Tempers flared Thursday in the normally staid S.C. Senate Finance Committee when state Treasurer Curtis Loftis testified for a second time about the twin accounting scandals that have put S.C. in the sights of federal fraud investigators.
Loftis’s testimony came just a day after his office released a 58-page report that placed blame for the scandals on the state’s auditor and comptroller general.
An independent forensic accounting report by the auditing firm AlixPartners found earlier this year that Loftis’s office also bore responsibility for the accounting errors, which totaled more than $3.5 billion in overstatements going back more than a decade. Former Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom resigned when the problems first surfaced in early 2023.
“I’m trying to be as honorable as I can, but you make it difficult,” Loftis told committee members in response to hostile questioning. “These are serious issues.”
“It shouldn’t be difficult to be honorable,” Berkeley County GOP Sen. Larry Grooms fired back, before once again calling on the treasurer to resign.
Later the same day, the S.C. Democratic Party (SCDP) reiterated that call in a press release announcing the debut of a new party sponsored website, FireCurtisLoftis.com.
“For too long, Curtis Loftis has put himself ahead of the people of South Carolina,” said SCDP Executive Director Jay Parmley. “From questionable financial decisions to blatant self-dealing, Loftis has proven that he cannot be trusted with the state’s money. This website lays out the facts and gives voters the information they need to demand better leadership.”
Next week in the Statehouse
The S.C. House and Senate are expected to reconvene at noon March 4. Committees are currently scheduled to meet March 4 to March6. Highlights include a Judiciary Constitutional Laws subcommittee hearing on a bill to prohibit virtually all abortions in the state of S.C., a House Education and Public Works committee meeting to discuss a bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state government, and a Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee hearing on legislation to prohibit vaccine mandates.
- A complete listing of streamable committee meetings is available on the Statehouse website at scstatehouse.gov/video/schedule.php.
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