THE BUZZ: Colleges’ road trips among most costly in SC

Universities continued to dominate the annual list of top spenders on travel among S.C. agencies during a year when state-funded travel costs rose overall by $6.2 million.

Clemson University and the University of South Carolina ranked first and second for the 11th straight year in travel costs, according to data compiled by the S.C. Comptroller General’s office.

The state’s two biggest colleges accounted for a third of overall travel costs, which totaled $75.5 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year, which ended June 30. Travel spending rose by 9 percent over the previous year – the biggest bump in the past six years.

Other universities among the Top 10 travel spenders were the Medical University of South Carolina, College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina University, S.C. State University and Winthrop University.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control was the top non-university spender on travel, finishing fifth. The Judicial Department – the state’s courts system – and Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation also ranked in the Top 10.

Among the Top 30 travel spenders, the biggest spikes over the previous year came from the: Department of Commerce, up 60 percent; Department of Social Services, up 44 percent; Department of Education, up 32 percent; Department of Motor Vehicles, up 30 percent; and State Law Enforcement Division, up 29 percent.

The biggest drops in travel spending among the Top 30 were at S.C. State and Winthrop, which each spent roughly 20 percent less than a year ago.

The General Assembly didn’t hold back on travel spending. The Senate’s travel costs rose by 20 percent over the previous year, while the House’s travel expenses increased by 61 percent.

Among state employees, only Clemson president Jim Clements and Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney spent more than $100,000 on travel. Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables spent nearly $95,000.

The highest non-Clemson travel spender was Kenley Jones, senior associate director of admissions at Coastal Carolina University, who had $66,095 in expenses.

USC’s top travel spender was biology professor Timothy Mousseau at $52,432, just ahead of assistant basketball coach Perry Clark, who spent $52,130.

Buzz Bites

▪  Vice President Joe Biden returns to South Carolina on Tuesday to deliver a speech at Clemson University on preventing sexual assault. Last year, Biden visited USC as a commencement speaker and Allen University for a voter rally. It will be Biden’s third visit to South Carolina this year. He stopped in Columbia for a transportation speech in February and attended state Sen. Clementa Pinckney’s June funeral in Charleston.

▪  U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, was appointed to the House Ways and Means committee seat that opened when panel chairman Paul Ryan was elected House speaker. Rice is the only member of the S.C. delegation on the tax-writing committee.

▪  The S.C. GOP has paid off a $340,000 loan taken out in 2012 to help county parties pay legal fees to keep candidates on the ballot after a fight over their eligibility. More than 200 candidates from both parties were punted from ballots in the dispute.

▪  Rep. Jenny Horne, the Dorchester Republican who made the news this summer for her fiery anti-Confederate flag speech, will not seek a fifth term in the S.C. House as she turns her attention to a run for Congress against 1st District U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-Charleston.

▪  State Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, said he plans to introduce a bill during the next legislative session that would require the state only buy flags made in the United States.

2016 in SC

Ben Carson: Participates in one of U.S. Sen. Tim Scott's presidential town hall meetings at Bob Jones University in Greenville on Friday.

Ted Cruz: Headlines a Rally for Religious Liberty at Bob Jones University in Greenville on Saturday. He also will attend a town hall meeting at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in Conway on Nov. 15.

Jim Gilmore: Participates in a Conservative Leadership Project town hall meeting with S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson at the University of South Carolina on Thursday.

John Kasich: Participates in one of Scott's presidential town hall meetings at the Sonesta Resort on Hilton Head Island on Wednesday.

Marco Rubio: Attends the opening of his S.C. campaign headquarters at 790 Huger St. in Columbia on Wednesday. He also addresses the S.C. Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting at The Westin on Hilton Head Island on Thursday.