SC’s Sen. Goldfinch calls out a House member over $350k line item. Why did he do it?
State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, who is running for the GOP nomination for South Carolina attorney general, called out a specific item in the annual state budget that sends money to a nonprofit run by a House member while taking a jab at another candidate for the state’s top prosecutor.
Goldfinch was critical of the part of a proviso that directs $350,000 a year to the Community Advocacy Program, which does business as CASA Family Systems where state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, serves as the executive director. Lawmakers include provisos, or one-year laws, in the budget that direct how tax money is spent. They are often renewed from year to year.
During Tuesday’s Senate Finance Committee meeting, where members reviewed provisos to be included in the annual spending plan, Goldfinch also took a jab at First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, who is also running for the Republican nomination for attorney general.
Cobb-Hunter serves as the highest ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
CASA Family Systems provides services to people who have been affected by sexual violence, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy and juvenile delinquency in Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties.
“We’re simply trying to do the work of treating victims of violence,” Cobb-Hunter said.
The proviso has been in the budget since 2002. The dollar amount did not start at $350,000 for CASA when the proviso was first included in the budget, Senate Finance Committee staff said.
The proviso, which was approved again by the House, was tweaked Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee to equally distribute the $350,000 among the 16 judicial circuits. The money flows through the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Goldfinch publicly wondered Cobb-Hunter properly disclosed the income on her annual statement of economic interests.
“The message is that it’s a really bad look for a legislator to put a proviso or a line item that directly benefits them or their family. That’s what this looks like. I’m not insinuating any criminal activity whatsoever,” Goldfinch said.
It’s unclear if Cobb-Hunter originally put the proviso in, but the House advocated for the specific amount.
According to Cobb-Hunter’s latest statement of economic interest filing she included $130,000 salary from the State of South Carolina.
According to the CASA Family Systems’ IRS tax filings, Cobb-Hunter, who has been a member of the House since 1992, is paid about $134,000 a year as the executive director of the nonprofit organization.
“I stand by my SEI. I’ve done nothing differently than I have all the time I’ve been there,” Cobb-Hunter said in an interview. “I don’t have the full content or context of what was said and such, it would not be appropriate for me to comment at this time, but I will say I don’t know how me or my agency got dragged into the race for South Carolina attorney general.”
Cobb-Hunter also did not vote on the Department of Juvenile Justice’s 2026-27 budget, according to the House journal.
Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler on Wednesday asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to review the allegations made by Goldfinch.
“These allegations raise serious questions regarding potential conflicts of interest, compliance with state ethics laws and the integrity of the legislative appropriations process,” Peeler wrote in a letter to SLED Chief Mark Keel.
Goldfinch’s inquiry may have a secondary target, at least politically.
The proviso calls for the annual money be “appropriated for the Community Advocacy Program in the first Judicial Circuit,” which is where Pascoe serves as solicitor.
The First Judicial Circuit includes Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties.
Goldfinch sits on the Senate Finance Committee panel that reviewed the budget item this year because a change was made by the House in a separate part of the proviso. The initial review by that panel took place last week.
“I find it hard to believe that Mr. anti-corruption himself, the guy that says everybody’s corrupted but him, didn’t know about corruption in his own backyard,” Goldfinch told reporters after Tuesday’s meeting.
Pascoe, in an interview with The State, pointed out the annual appropriation does not pass through his office.
“I have nothing to do with the disbursement of that money whatsoever. That money is disbursed by an agency controlled by the governor, and according to the laws or rules outlined by the legislature,” Pascoe said. “This is more proof that Mr. Goldfinch is not who we want in charge of a state grand jury or the attorney general’s office,” Pascoe said.
“Goldfinch is right. I am the anti-corruption prosecutor in this race. He’s part of the problem, not the solution,” Pascoe added.
After Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting, Goldfinch went to a meet and greet at Burr Forman, a law firm with an office across the street from State House.
“They do a lot of civil defense work. He might want to hire one of those lawyers,” Pascoe said.
State Sen. Larry Grooms called on the Finance Committee to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee and State Ethics Commission for review.
And others wanted to stop the committee from coming to a conclusion quickly.
“I would caution us about making too quick of a judgment call, because this could be a case of a legitimate business performing legitimate services. And I know the senator from Orangeburg (Sen. Hutto) mentioned that the work is getting done. So before we go out too far on the limb, I think we probably need to wait and let the appropriate authority do the investigation.” state Sen. Ronnie Cromer, R-Newberry said.
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
