tax relief" included in the state budget. That's a funny way of describing this particular government
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The largest budget in South Carolina history is set to receive final legislative approval after clearing a conference committee on Tuesday. The whopping $22.1 billion spending plan represents a $1.3 billion increase over last year's record-setting spending plan - which clocked in at $20.8 billion
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South Carolina's state government is constitutionally prohibited from running deficits - but that restriction (which isn't always followed) doesn't apply to local governments. Now ... how deep a hole have these county and municipal leaders dug for themselves? According to the latest data from
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While S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley awaits the arrival on her desk of a controversial sales tax exemption for online retailer Amazon.com, her office must also prepare itself for the arrival of a record-setting state budget. That document poses a potentially larger headache for the first-term governor, who
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By Kevin Bryant || During the budget debate in the South Carolina Senate I made the illustration that South Carolina Medicaid is a "Mercedes insurance plan." In my pharmacy I work with hundreds of health insurance plans and none offer benefits comparable to our Medicaid system. Hard working South
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South Carolina's record-setting state budget is poised to grow even larger this week ... presenting S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and the Palmetto state's "Republican"-controlled General Assembly with a major political problem. At $22.1 billion (and counting), the current version of the state spending plan
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A handful of fiscally conservative S.C. Senators are trying to block the passage of a record-setting $22.1 billion budget the hopes of winning several key pro-taxpayer concessions. Among their "demands?" An up-or-down vote on a spending cap that would rebate surplus revenues back to the taxpayers
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In the latest chapter of the humorous "fetch my drink" saga, a state lawmaker has made it illegal for members of S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley's expanded gubernatorial security detail to double as her cocktail waiters. S.C. Senator Jakie Knotts (RINO-Lexington) received unanimous consent on Wednesday to offer
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A bill that would begin the process of examining the fastest-growing portion of the South Carolina budget received a unanimous thumbs-up from the S.C. House of Representatives on Wednesday. The legislation - sponsored by S.C. Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) - previously passed the State Senate unanimously,
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When is a budget cut not really a budget cut? When it's proposed by S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley ... Sources tell FITS that the Tea Party darling has been working behind the scenes with several prominent "Republicans In Name Only" to ensure that S.C. Educational Television (SCETV) and the S.C. Arts Commission
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South Carolina lawmakers are poised to spend a whopping $21.8 billion in the coming fiscal year, a record amount that could grow even larger depending on new economic data. Sources tell FITS that the S.C. Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) could release new revenue estimates as early as next week showing
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How does the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission plan on spending its massive infusion of new cash? Looks like we won't have to wait for the next budget year to start to find out ... Lamborghini-driving investment czar Bob Borden - whose agency budget is set to double in the coming fiscal
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