UPDATED, 6/11/19: By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | Key lawmakers aren’t saying why they are returning for a special June 25 session, but something in Gov. Henry McMaster’s budget vetoes breached the threshold of importance for them to reconvene.
After gubernatorial vetoes in 2017, lawmakers let the decision whether to override sit for eight months on funding of additional school buses.
“There’s a couple things that need to be done,” S.C. Sen. Paul Campbell, R-Charleston, said. “It’s not about special projects. It’s to look at the vetoes.”
The announcement for the special session comes a week after Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, said there would be no special summer for education reform.
House Speaker Jay Lucas’ media liaison Haley Mottel did not return a request to comment for this story. [Clarification: The previous sentence was stricken because it was incorrect.]
The House will take up the budget vetoes first. It is expected to take them only a few hours to get through the overrides before it turns matters over to the Senate. By tradition, the state budget originates in the House.
Lead House budget writer Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, also did not return a request to comment.
- According to The Nerve, special sessions have been used in the past to push controversial pieces of legislation in Columbia. Read the story here.
The 28 line items struck by Gov. Henry McMaster last week were mostly earmarks for local projects. McMaster cited lack of transparency and a need for the earmarks to go through the regular vetting in the budget process.
One of the earmarks was for funding the sinking of the submarine Clamagore off the coast of Charleston.
In other news:
Charleston airport building to don Hollings’ name. In the next 60 days, the Charleston International Airport’s terminal building will carry the name of the late U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings. S.C. Sen. Paul Campbell, R-Charleston, said its a similar honor that was bestowed for U.S. Sen. John McCain. R-Ariz.. Campbell said the design for the sign has been put together and it will be erected “before the end of summer.”
S.C. has high beer tax. The Tax Foundation released a report on state beer taxes, and listed South Carolina as the fifth highest in the nation at 77 cents per gallon. The report calls taxes “the single most expensive ingredient in beer” and that they can account for 40 percent of the retail price of beer. Read the report.
S.C. regulator recognized for ‘shaking things up.’ Public Service Commissioner Tom Ervin has been listed among regulators who are transforming the energy market in the country. The list noted that Ervin, who began his post in 2018, is working in a critical time in South Carolina as it handles the billions of dollars in costs from an abandoned nuclear construction project. Read more.
Rain on the way to withering S.C. crops. The S.C. Drought Response Committee met Thursday and elevated three-quarters of S.C. counties to a “moderate drought,” but they said they will meet again next week to evaluate conditions after rain that is forecasted for this weekend.
2020 candidate calendar
Throughout the campaign season, we are working to keep South Carolina informed of candidate events in the state. Have an event you want us to know about? Email us at 2020news@statehousereport.com. In the coming days:
- Harris: U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., will attend the SC NAACP Freedom Fund Celebration 6 p.m. June 8 at Brookland Baptist Banquet & Conference Center in West Columbia.
- O’Rourke: Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke will spend three days in South Carolina next week. On June 14,, O’Rourke will host a town hall with the Gullah Geechee Nation and, on June 15, he will host a criminal justice town hall in North Charleston. On June 16, O’Rourke is scheduled to attend church services in Spartanburg followed by a town hall in Greenville. None of the events have disclosed locations yet.
- On TV: The Black Economic Alliance will host a presidential forum noon to 4 p.m. June 15 for some Democratic candidates at the Charleston Music Hall. Candidates U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have confirmed. Tickets required, but free. To be aired on BET.
- Hear from 18 of the Democratic candidates. On June 22, the S.C. Democratic Party will have its annual state convention. Nineteen of the 23 declared Democratic presidential hopefuls are signed up to speak. Read more.
Looking ahead
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