State budget has more money for teachers, taxpayers, legislators

A $14.7 billion state budget that includes an income tax cut, higher teacher pay, more money for ailing roads and bridges, and a raise for legislators is headed for the governor’s desk after it won final passage in the General Assembly on May 28.

In addition, the spending plan maintained existing freezes on state employee health insurance premiums and in-state tuition at colleges and universities.

But it was the pay raise for legislators — actually, an $18,000 increase in the stipend they’re given for “in-district expenses” — that got all the attention.

Currently, legislators are paid $10,400 in salary, $12,000 for in-district expenses, and are eligible for food and lodging reimbursements of up to $230 a day when the legislature is in session. Unlike the daily reimbursements, in-district expenses are paid out to members automatically, without receipts.

But before the final vote, House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister admonished his colleagues to use the expenses for their intended purpose.

“It’s not a pay raise, it’s an expense reimbursement,” Bannister said. “If you do not spend the money on your constituents, then that is on you.”

Gov. Henry McMaster hasn’t said whether he’ll use his veto pen to strike any line items in the budget, though he’s suggested the pay increase — lawmakers first since 1995 — is likely safe.

Federal judge blasts Trump administration in local grants case

A Lowcountry nonprofit won its David-versus-Goliath fight against the Trump administration last week when U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel ruled federal officials illegally canceled a $11.4 million Biden-era local grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) .

North Charleston’s Sustainability Institute was the lead plaintiff in a national case involving 12 nonprofits, six cities and a total of 38 grants. The ruling immediately restored funding for the nonprofit plaintiffs and set aside the city grants for later consideration.

At a charged May 19 courthouse hearing in Charleston, Gergel was withering in his assessment of the government’s case. In particular, he noted that Deputy EPA Administrator Travis Voyles had been unable to produce a single document to back up his sworn claim that he’d reviewed each of the grants individually before canceling them, as required by law.

“I was, frankly, embarrassed for the government to read Mr. Voyles’ affidavit,” Gergel said from the bench. “I’ve just never seen anything submitted to me like that. It was, frankly, sort of an insult to the Court.”

What’s more, he seemed to directly question the government’s overall candor.

“You know, y’all can do what you wish,” Gergel said. “I’m used to the government speaking to me straight, to answer my questions honestly. Fifteen years on the bench, I’ve never had an experience where I thought the government did not do that.”

In a May 20 order, Gergel found that Trump administration officials violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act when they canceled the grants without review. He also found that the unilateral cancellations were an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’s power of the purse.

Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Kym Meyer, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, said her clients were “excited” to be able to get back to work in their communities.

“We’re delighted with the result,” she told Statehouse Report on May 21. “And we’re looking forward to our plaintiffs getting back access to their funds.”

As Statehouse Report reported in March, the Sustainability Institute will use the grant to build and rehabilitate energy-efficient affordable homes in North Charleston’s Union Heights neighborhood, which was once divided by a now-abandoned 1-26 exit ramp — a project city Mayor Reggie Burgess has called “transformative.” – Jack O’Toole

In other recent news

McMaster signs liquor liability reform bill. McMaster on Wednesday signed a tort reform bill that supporters claim will lower the sky-high liquor liability premiums facing S.C. bars and restaurants. “Today is about protecting businesses to make sure that they can be successful,” Senate President Thomas Alexander said at the signing ceremony.

Andrews launches U.S. Senate campaign against Graham. Dr. Annie Andrews, who lost a high-profile campaign against First District Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, will seek the Democratic nomination to run against longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. In a social media video released this week, Andrews said Graham was “completely and unequivocally full of [expletive].”

Coming comic books tell the story of Robert Smalls. Rob Edwards’ upcoming graphic novel “Defiant,” is part of a broader effort to educate the public about a story that had been largely forgotten, including Smalls’ escape from slavery on a commandeered Confederate ship and his time as a state legislator and five-term congressman.