Staff reports | South Carolina is not going to run out of money before July 1, thanks to a continuing funding resolution passed this week that will keep the government open.
But also this week, state lawmakers also passed a state budget bill package for the 2015-16 fiscal year and delivered it to Gov. Nikki Haley for her consideration. Haley has until midnight Monday to issue any vetoes. Any line-item of the budget not vetoed will become law immediately, which means the state will not be running on empty (money-wise).
The legislature is expected to come back during the week of July 6 to deal with vetoes. It also is poised to return sooner if there are major vetoes to big, important pieces of the budget. But no one expects big vetoes from Haley this year, especially in light of the somber mood pervading the Statehouse following the murder of state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D-Jasper), who lay in state in the building’s main second-floor lobby on Wednesday.
The budget total this year for all revenue sources is close to $25 billion, with some $7 billion coming from the state General Fund, and the rest coming from federal pass-through dollars and the “other fund” category, which includes fees, tuition and the like. One of the budget-related bills that passed this week increases the state’s Capital Reserve Fund to $128 million. And the other, a supplemental appropriations measure , contained close to $400 million with the lion’s share going toward road-building projects.
Obamacare victory brings sigh of relief tens of thousands in S.C.
More work to be done to get coverage for almost 200,000 more
More than 154,000 South Carolinians who have health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act will keep their health insurance following Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court verdict that validated tax credits for Obamacare consumers.
The S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center sent a victory email to folks that urged lawmakers to fully implement the health care law. So far, South Carolina has refused to set up its own marketplace or expand its Medicaid program to allow 194,000 uninsured, poor South Carolinians to access the program.
“Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, instead of trying to undermine the law, opponents of health reform in Congress should accept that health reform is here to stay and stop putting forth misguided proposals that would undermine its success,” the Center said. “Policymakers should recognize that health reform is working, abandon efforts to undermine it, and instead take advantage of the opportunities that health reform offers to improve lives.
“States that have expanded Medicaid have seen large gains in the number of adults with health insurance, and they are saving money in their budgets. Hospitals in expansion states are treating fewer uninsured patients, and the amount of “uncompensated care” they are providing is declining steeply.”
More governors say the flag should be removed
Four former governors issued a joint statement today, as highlighted in a Facebook post by Gov Jim Hodges (1999-2003):
“As former governors of this great state, we support the call by Governor Haley and state and federal elected leaders to remove the Confederate Flag from the statehouse grounds. Last week’s tragic events at Mother Emanuel AME Church have reminded us of the important bond we share as South Carolina citizens. We should fly only the United States and South Carolina Flags on our Statehouse grounds- flags that represent us all.”
– Governors Ernest F. Hollings, Richard W. Riley, David M. Beasley and James H. Hodges
In an explanatory paragraph before the statement, Hodges wrote this on Facebook:
“Below is a statement put together by a group of former governors on the Flag issue. Great work by citizens, community leaders and elected officials in moving this issue forward. Most importantly, thanks to the family members of the victims for showing such grace during the tragedy. They make me proud as a South Carolinian, and are an inspiration to all.”
Former Gov. Mark Sanford, now a U.S. congressman, called for the flag to come down in this statement following Monday’s press conference by Gov. Nikki Haley to take down the flag:
“Rather than having on the State House grounds something that divides some of us, I think we would be wise to take the wisdom of the Apostle Paul there in Corinthians. We should indeed look to build on the unity I have witnessed since the tragedy of Wednesday night, and I believe what the governor has proposed would be a consequential step toward doing so.”
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!