A failed nuclear project that landed two executives in prison and cost state residents about $9 billion continued its improbable rise from the dead when S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster endorsed plans to revive it in his Jan. 29 State of the State address.
“I believe that restarting these two reactors will not only help fuel our state’s future power needs, but will also usher in a nuclear power renaissance across the country,” McMaster said.
The two partially-built reactors, located at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County, were abandoned in 2017 when delays and cost overruns crippled the project, pushing then-SCANA Corp. into bankruptcy. An ensuing federal investigation found that company executives lied to regulators, investors and ratepayers throughout the process.
State leaders now hope to complete the project by selling the reactors to private investors or a company with large-scale energy needs. The idea gained momentum among lawmakers last year when Microsoft announced plans to help restart Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power its East Coast data centers.
On Jan. 22, state-owned utility Santee Cooper, an original project co-developer that took possession of the site in 2018, said that it would accept qualified bids for the reactors through May 5.
McMaster’s endorsement of the plan was the highlight of a State of the State address that otherwise offered few surprises, with praise for the state’s booming economy taking center stage, alongside plugs for longtime conservative priorities like income tax cuts, tort reform and private school vouchers.
“I ask that the General Assembly send to my desk, as soon as possible, a new Education Scholarship Trust Fund bill,” McMaster said in reference to vouchers to use public money for private education. “Parents, not school attendance lines, should determine the education that best suits their child’s unique needs.”
Colleton County Sen. Margie Bright Matthews pushed back hard on that idea in the Democratic response, arguing that public schools should be fully funded before any public money is used to subsidize private education.
“Instead of sending our tax dollars to private schools, we should first fully fund our public schools—something South Carolina has neglected to do for decades,” Matthews said.
But she saved her sharpest criticism for the state’s ongoing multibillion dollar accounting scandal, which has already led to the resignation of the state’s auditor and comptroller, as well as a federal securities investigation. On Jan. 16, articles of impeachment were introduced against state Treasurer Curtis Loftis for his role in the fiasco.
“Where’s the money, Treasurer Loftis?” Matthews asked. “And where’s the accountability, Governor? The buck stops with you.”
Next week in the Statehouse
The S.C. House and Senate are expected to reconvene at noon on Feb. 4 as GOP leaders continue to move early legislative priorities, including school vouchers and lawsuit reform.
Committees will meet throughout the week. Highlights include meetings to discuss school academic standards, criminal justice issues and new vape regulations, as well as hearings on a bill that would allow cities to hold cemetery owners responsible for upkeep.
- A complete listing of streamable committee meetings is available on the Statehouse website at scstatehouse.gov/video/schedule.php.
In other recent news
Loftis insists he won’t resign over $1.8 billion accounting error. In a combative S.C. House hearing, state Treasurer Curtis Loftis called ongoing questions about his role in a $1.8 billion state accounting error a ‘witch hunt,’ and claimed that outside auditors refused to meet with his office to discuss their investigation.
- RELATED: State’s accounting scandal explained
S.C. Senate OKs school voucher bill funded by lottery. The S.C. Senate passed a private school voucher bill using state Education Lottery dollars. Now it’s the House’s turn, where the path may be rockier.
S.C. lawmakers consider restrictions on social media for minors. Members of the S.C. House Judiciary Committee met to consider a bill to ban minors from having social media accounts without parental permission, prohibit adults from messaging minors unless they’re already connected, and expand parental controls over minors’ social media accounts.
S.C. Republicans propose ‘no tax on tips’ bill. State Sen. Matt Leber, R-Charleston, and Rep. James Teeple, R-Charleston, introduced companion bills in the South Carolina legislature to exclude cash and electronic tips from state income taxes.
Bill to adjust liquor liability laws in S.C. A change to the current law would limit bar and restaurant owners’ liability when they’re found to have overserved a patron, something the president and CEO of South Carolina Coalition for Lawsuit Reform said is needed to restore balance and fairness to our legal system.
S.C. bill would require Big Brother cameras in classrooms. A new bill would require all K-12 public schools to install cameras in classrooms. S.C. Rep. Mike Burns (R – Greenville), who filed the legislation, says it’s necessary to ensure that teachers are not going “out of bounds” with regard to race, sex or other hot-button issues.
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