SC lawmakers, stop pulling our legs with your sneaky earmarks

Given how much South Carolinians pay in income taxes, regressive sales taxes and various fees that seem to fall into the “let’s get all up in their pockets just for the heck of it” category, we should expect South Carolina’s lawmakers to respect our money enough to openly spend it on things that clearly serve the general good — and not secretively on stuff that merely serves their narrow interests.

Really, is that such a high bar of expectations to meet? It shouldn’t be.

But is that bar being met when a lawmaker quietly arranges for $2 million of taxpayer money to be spent on expanding — yes, expanding — a tennis complex in Sumter that already had 24 courts?

No.

Or when another lawmaker quietly arranges for $300,000 of taxpayer money to be lavished on a golf course in Barnwell so its clubhouse could add some bells and whistles?

No.

Or when yet another lawmaker quietly arranges for $500,000 of taxpayer money to be directed to a nonprofit in Lancaster that’s operated by his wife?

Not only is that “no,” it’s “no!”

But these were just a few of the examples found by The State reporters John Monk, Avery G. Wilks and Maayan Schechter in their fantastic and exhaustively researched report on how South Carolina’s lawmakers spent millions of taxpayer dollars this year to fund projects in their districts — by secretly inserting earmarks into the state’s $9 billion annual budget.

In all, according to The State reporters, more than $20 million was surreptitiously spent on the lawmakers’ various “causes” — too many of which smell like ego-driven vanity projects.

Now are South Carolina’s lawmakers blatantly breaking the law when they whisper and connive to spend the public’s money in such clandestine fashion?

Actually, no, they aren’t.

The Legislature’s budget-making process provides enough loopholes for lawmakers to get away with their off-the-grid cash grabs for personal projects.

But when South Carolina’s lawmakers engage in such behavior, are they completely violating the spirit of openness that should guide how government should always operate?

Absolutely, yes, they are.

They are conducting business in the dark to avoid the scrutiny that would come if they conducted such business in the light — which is what they should be doing.

That’s an insult to all South Carolinians, regardless of how happy such financial maneuvering may end up making a relative handful of golfers in Barnwell or tennis players in Sumter. And it’s incumbent upon the state’s decision makers to do something about this during the upcoming legislative session.

To his credit, Gov. Henry McMaster declared to The State’s reporters that he would file a proposal in his upcoming executive budget to make earmarks spending more transparent.

That sounds good, governor — now back up the talk and really get something meaningful done.

Several lawmakers, meanwhile, have introduced legislation that would identify the specific lawmakers who push for projects to be earmarks in the state budget.

That’s a great idea, legislators — now do whatever is necessary to turn the words on paper into actual policy. We need more of you to follow the courageous lead of state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, who has long been concerned about the earmarks process. Harpootlian has tirelessly filed Freedom of Information Act requests to get information on how money has been spent, and the lawmaker has admirably shared the data he’s gathered with The State so that citizens can be fully informed about what’s going on.

For too long the citizenry of South Carolina has had its collective leg pulled by lawmakers who sneakily use earmarks to steer the public’s money toward their pet projects. It’s time to end their games with our cash — and reduce the power they have to game the earmarks system.

This story was originally published December 24, 2019 at 5:35 AM.