SC

Budget Chaos In SC House

GOVERNOR’S VETO THREAT THROWS SPENDING PLAN INTO DISARRAY || By FITSNEWS || Members of the S.C. House of Representatives are scrambling to deal with S.C. governor Nikki Haley‘s threatened veto of a $500 million borrowing proviso in the state budget. As we’ve pointed out, Haley’s veto threat is exceedingly hypocritical.  She’s…

GOVERNOR’S VETO THREAT THROWS SPENDING PLAN INTO DISARRAY

|| By FITSNEWS || Members of the S.C. House of Representatives are scrambling to deal with S.C. governor Nikki Haley‘s threatened veto of a $500 million borrowing proviso in the state budget.

As we’ve pointed out, Haley’s veto threat is exceedingly hypocritical.  She’s previously supported such borrowing (and opposed using her veto pen on behalf of taxpayers).

But this year Haley – who is angling for national attention in advance of the 2016 presidential election – has decided to make a stink of the borrowing issue.  And while we can’t take her opposition seriously … we can’t oppose it, either.

House budget writers – led by S.C. Rep. Brian White – had planned on Haley supporting their $500 million deficit spending plan (which would come on top of the estimated $25.7 billion budget the governor gave them to chew on).

The veto threat has thrown all that calculus out the window, though …

Now lawmakers not only need to secure enough votes to pass the borrowing bill, they need to make sure they have a two-thirds majority to override Haley’s veto.

They didn’t … thanks to a contingent of lawmakers led by S.C. Rep. Rick Quinn (R-Lexington).  If that name sounds familiar, it should.  Quinn is the crown prince of the “Quinndom,” South Carolina’s most powerful – and controversial – political empire.

Ousted from office in 2004 after more than a decade in the legislature, the former majority leader fought his way back and was reelected to the S.C. House in 2010.  Since then he has overseen the reemergence of the “family business” – including a hugely successful 2014 election cycle.

Why did Quinn block the bond provision?  According to State House sources, it’s a power play.

“They like their big gubmint,” one legislative leader told FITS of Quinn and his allies. “Not someone else’s big gubmint.”

Whatever the reason, the result of Haley’s veto threat – and Quinn’s support of her play –  has been a mad scramble to plug a half-billion “hole” in the budget.

Plan “B?” A $275 million borrowing bill – with $100 million specifically earmarked for “infrastructure.”  (Read our thoughts on all that HERE). That proposal failed to receive sufficient support, though, thanks once again to Quinn’s allies.

Plan “C?” Using an estimated $150 million in settlement funds from a lawsuit – money S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson has assured lawmakers will be available within the coming fiscal year.  Oh, combined with $30 million or so in unclaimed prizes from the state’s government-run lottery.

Sources say this latter proposal has the votes to pass … and to survive a gubernatorial veto, should one still be forthcoming.

The wild card in all this?  S.C. Senator Hugh Leatherman – the most powerful elected official in state government.  Leatherman has already been puppet-mastering behind the scenes in support of tax hikes and other revenue enhancements, and State House sources agree he is likely to reinsert a significant portion of the proposed deficit spending into his version of the state budget.

That means House and Senate leaders could be facing an especially contentious “conference committee” this year on the budget – a.k.a. the annual slugfest/ horse-trading session between the two “Republican-controlled” chambers over which spending plan makes its way to the “Republican” governor’s desk.

Bottom line? Whether this borrowing provision passes or fails … lawmakers will still wind up spending more than they ever have before on a government that continues to fail taxpayers and suck far too much money out of the state’s consumer economy.

Pic: Travis Bell Photography

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21 comments

JJ March 12, 2015 at 12:03 pm

Any “legislative leader” using the word “gubmint” should step down immediately. One wonders why politics is so dumbed down–THE POLITICIANS ARE THE DUMB ONES!!!!

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James March 12, 2015 at 12:30 pm

Exactly, why do people who purport to hate government always want to be involved in government. SC politicians, especially the Republican leadership.are wholly corrupt. They are in government to make money for themselves. They could not care less about the people they represent.

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Peter March 12, 2015 at 12:45 pm

FYI its just as corrupt with the Democrats too. All of em

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Buz Martin March 12, 2015 at 12:52 pm

Exactly. In fact, per capita in the state legislature, corrupt Dems are more corrupt.

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Buz Martin March 12, 2015 at 12:55 pm

Exactly. In fact, per capita in the state legislature, corrupt Dems are the majority of that party. Working closely with the likes of ex-Dem Leatherman and his GOP cronies.

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Buz Martin March 12, 2015 at 12:56 pm

Accidentally deleted this message, first time. But it shows as “guest.” could not edit in the part about Leatherman.

Jonny Logic March 12, 2015 at 2:27 pm

Yeah, so that makes it all ok. The 3 or 4 Dems really do make a difference, so its ok to be corrupt. If Nikki and her cronies really cared at all, they would use their overwhelming majority and do ACTUAL good for the state of SC.

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FastEddy23 March 13, 2015 at 12:12 am

So, next time the taxsuckers ask for more, tell them to tax Gruberment employees instead (It’s called a pay cut.)

leave logic to smart people March 13, 2015 at 7:51 am

3 or 4? More like all of them (on both sides), and only a moron would have derived at me saying its ok by what I said. Its not ok, for any of them to be, but I was pointing out that the entire house and whole senate is corrupt not just one party. Get a clue. Just because you hate Nikki don’t act like the dems are innocent here. That’s like saying if someone hates Obama then only the dems are doing wrong in Washington. You want to see corruption with a majority Democrat leadership? Look at the City off Columbia. People like you are why everything is shit. Quit pointing fingers and change things.

Nope March 12, 2015 at 1:41 pm

“Exactly, why do people who purport to hate government always want to be involved in government.”

Because they don’t “hate” government, they like it, & enrich themselves with it at the expense of everyone else.

Now, that being said, if there were truly some gov’t haters in gov’t(and there aren’t), it would be a great way to defeat it a la the “cancer within” method.

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Squishy123 March 12, 2015 at 6:16 pm

Darrell Jackson on Line One. Todd Rutherford on Line 2. Hugh Leatherman on Line 3.

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FastEddy23 March 13, 2015 at 12:10 am

Not me. I would just as soon get as far from the bureaucracy as possible … Me and my wheel gun.

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Buz Martin March 12, 2015 at 12:58 pm

“gubmint” is, obviously, used as a snarky pejorative in this case — and many others.. Is it “dumb” to use snarky pejoratives like that to score political points? I don’t know. I use it too often myself to be objective on that point. So I’ll ask ’em over at the DailyKossack and get back with you.

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FastEddy23 March 13, 2015 at 12:15 am

Still, a taxsucker by any other name still stinks.

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FastEddy23 March 13, 2015 at 12:09 am

Better to call it what it is: Gruberment.

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Elfego March 12, 2015 at 1:34 pm

They all are blood sucking leeches owned by Big Money!

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FastEddy23 March 13, 2015 at 12:16 am

Got it! Right!

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Squishy123 March 12, 2015 at 6:15 pm

Sounds like they could have worked last night but a concert was more important that doing their job.

I love how every year it comes down to working around the clock, because they spend the first three months of the session jerking off and trying to screw high school interns.

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Tangerine March 12, 2015 at 9:45 pm

Next …. SC House approves study of state employee pay. I wonder how much this study will cost?

http://www.islandpacket.com/2015/03/11/3638724/south-carolina-house-members-to.html

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FastEddy23 March 13, 2015 at 12:17 am

Too much. And so will the ensuing g’ment employee raises.

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FastEddy23 March 13, 2015 at 12:04 am

What’s a matta wid these guys? Can’t they plan more than a year in advance?

Some states don’t operate year to year, they plan and budget three, four, ten years in advance.

There is a city in Taxifornia that has been running a ten year budget cycle and when they got nice and fat and rich and wanted to give local taxpayers a break with the surplus, the state would not let them do it. So instead they bought up all of the undeveloped frontage on the 80 Interstate and rented it to businesses … and that city, Fairfield, Ca., got even richer.

Well the state demoFascists got even … and made the city call it something other than a budget. Now it is called a ten-year financial plan … and Fairfield still runs a surplus every year.

Check it out …

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