TheState.com: Governor Watch

Haleys’ income, taxes boom

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:26 EDT

The income of Gov. Nikki Haley and first gentleman Michael Haley rose sharply in 2011 – because of nearly $200,000 in book royalties paid to the Republican governor for her memoir – and so did the couple’s tax bill.

Haley’s office released the governor’s 2011 federal and state income tax returns Friday, showing the couple jointly earned nearly $167,000 in salaries – about $106,000 from her job as governor and nearly $61,000 from his job with the National Guard.

That’s up from the roughly $156,000 that they earned in 2010.

The couple took in an additional $199,850 because of the partial payment of royalties due on Haley’s memoir, “Can’t Is Not An Option,” released in April.

As a result, their total income from 2011 was more than $367,000.

Haley: SC House leader pushing ethics investigation

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:03 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley’s office Thursday all but accused House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, of a political vendetta. Meanwhile, Harrell’s office accused Haley of attempting to short-circuit a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether the governor broke state law.

Haley aides questioned whether Harrell unfairly is influencing the six-member panel’s review into whether Haley illegally lobbied or broke other ethics laws while a state representative. The panel is appointed by the full House.

“It is totally inappropriate for any member outside of the committee, including the speaker, to force himself into this process and order the committee to do anything,” said Rob Godfrey, Haley’s spokesman. “This is supposed to be a process where law and rules – not politics – determine the outcome.”

While both Republicans, Haley and Harrell have a history of conflicts.

However, Harrell’s office Thursday denied the speaker has exerted undue influence over the ethics investigation. Harrell did not ask the committee to review any specific documents or seek out any specific information, his office said.

Haley talks business at event for Canadians

Tue, 22 May 2012 21:06 EDT

The Grand Strand is great for golf and its beaches, but it is more than just a tourist destination — it is open for companies to locate, said Gov. Nikki Haley after a town hall session Monday during a Canadian conference in Myrtle Beach.

“My focus continues to be on jobs and the economy,” Haley said. “This conference highlights Myrtle Beach, an area for bringing in jobs.”

Haley was among several other U.S. and Canadian leaders who participated Monday morning in a town hall session during the fifth annual conference of the Southeastern United States-Canadian Provinces Alliance, an annual business-to-business conference among six Southeastern U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces.

The three-day conference, which ended Tuesday, has drawn more than 200 Canadian and U.S. business and government leaders, to the Myrtle Beach Marriott-Grande Dunes.

Monday’s panel, which included N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue, fielded questions about innovation, job creation, advanced education, and energy programs.

Haley: Grand Strand means business opportunities

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:17 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley says while the Grand Strand is great for tourism, it also provides business opportunities for investors.

Haley made the comments Monday during a business conference with Canadian business leaders in Myrtle Beach.

Haley said the conference highlights Myrtle Beach as a place for businesses to invest and expand.

The annual conference draws business representatives from six Southeastern states and seven Canadian provinces.

Haley says South Carolina is open for business and has a trained workforce. She says the state is building relationships with business and, even though the dollar is weak, businesses are looking to invest.

House ethics panel wants documents from Haley

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:03 EDT

A S.C. House of Representatives ethics panel wants W-2s and other employment documents from Gov. Nikki Haley to prove she was working for a hospital’s charitable foundation, not the hospital itself, and support her defense that she broke no state ethics laws.

At issue is whether Haley, while a state representative from Lexington, illegally worked as a lobbyist for Lexington Medical Center, as it sought legislative approval to build an open-heart surgery center, and exploited her status as a lawmaker to land donations from lobbyists and businesses for the hospital.

Based on the documents Haley turns over, the House Ethics Committee could decide to close the case against Haley or move it to the full House of Representatives for possible further action.

Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee reviewed the complaint against Haley and decided there was “probable cause” that an ethics violation occurred. But the panel then immediately ruled Haley had broken no laws and no further review was needed.

But some lawmakers, including state Rep. James Smith, D-Richland, were not satisfied with the committee’s work. They contend state law requires the committee to conduct a thorough investigation – not a superficial review – once probable cause of a violation is established.

SC governor pays a visit to race track

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:15 EDT

S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s first trip to Darlington Raceway included touring the race hauler of last year’s winner Regan Smith, sitting in the driver’s meeting near NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough and meeting her new favorite driver, Danica Patrick.

“We love this race. The state has been waiting for this,” Haley told NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer outside his motorhome. “We appreciate you having us,” Bowyer replied.

Haley walked around the garage area before the Bojangles’ Southern 500 greeting race fans, signing autographs and posing for pictures. “It’s a great day for the race,” she told well-wishers.

Asked by reporters if she wanted to try riding around in a race car, Haley joked using the track’s famous slogan: “I’m too tough to tame.”

Haley said she thinks many people don’t realize the economic impact of the race in drawing 60,000 fans -- many from out of state -- to the track and millions of fans who will watch on television.

Haley’s job rating inches upward

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:06 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley’s approval rating is on the mend among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents. But her overall approval rating still is low.

Those results, which call into question the first-term Republican’s prospects of winning re-election, come from a new Winthrop University poll, released Tuesday.

That poll found:

• Nearly 38 percent of registered voters said they approved of Haley’s job performance. However, Haley fared much better with her GOP base. Nearly 60 percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said they approve of the Lexington County Republican.

• That marks a slight upswing for Haley. In December, a Winthrop poll found only 35 percent of registered voters and a slim majority of Republicans – 53 percent – approved of the job that Haley was doing.

Gov. Haley’s approval rating edges up

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:56 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley’s overall approval rating is on the mend -- but it’s still not good.

That’s according to a new Winthrop University poll released Tuesday that showed:

• Nearly 38 percent of registered voters said they approved of Haley’s job performance. She fares much better with her base. Nearly 60 percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican say they approve of the Lexington County Republican.

• That marks an upswing for Haley, a first-term governor who has made jobs creation her top priority. A December Winthrop poll showed nearly 35 percent of registered voters approved. And only a slim majority of Republicans, nearly 53 percent, agreed with the way Haley was handling her job.

Haley is fairing better than state lawmakers, all of whom are up for reelection this year. About 34 percent of registered voters say they approve of the state legislature’s job performance, according to the poll. Forty-one percent disapprove.

Haley, ‘fit and attractive,’ strikes a pose in Vogue

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:42 EDT

The fashion magazine Vogue is featuring Gov. Nikki Haley in its May issue, part of her national promotion of her new book.

The article focuses on Haley’s time in office and includes two photos: one of her on a Lake Murray dock in a striped shirt, the other a leggy Haley leading a staff meeting.

The issue hits newsstands Tuesday.

“Haley in person looks even younger than her age: fit and attractive, with a face free of worry lines,” writes Christopher Cox in Vogue. “She and her advisers stand out from the rest of the Republicans in state government, a chummy bunch of white-haired men who spend a lot of time in the hallways of the state house telling jokes and greeting one another with intimate arm grasps.”

The article had the State House abuzz Thursday — and spawned a new round of sharp words from critics.

In 'Vogue': Haley, 'fit and attractive' makes appearance in magazine

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:40 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley spent a couple weeks earlier this month signing books and making national media appearances to promote her new memoir, "Can't Is Not An Option."

It turns it out her schedule included time with a team from the national fashion magazine Vogue. Check out the article -- and some glamorous photos of Haley -- here.

Be sure to check out the second photo that includes members of Haley's gubernatorial staff, including Chief of Staff Tim Pearson.

SC governor's memoir under fire

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:12 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley’s new memoir, “Can’t Is Not An Option,” is untruthful or twists many events, a half-dozen S.C. politicians said last week.

Members of Haley’s own Republican Party — including the speaker of the S.C. House and a former lieutenant governor — say allegations against them are “absolutely not true” and “not true at all.” Democrats, including Haley’s 2010 opponent in the governor’s race, describe the book as “fiction.”

Haley’s office said Friday the governor sticks by all the accounts in her memoir. “The governor stands by everything in the book because it’s the truth,” spokesman Rob Godfrey said. And a longtime ally defended Haley’s account.

Most memoirs, like the softly focused photo on the jacket of Haley’s book, are sympathetic to the autobiographer, who is — after all — writing the story of their life.

But, added a Democratic state representative, “This lady just makes stuff up.”

SC governor re-election war chest nears $1 million

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:42 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley has raised almost $1 million for her 2014 re-election campaign.

Except, of course, the first-term Republican from Lexington has not said she will seek a second term. Instead, Haley has been coy, saying she has not made up her mind.

“The governor is focused on the job she was elected to do, not the next election,” spokesman Rob Godfrey said Thursday. “It’s much too soon to think about a 2014 election.”

But not too early to build up a war chest.

In the first quarter of this year, Haley raised $205,167.84, while spending $71,683.33. Thus far, she has raised $970,620.72 for 2014 and spent $307,021.18, leaving her with $663,599.54 on hand.

Ethics Commission to hear 7 allegations against Haley

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:03 EDT

The SC State Ethics Commission will review Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign finances to determine if the Republican from Lexington violated state ethics rules.

If so, Haley most likely will face a fine of up to $14,000.

Commissioners considered the allegations – brought last July by Bridget Tripp, the outreach coordinator for the SC Democratic Party – at their March 21 meeting, finding “probable cause exists to support the alleged violation.”

The commission will hold a hearing July 18 on the allegations. (Read the complaint)

The allegations are twofold:

SC governor launches national book tour

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:41 EDT

During her book blitz Tuesday, Gov. Nikki Haley repeated she would not accept an offer to become the Republican nominee for vice president, adding she would not take a cabinet position in a GOP administration either.

However, the rollout of Haley’s national book tour was not without one bobble.

In an interview on “The View,” a syndicated talk show, Haley said, “Women don’t care about contraception. They care about jobs and the economy and raising their families and all of those things.”

Challenged, Haley retreated, saying, “While we care about contraception, let’s be clear, all we’re saying is we don’t want government to mandate when we have to have it and when we don’t,” adding other issues are important as well.

Afterward, the first-term Republican from Lexington County would not say whether she will run for re-election in 2014. “We haven’t talked about re-election one way or the other. I need to sit down and talk to Michael about it,” Haley said, referring to her husband.

Haley’s book embraces Tea Party

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:28 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley identifies herself with the Tea Party movement that helped propel her to the state’s top office in 2010 in a book designed to promote her story on the national stage.

“One of the main reasons that the Tea Party and I are such a natural fit is that they understand the importance of putting principles before politics,” she writes in “Can’t Is Not an Option,” to be released Tuesday. “We have been brothers and sisters in arms ever since.”

Not exactly. The book comes out at a time when many state activists say they’re highly disappointed by her job performance — even suspecting she’ll be a one-term governor. Tea Party activists representing various groups recently held a news conference outside her State House office to protest what they consider unacceptable compromise on a restructuring bill.

“I see Nikki Haley as more of the same,” said Randy Simpson, founder of the Seneca Tea Party. “We expected more.”

But her national image seems untarnished by in-state criticism. The Republican governor recently campaigned for Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania, and she was the featured speaker at the U.S. House GOP fundraising committee’s annual dinner in Washington. On Thursday, she’ll be touting her book in Washington with Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

IRS not probing temple; some tried to tie Haley to matter

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:06 EDT

An anonymously sourced report on Gov. Nikki Haley’s rumored involvement in an ongoing Internal Revenue Service investigation of the Sikh Religious Society of South Carolina took off on national news websites and gripped the political class in South Carolina this week.

But on Friday, just two days after the report stoked the rumor mill, an IRS letter released by the Governor’s Office showed that not only had no federal investigation gotten off the ground before the IRS pulled the plug on its initial inquiry into the society’s finances but also that the matter had been resolved in fall 2011.

Thursday in an interview with The State, Haley denied that she was in any way involved in the alleged probe.

Rumors have swirled for weeks that Haley, a former accountant, was somehow involved in the audit.

While the blogger who posted the report continued to back his efforts Friday, saying he was just “asking questions,” the governor slammed him and the way the report was handled by mainstream media outlets who rehashed and posted links to the report.

SC governor denies she is tied to tax probe

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:07 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley vehemently denied Thursday that she is in any way connected to a 2011 tax audit of the Sikh temple in Chapin where her parents are leaders.

“It is flat out not true,” Haley said of speculation that has swirled around the State House for weeks that she is tied to the IRS audit of the Broad River Road temple.

“I have never kept their books. I’ve never made deposits. I never signed checks. I never did financial statements,” Haley said. “This is a church that I don’t go to. There are no issues related to me and that church.”

At issue is a March 31, 2011, letter the Internal Revenue Service sent to the Sikh Religious Society of South Carolina, announcing the federal agency’s intent to examine the Sikh temple’s books. Incorporated in 1991, the purpose of the gurdwara, as Sikhs call their houses of worship, includes promoting interest in and disseminating information on Sikhism, and encouraging social and cultural gatherings to celebrate Sikh occasions.

Haley’s father is president of the temple’s executive committee and her mother is a board member, according to its website. Haley was raised Sikh but converted to Christianity in 1997. She and her immediate family attend Mount Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington.

Haley denies connection to probe

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:40 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley vehemently denied Thursday that she is in any way connected to a 2011 tax audit of the Sikh temple in Chapin where her parents are leaders.

“It is flat out not true,” Haley said of speculation that has swirled around the State House for weeks that she is tied to the IRS audit of the Broad River Road temple.

“I have never kept their books. I’ve never made deposits. I never signed checks. I never did financial statements,” Haley said.

Haley’s father is president of the temple’s executive committee and her mother is a board member, according to its website.

For more information, read the story on Page A1 of Friday's State newspaper.

Democrats to Haley: No secrets

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:00 EDT

House Democrats called on Gov. Nikki Haley on Tuesday to waive her right to confidentiality and disclose whether a panel is investigating allegations of ethics violations against her.

Democrats also want the first-term Republican to open up any investigative proceedings to the public. Otherwise, any investigation would take place behind closed doors, without the public’s knowledge.

“We are here to ask the governor to let some sunshine in on her ethics problems,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Harry Ott, D-Calhoun, who quoted from Haley’s 2010 stump speeches, calling for greater government transparency and accountability, during a press conference.

The governor’s office indicated Haley would not waive confidentiality.

At issue is last week’s dismissal of a lawsuit alleging Haley broke state ethics rules while she was a House member. In his order, Circuit Court Judge Casey Manning said the House Ethics Committee should investigate those allegations, saying circuit court was not the appropriate place to do so.

The Buzz: Haley denies alleged affairs in new book

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 00:24 EDT

A sometimes irreverent look at S.C. politics

The Buzz eagerly is awaiting the April 3 release of Gov. Nikki Haley’s 245-page autobiography, “Can’t is Not an Option.”

In fact, not since finding a copy of “The Wit and Wisdom of Spiro Agnew” has the Buzz been so excited. (Coloring all those blank pages was fun!)

Already, parts of Haley’s book — spanning her Bamberg childhood to her race for governor — are leaking out.

According to the Huffington Post, Haley writes that Sarah Palin — the former GOP vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor who endorsed Haley in the 2010 GOP primary — called Haley the day that news broke that Columbia blogger Will Folks said he had had an affair with the married Haley.

Some in Tea Party cite ‘buyer’s remorse’ with SC Gov. Haley

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 13:00 EDT

Talbert Black, state coordinator of the S.C. Campaign for Liberty, worked hard to get his Lexington County state representative, Nikki Haley, elected governor in 2010, blasting out emails and making phone calls to galvanize Tea Party-minded voters.

“She was going to fight the establishment, shrink the size of government and fight the good ol’ boy,” Black said Friday of Haley. “Instead, she got elected and became part of the system.”

Black is part of a faction of the state’s Tea Party movement that says Haley, who they helped elect, has broken faith with them. Many now hope she will be a one-term governor.

For Haley, never a favorite of the state’s GOP establishment, losing Tea Party support could be devastating.

Despite internal rifts among the state’s Tea Party groups, they still have clout. In the January Republican presidential primary, Tea Partiers rallied behind U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, helping him win a crushing victory over Republican establishment candidate Mitt Romney.

Ethics suit action against Gov. Haley dismissed

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:43 EDT

A lawsuit claiming Gov. Nikki Haley violated state ethics laws was dismissed Wednesday. But the allegations against the first-term Republican governor yet could find new legs.

Fifth Circuit Judge Casey Manning dismissed the suit, filed by Republican activist and fundraiser John Rainey. Manning ruled circuit court is not the appropriate venue to examine ethics issues.

Rainey -- the state’s top economic forecaster under former Gov. Mark Sanford, Haley’s onetime political mentor -- claimed Haley used her office while a S.C. House member for personal gain by lobbying for Lexington Medical Center and Wilbur Smith Associates.

In his order, Manning said Rainey’s claims deal with state ethics violations, an arena a circuit court does not have authority over. Such claims should be examined by the State Ethics Commission or House Ethics Committee, Manning wrote.

A complaint will be filed soon with the House Ethics Committee, a source close to the proceedings said Wednesday.

S.C. faces higher corruption risk

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:17 EDT

South Carolina is among the states most ripe for corruption because of government secrecy, weak ethics enforcement, little disclosure of legislators’ finances and low accountability for legislative and executive branch members, according to a nationwide analysis to be released today.

The report gives South Carolina failing grades in nine of 14 key categories, with the state faring especially poorly in public access to information and executive accountability.

South Carolina scored above average in just four areas – lobbying disclosure, procurement, redistricting procedures and internal auditing.

Overall, only five states rank lower than South Carolina in the study’s “corruption risk” index – Maine, Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota and Georgia. North Carolina was tied for 19th-best, ahead of 29 states.

The report was based on an 18-month investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity, nonpartisan good-government groups based in Washington.

Haley to preserve more records

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:00 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley and her staff will preserve more emails, letters and other documents for future generations.

The Lexington Republican and the S.C. Department of Archives and History have agreed to a new records-retention policy for the governor’s office – the first new records policy by any governor in 40 years.

The change comes after The State newspaper discovered in November that Haley’s office routinely was destroying emails, some of which may be important to historians and future S.C. generations.

The new policy means all records of “long-term and enduring value” will be preserved, according to the governor’s office, including internal communications among the governor, staffers, lawmakers and others.

Some documents still can be destroyed, including preliminary drafts of letters and reports, and “information in a form used for casual communication of a transitory nature.”

Governor sticks by DNR chair

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:16 EST

Gov. Nikki Haley said Tuesday she won’t fire the state wildlife department’s chairwoman in response to pressure from state senators but suggested she would replace Caroline Rhodes at some point in the future.

After a bill signing on the State House steps, Haley said Rhodes has served South Carolina well at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, the state’s wildlife and fishery agency.

“What I will tell you is that the chairwoman has done a good job,” Haley said. “We will see probably a new chair of DNR, but not because she has not done a good job.”

Rhodes was chosen by Republican Haley to oversee the board after the governor took office in January 2011. Rhodes’ four-year term as a board member expires in July 2014. A board member elevated to chairman serves at the governor’s pleasure, attorneys said.

Haley said if Rhodes is “removed from her chairmanship, it will be because it is in the pecking order, not because of anything they (the senators) are wanting.”

Senate overrides Haley’s port veto

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:48 EST

State senators Thursday adamantly registered their disapproval of Gov. Nikki Haley’s handling of a controversial port project.

Senators joined House members, who had acted earlier, in voting to overturn Haley’s veto of a bill — now law — saying that the state Department of Health and Environmental Control had no right to issue a permit that helped clear the way for Georgia to dredge the Savannah River and expand its Savannah port.

The permitting controversy comes at the same time that South Carolina is working to expand its own Charleston Port and make headway on building a new port in Jasper County.

Calling it the “rape of the river,” senators voted 39-0 overturn Haley’s veto. House members voted 111 to 1 Tuesday to overturn it.

During Senate debate Wednesday, senators were critical of the permit, issued by DHEC commissioners appointed by Haley, and Haley, who has stood behind the DHEC board.

New small business tool unveiled

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:53 EST

A small tool and die company doing business in the aerospace wing of the manufacturing world in West Columbia plans to double its size this year as a result of business orders from Boeing.

Gov. Nikki Haley used that business, Columbia Tool and Die, as a backdrop Wednesday to announce a new online service that she and state economic development leaders say could help open the doors to small business growth throughout South Carolina.

The new service, South Carolina Business Network, is a web-based information and resource hub where business owners and entrepreneurs can tune into business activity across the state, and link with and learn about other businesses.

“We’ve seen a success story for Columbia Tool and Die, in the way that they were match-made with Boeing, in getting their certification,” Haley said. “That success story is about to go throughout the state.

“SCBizNetwork.com is now the newest employee of every small business in the state of South Carolina,” Haley said, where businesses can go to access information about lending, getting certifications, hiring and expanding – 24 hours a day.

Senate confirms Haley’s pick to head DHEC

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:44 EST

After three days of debate, Lowcountry lawyer Catherine Templeton won the Senate’s approval Thursday, clearing the way for her to assume the top post at the state’s environmental agency, the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The vote was 38 to 3 with Sens. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, Phil Leventis, D-Sumter and Joel Lourie, D-Richland voting no.

The three raised concerns about Templeton’s lack of experience, her unwillingness to move to Columbia from Charleston for the job and her initial reluctance to take the post as reasons for their no votes. Templeton has said she is capable of doing the job, that she wants the job and that she will commute.

Meanwhile, they pointed out that more qualified applicants were not given serious consideration.

“Why would we confirm someone who sets their own work rules?” Leventis said who filibustered against Templeton’s appointment for four hours last Wednesday. “Why would we accept someone who wants to run it by remote control?”

House members bash Haley, overturn her port veto

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:11 EST

House Republicans and Democrats alike blasted Gov. Nikki Haley Tuesday for vetoing a resolution and, in a 111 to 1 vote, overturned her veto.

“This is a political ploy,” said Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley, of Haley’s veto. “Once again, (Haley) is working more on behalf of Georgia when it comes to this permit and this issue than she is on South Carolina.”

At issue is a water quality permit issued by Haley’s Department of Health and Environmental Control board that is helping Georgia expand its Savannah port. Lawmakers have charged the permit hurts South Carolina where the Charleston port also needs to be expanded.

Haley has defended the board’s decision. In her veto message, she said the legislature is overstepping its authority by trying to influence the issue. She has also vowed to work hard to find the money to expand the Charleston port.

Lawmakers have been unconvinced. Both the House and the Senate recently passed a resolution, disavowing the DHEC permit decision and claiming the board lacked the authority to issue the permit. A lawsuit has also been filed to undo the decision.

Haley vetoes bill, clears way for Georgia port deepening

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:26 EST

Gov. Nikki Haley vetoed a legislative resolution Monday that would have undone a controversial decision that helped clear the way for the deepening of Georgia’s main port.

At issue is a water-quality permit that a Haley-appointed board, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control board, approved in November after staff members with that agency originally rejected the idea. Critics say that permitting gives Georgia’s Savannah port a competitive advantage over South Carolina’s Charleston port.

State senators and House members, upset at the DHEC board, unanimously passed a resolution lambasting the permit. Their resolution claims DHEC lacked the authority to issue the permit. Instead, they argue another board – the Savannah River Maritime Commission, which legislators created in 2007 – has that authority but was never consulted.

In her veto message, Haley says the DHEC board has the sole permitting authority, pointing to a 2010 opinion by South Carolina’s attorney general.

“Only DHEC can issue (the permit) which is why the Attorney General has opined that the Savannah River Maritime Commission has no authority to grant them,” Haley said in her veto message.

Haley urges Obama to spend more on port deepening

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:26 EST

Gov. Nikki Haley implored President Barack Obama on Monday to find more money to deepen the Charleston port and other Atlantic harbors so they can accommodate giant cargo ships after the widening of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014.

Haley, at a White House meeting with Obama and other governors, said she also urged the president to kick the Army Corps of Engineers into higher gear on deepening the Atlantic ports.

“I personally talked to him about the ports that we’re all facing – and the fact that why does it take the Corps of Engineers 10 years to do a deepening project,” Haley told reporters after the White House session.

“We need it done within less than a year,” she said. “Other countries are doing it, why aren’t we doing that?”

Republican Haley said she did not thank Democrat Obama for including $3.5 million in his budget proposal to expand the Corps of Engineers study of deepening Charleston’s port.

Haley won’t repay security costs for D.C. trip

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:00 EDT

Gov. Nikki Haley pledged this week to repay the state for the cost of her security detail when she’s out-of-state, privately raising money for her 2015 re-election bid. But she won’t reimburse taxpayers for a Washington, D.C., trip that she is on now.

The first-term Republican governor is in Washington through Monday, taking part in the Republican Governors Association’s winter meeting and meeting Monday with President Obama along with other governors.

During the trip, Haley also will hold two fundraisers for her 2015 campaign – one with representatives of the hospitality industry and a second with business leaders, said Marisa Crawford, Haley’s fundraiser.

Haley’s office said the fundraisers are add-ons to a trip that she is taking in her official capacity and, as a result, the governor’s campaign will not repay the costs of her security. “There are no additional security costs related to the fundraisers,” said Rob Godfrey, Haley’s spokesman.

Earlier this week, Haley pledged to repay security costs for fundraising-only trips or the costs associated with the fundraising portion of trips. However, Godfrey said Thursday security agents would have to be with Haley in Washington anyway.

Senate: Loftis stays on panel

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:54 EST

An attempt to banish state Treasurer Curtis Loftis from the commission that manages the state’s $25 billion retirement fund resoundingly was rejected Wednesday in the state Senate.

Loftis, a Republican, is one of five members of the Retirement Investment Commission, which oversees the state’s pension money.

Since January, he has criticized the commission for investing heavily in alternative investments — anything other than stocks, bonds or cash — that Loftis says are riskier and also have caused the pension fund to pay higher-than-normal management fees.

Meanwhile, the State Law Enforcement Division is investigating an allegation that investment companies were told they could improve their chances of handling state pension money, earning lucrative fees, if they paid a friend of Loftis.

Both Loftis and that friend, Charleston businessman Mallory Factor, have denied any wrongdoing, and Factor said Wednesday that he no longer represents two investment firms that had sought business with the commission. Loftis has claimed politics are behind the allegation.

New SC program will try to match workers, employers

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:39 EST

Gov. Nikki Haley outlined a new jobs-training program Thursday that, if enacted, would use data to match potential workers with businesses in every county.

South Carolina is one of four states recently accepted into a pilot jobs project by ACT, a national nonprofit most known for its college readiness exam.

Representatives from ACT, the governor’s office, the state’s technical schools and the state Department of Education will meet next week to work out details of the new program, expected to take about a year to implement.

ACT would be paid for the testing. However, it has not been decided yet who – workers, counties or the state – would pay for the testing.

The program would:

Governor: Senate stalling on restructuring

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:55 EST

Gov. Nikki Haley called out state senators Tuesday in an impromptu press conference, saying they are not working fast enough to pass a massive government restructuring bill.

“They haven’t so much as created a working document,” said Haley, referring to the proposal to create a cabinet-level Department of Administration that would report to Haley and future governors, overseeing a large swath of state government.

Haley attempted to call lawmakers back into special session last summer to create the new department but was stopped by the state Supreme Court, which ruled she lacked the authority to do so.

Senators, who promised to put the restructuring proposal at the top of their agenda this session, have spent the past five weeks working out the details of how to create the new department and whether to eliminate the State Budget and Control Board. That board now does much of the work that an Administration Department would do, including overseeing the state’s retirement and computer systems, and managing its vehicle fleet.

No other state in the nation has such a board, a quasi-legislative panel made up of the governor, the state treasurer, the comptroller general and two top lawmakers.

Haley signs law creating state inspector general

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:41 EST

South Carolina now has a top official responsible for investigating fraud and abuse across state government.

Gov. Nikki Haley signed into law a bill Thursday creating an Inspector General’s Office, empowered with subpoena power, to investigate fraud, waste and abuse in all state agencies.

“This is hugely important at a time where we’re looking to clean up government and see what we can do to make it better,” Haley said during a ceremonial bill signing at the State House.

The bill signing included several of the new law’s co-sponsors but not Sen. Vincent Sheheen, the Camden Democrat who filed the original bill to create the post. Sheheen, who lost the 2010 governor’s race to Haley, said he had a prior engagement.

However, he lauded the new post, saying it will help root out illegal activities, waste and redundancies. “The Attorney General’s Office is looking into illegal activity and so will this new office,” Sheheen said. “But they’ll also find things that are wasteful or don’t make sense — things we need to reform.”

Haley, Republicans take aim at unions

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:17 EST

Gov. Nikki Haley and House Republicans are joining forces to close loopholes that, they say, unions could use to set up shop and expand in South Carolina.

“Unions are not needed, wanted or welcome in South Carolina,” Haley said during a Tuesday press conference where she and state Rep. Bill Sandifer, R-Oconee, announced a new bill filed in the House that would:

• Require S.C. employers to display a poster in the workplace, alerting workers that they do not have to be union members in order to work. State law already gives workers the right to turn down union membership.

• Increase civil penalties for those who violate the state’s right-to-work laws

• Allow workers to resign their union membership and stop paying dues at any time. Currently, union members have to wait a year.

Haley: ‘Our state is surging’

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:56 EST

Gov. Nikki Haley promised Wednesday to fight for more S.C. jobs, block unions from expanding in the state and pressed lawmakers to pass her budget during her second annual State of the State address.

“Ladies and gentlemen, while I breathe, I hope,” Haley, a Lexington Republican, told the packed State House crowd, referring to the state’s motto. “And it is with great faith in those words, the words chosen by our forefathers, that I say to you tonight that the state of our state is surging.”

Among the highlights of her first year in office, Haley listed $5 billion of business investment in South Carolina and the recruitment of almost 20,000 new jobs.

She added she soon will roll out a jobs-training program to prepare more S.C. workers for the jobs of the future. Representatives from 13 companies new to South Carolina or expanding in the state, including Boeing, Continental Tire and Bridgestone Americas, were on hand for Haley’s address and received a standing ovation from lawmakers.

“We all have to admit she’s done a great job of creating jobs in South Carolina,” said Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, after the speech. “Not since (the late Gov.) Carroll Campbell have we had such a great salesman for the state of South Carolina.”

Excerpts from Gov. Nikki Haley’s State of the State address

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:54 EST

Excerpts from Gov. Nikki Haley’s address Wednesday; her full speech is online at thestate.com

.. (T)he state of our state is surging. When this administration came into office, just over a year ago, with unemployment in double digits and growing, our focus was almost singular – jobs. ...

The good news is we’ve made great progress this past year. The bad news is we still have a ways to go. ... We have grown and expanded our South Carolina family this year, welcoming in some wonderful new partners. And ... we were able to celebrate 5 billion dollars of investment in South Carolina, and the recruitment of almost 20,000 new jobs in our great state. ... While we have made great progress, there is more work to do. ...

Loser-pay lawsuits

In order to better do that, we, in this room, need to focus on legislation that is pro-business and helps us create a more competitive environment. ... Until 2011, South Carolina was the only state in the Southeast that did not cap damages on lawsuits. Thanks to the people in this room, that is no longer the case. That was a huge first step. ...

Democratic response excerpts: ‘The governor let us down’

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:54 EST

Excerpted from the Democratic response, delivered by state Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Bamberg, to Gov. Nikki Haley’s State of the State speech. The full text is online at thestate.com

“... Over the past year, Democrats have proposed a series of new policy initiatives that would have encouraged new growth and provided new opportunities for South Carolina’s families. Our colleagues across the aisle have rebuked our attempts at partnership. ... (T)hey responded with worn-out slogans and dogmas of the past, creating a race to the bottom in classroom achievement and job growth. ...

Schools suffer ‘disregard and neglect’

“In South Carolina, a once-proud network of public schools and technical colleges, due to years of disregard and neglect, today ranks among the nation’s worst. Our K-12 schools are currently ranked 42nd and our classrooms along I-95 have been neglected for so long that they form a ‘Corridor of Shame.’ ...