Gov. McMaster axes $153M in SC budget pet projects for ‘lack of transparency’
READ MORE
Hidden Earmarks
How millions in your state tax dollars are secretly spent each year.
Expand All
Gov. Henry McMaster on Friday vetoed $152.5 million worth of “pet projects” from the state budget, while calling out lawmakers for not being transparent enough when it comes to earmarks.
Much of the budgeting process this year has centered around how lawmakers would handle the controversial subject of earmarks after a series of articles published by The State newspaper that showed money is sent to groups with close ties to lawmakers with little-to-no accountability.
The 226 earmarks vetoed by McMaster included $19 million for the Greenville Cultural Arts Center, $15 million for the Sumter Opera House and a $9 million request — initially co-sponsored by earmark critic, Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland — for the Columbia Convention Center.
Whether any of the projects ultimately receive state funding this year, however, will be up to lawmakers, who are scheduled to meet Tuesday and can override the governor’s vetoes with two-thirds votes in each chamber.
“Public transparency must be absolute and uncompromised in order to maintain the public’s trust and confidence in state government,” McMaster said at Friday’s press conference.
For more than a year, The State newspaper has investigated the secret world of hidden earmarks and how lawmakers have steered funds to closely tied organizations. The newspaper found that the General Assembly and many of the receiving organizations continue to not follow existing rules and laws in place.
An audit from the SC Inspector General’s Office last year also found that 73% of the receiving organizations don’t tell agencies how they actually spent the money, as required by law, and there is no enforceable mechanism in place to ensure it occurs.
In response to the criticism, budget writers put together the 2021-22 spending plan and outlined specified earmarks totaling more than $150 million and which lawmaker made each request, something already required but rarely followed over the years. And unlike in years past, taxpayers were able to see all the pet projects before a vote and none were hidden into various state agency budgets.
McMaster, who has regularly vetoed hidden earmarks through the years, praised lawmakers listing projects ahead of a vote but said the process was flawed and that taxpayers still deserve more answers.
“Disclosure of the sponsor and recipient is not enough,” he said. “The bulk of these earmarked appropriations still lack sufficient context — description, explanation of merit, or justification how the recipient intends to spend the funds. Also, no matter how deserving the project, the public must be confident that accountability measures are in place to ensure these funds, their money, are ultimately spent appropriately by the recipient.”
McMaster also took issue with how the earmarks were bundled together in the budget, preventing him from vetoing individual projects. Instead, he was forced to chose whether to veto batches of dozens projects, including his own desired projects. McMaster again called for a competitive grants process administered by state agencies to award funding to allow for more scrutiny of the projects.
Earlier this year, the Senate passed a rule — led by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield — that required earmarks be published along with the sponsoring the senator and the name of the organization receiving the money. None of the earmarks, however, have a description for the purpose for the money — which is required — and a list a mix bag of names receiving money that include either the group, organization or project title. Massey again suggested earlier this week that lawmakers should consider changes to the rules or laws to ensure it happens.
A recent survey conducted by McClatchy’s South Carolina papers showed that 83% of lawmakers said they would support changing laws to ensure more transparency in the budgeting process, including knowing how the money is spent, though they failed to act on any meaningful measure ahead of the budget votes.
Some lawmakers even acknowledged that the earmarks are often used to gain support from others in order to pass an annual spending plan or are used as bargaining chips to earn support for other causes. Others suggested the current system is fine as it is and saw no need for changes.
Other earmarks in the budget plan included $1 million for the Florence County Sheriffs office to buy body cameras; $2 million for the SC Aquarium in Charleston; $4 million for the Mother Emanuel Foundation to help build a memorial for the 2015 mass shooting; $1.5 million for Shot Pouch Greenway and Swan Lake Iris Gardens improvements, and $2 million to carry out permitting needed for a planned Jasper Ocean Terminal Port.
The earmarks also included $2.5 million for tornado disaster reimbursements and $238,000 for Laurens County Office facility renovations.
Parts of the budget McMaster approved
McMaster did keep much of the budget intact and much of his priorities were included, which he credited to working with the general assembly.
“We have a partnership, a partnership that has produced another resounding win for the people of South Carolina and the prosperity of all the people in South Carolina,” McMaster said.
McMaster approved $1,000 pay raises for teachers and money to ensure each school has a resource officer and nurse. Money also was included to give each school access to a mental health counselor. The budget also expands needs-based 4-year-old kindergarten to every school district in the state.
The governor approved money in the budget to freeze college tuition, $40 million increase for workforce training programs and additional money to expand broadband access in the state.
“Broadband is no longer a luxury — it is a necessity, essential to ensuring a level playing field especially for those in rural areas,” McMaster said. “Emergency response, health care access, education — all increasingly rely on high-speed Internet access.”
He also kept in the $21.1 million put in the budget to recruit and retain law enforcement officers.
“To keep South Carolinians safe, we must maintain a robust law enforcement presence — and properly ‘fund the police,’” McMaster said. “Our state law enforcement agencies continue to lose valuable and experienced personnel because they are unable to remain competitive with pay and benefits.”
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 2:28 PM.
