Gov. McMaster vetoes fewer earmarks in SC state budget, applauds improved transparency
Gov. Henry McMaster on Wednesday vetoed more than $52 million in earmarks and one-time appropriations from a state budget passed last week by the Republican-controlled Legislature, but said overall he viewed the spending plan as a major success.
“Over the past five years, including the last year, our successful partnership with the General Assembly has produced resounding win after resounding win for the people and prosperity of South Carolina,” McMaster said at an afternoon press conference to announce his vetoes. “This fiscal year’s budget includes a record number — 259 — of my executive budget proposals, which is up from 93 last year. So you can see there’s a lot of cooperation and working together.”
The $13.8 billion spending plan lawmakers agreed to last week includes a $1 billion tax rebate on top of a tax cut that reduces the state’s top income tax rate and collapses several tax brackets to create a two-tiered system.
McMaster lauded the record income tax cut and highlighted several of his spending priorities that were funded in this year’s budget, including raises to minimum teacher salaries, nearly $1 billion in additional state road funding, tuition freezes at public colleges and universities, and the creation of a workforce scholarship program at the state’s 16 technical colleges.
The governor credited lawmakers for taking steps to disclose the sponsors and recipients of earmarks — outlays requested by lawmakers for pet projects in their own districts — that historically have been opaque, calling the spending plan the “most transparent and accountable budget in modern times.”
He vetoed only 32 earmarks worth about $52 million dollars this year, a significant decrease from the 225 earmarks worth more than $150 million he axed last year.
McMaster partially attributed that drop to his request last month that lawmakers provide his office details on their requested earmarks, so he could better evaluate their merit. The governor asked members of the General Assembly to send him information on the activity, function or project the earmark was intended for; the public purpose served; the budget; a description of community support; and details on the identity and function of the recipient organization.
Most members responded to the governor’s request with information on their pet projects, but some did not. For projects about which information was scant, the governor said his office attempted to perform independent research with varying degrees of success.
“In some cases, we just had no idea what the money is going for,” McMaster said.
Fifteen of the governor’s vetoes — roughly half — involved earmark requests with inadequate supporting documentation.
Despite the progress on transparency this year, McMaster said even more sunlight is necessary.
In a letter to the General Assembly, he reiterated his support for the creation of a public merit-based competitive grant process for awarding earmarked appropriations with all applications and award criteria posted online.
“Without sufficient context, description, justification, or information regarding the project and how the recipient intends to spend the funds, the public cannot evaluate the earmark’s merit,” McMaster wrote. “Moreover, no matter how deserving the project, the public must be confident that proper accountability measures are in place to ensure the funds are appropriately spent.”
What McMaster vetoed
The governor’s 73 total line item vetoes included a proviso — a one-year law included in the budget — authorizing school districts to hire noncertified teachers, which he wrote he admired for its creativity but could not support due to statutory issues involving FBI background checks. It also included funding the purchase of a $25 million “quantum” supercomputer for a yet-to-be-created nonprofit that he called an “end run” around state procurement laws that would create a dangerous precedent.
Outside of the supercomputer, which was requested by state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, the largest earmarks McMaster vetoed were for a $7 million cultural welcome center in Orangeburg, $5 million for Socastee Park in Myrtle Beach, $3 million for “regional education centers” and $2 million for the West Orangeburg Community Center.
The money requested for the welcome center, community center and park was vetoed due to insufficient information, while the regional education centers, requested by Rep. Bill Whitmire, R-Oconee, were cut because money for the initiative was already included in the Education Improvement Act budget, McMaster wrote.
Whether McMaster’s vetoes stand will depend on the General Assembly, which passed the budget with supermajorities in both chambers and thus should have the votes to override anything the governor axed when lawmakers return to Columbia next week for a special veto session.
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 6:41 PM.