NEW for 6/11: On the state’s $11B budget, tailgaters, race theory
STATEHOUSE REPORT | JUNE 11, 2021 BIG STORY: Conferees to meet next week on $11 billion budget NEWS BRIEFS: Harris to be in Greenville Monday for vaccination tour kickoff LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Right of...
View ArticleBIG STORY: Conferees to meet next week on $11 billion budget
Staff reports | House and Senate conferees are expected to meet next week to hammer out differences in the state’s $11 billion budget for 2021-22. “There are a lot of little details to work out, but...
View ArticleNEW for 6/18: On trash, state budget, state spending, addiction
INSIDE STATEHOUSE REPORT | JUNE 18, 2021 BIG STORY: Littering creates more than trashiness in S.C. NEWS BRIEFS: State employees, teachers to get more money LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Wolfe was right...
View ArticleNEWS BRIEFS: State employees, teachers to get more money
Staff reports | House and Senate negotiators this week put finishing touches on an $11 billion state budget for 2021-22 that legislators will consider next week. The new fiscal year starts July 1....
View ArticleBRACK: State is awash in big spending
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A righteous cynic might say the state of South Carolina is about to turn on a spigot of spending that would make a drunken sailor proud. But perhaps the state is...
View ArticleNEW for 1/7: 2022 legislative outlook; Let’s go America; Education
INSIDE ISSUE 21.01 | JAN. 7, 2022 BIG STORY: Legislature’s plate is overloaded this year NEWS BRIEFS: SCGOP pushes “Let’s Go Brandon” gear ahead of riot anniversary LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Stop the steal...
View ArticleBIG STORY: Legislature’s plate is overloaded this year
By Andy Brack | When legislators return to Columbia Tuesday, they’ll be drowning in work to do when the House and Senate gavels clack to open the 2022 session. Not only do they have to deal with...
View ArticleNEW for 1/14: On hospital expansion, budget and getting involved
INSIDE ISSUE 21.02 | Jan. 14, 2022 BIG STORY: Senate to continue debate on law that limits hospital expansion NEWS BRIEFS: Legislature gets down to work on budgeting LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Be prepared...
View ArticleNEWS BRIEFS: Legislature gets down to work on budgeting
Staff reports | State lawmakers got to work in their first week of the session on budgeting billions of extra tax and aid dollars. Unlike most years in which legislators focus only on divvying up...
View ArticleNEWS BRIEFS: House committee forwards $14B budget to floor
Staff reports | In a $14 billion budget year where surpluses rule, old-time conservative spending seems to have gone out of the window as S.C. House budget committee members passed a plan Thursday to...
View ArticleNEW for 3/11: Teacher, staff shortage; Budget preview; Open records; Pensions
INSIDE ISSUE 21.10 | MARCH 11, 2022 BIG STORY: S.C. schools facing record shortages of teachers, support staff NEWS BRIEFS: House to kick off debate Monday on $14 billion budget LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail:...
View ArticleNEW for 4/29: Spate of gun violence; Session down to wire
INSIDE ISSUE 21.17 | APRIL 29, 2022 BIG STORY: State rocked by gun violence over past week NEWS BRIEFS: Senate’s $12B state budget heads back to House LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Different kinds of shells...
View ArticleBRACK: Legislative session again is down to the wire
By Andy Brack | With just two weeks to go in the regular legislative session, the General Assembly has three full plates of work. Overall, legislators scored a “D” this session, writes longtime...
View ArticleNEW for 5/13: 2022 regular session ends; Pat a lawmaker on back
INSIDE ISSUE 21.19 | MAY 13, 2022 BIG STORY: Session ends in rush of work BRIEFS: S.C. voters may have no-excuse early voting soon LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Ban this book COMMENTARY, Brack: Pat a legislator...
View ArticleBIG STORY: 2022 session ends in rush of work
Staff reports | South Carolina lawmakers this week rushed to get final approval for bills to send to Gov. Henry McMaster that would reform the state’s sex offender registry, update police force and...
View ArticleBIG STORY: A look at South Carolina’s new laws
By Andy Brack | The S.C. General Assembly passed 129 new laws during the 2022 session, including measures to spend lots of money, redraw legislative districts, allow early voting, ban vaccine...
View ArticleBIG STORY: Abortion, vouchers dominate legislature’s first week
By Andy Brack, news analysis | With more than 900 bills prefiled before the Tuesday opening of the 2023 legislative session, it’s not like state lawmakers could twiddle their thumbs. There was...
View ArticleNEW for 3/17: $14 billion House budget; Eckstrom; Tipping point?
INSIDE ISSUE 22.11 | March 17, 2023 NEWS: S.C. House approves $14 billion budget NEWS BRIEFS: Lawmakers want Eckstrom to lose job LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: OOO,OOO,OOPS! COMMENTARY, Brack: Hoping for...
View ArticleNEW for 4/21: On rural broadband; Dems’ work; Sickle cell disease
INSIDE ISSUE 22.16 | April 21, 2023 NEWS: Survey to gauge statewide broadband needs NEWS BRIEFS: S.C. Senate OKs $13 billion state budget LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: The meaning behind the announcement...
View ArticleNEW for 5/12: On a special session and the IAAM
INSIDE ISSUE 22.19 | May 12, 2023 NEWS: Budget, abortion drive order for special session NEWS BRIEFS: Measure would bolster EV infrastructure LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Government handouts COMMENTARY,...
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