SC lawmakers approve 32% pay raise for SC’s transportation chief
Four South Carolina state directors were approved for pay raises on Wednesday, with the state’s roads chief getting a 32% pay increase, making her one of the highest paid state agency chiefs.
State House and Senate members on the state’s Agency Head Salary Commission lauded S.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall’s service and leadership over the state’s roads agency, setting her new salary at $251,232, up from what was $190,944.
That amount was even higher than the $226,336 salary proposal the commission’s subcommittee approved the day prior.
The salary increase takes effect immediately.
“She knows that department from every angle, top to bottom,” House Majority Leader Gary Simrill, R-York, said Wednesday.
Hall is widely respected across both State House chambers since becoming the transportation secretary in 2016 after being the interim leader. At the time, Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman commended her leadership during the state’s historic October flooding back in 2015.
The Florence Republican said Wednesday that had it not been for Hall, the Legislature likely would not have passed what was and is still considered a controversial roads bill in 2017, which raised the state’s gas tax and other fees to pay for the state’s crumbling infrastructure.
In a statement, S.C. Department of Transportation Commission chairman Robby Robbins said he was “delighted” to see Hall’s hard work recognized.
“She has earned this increase, and the SCDOT Commission thanks the Agency Head Salary Commission for recognizing her dedication to the state of South Carolina,” Robbins said.
S.C. House budget chairman Murrell Smith said Wednesday that Hall has “obviously done a wonderful job,” but also expressed concern that the state must compete for talented leadership with other states that can offer directors more money.
“We need to make sure that we are competitive with the market to some degree,” said Smith, R-Sumter. “It’s night and day when ... you have a leader and someone who can run an agency and then when you have someone who cannot run an agency. We see the consequences in what happens with that.”
