By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | South Carolina revenues may prove stronger than expected, according to a recently released report by the S.C. Board of Economic Advisors.
In a Nov. 8 release, the board predicted a $217.7 million surplus, which will be added to the total new revenue available to lawmakers in the 2019-2020 budget. For the 2019-2020 budget, the board is predicting for an additional $1 billion to be available, with more than half of that new revenue as non-recurring funds.
House chief budget writer Rep. Brian White, R-Anderson, said when lawmakers return in January, those funds will go through the normal budget process.
“It’s all got to go through the legislative process,” the House Ways and Means chairman told Statehouse Report. He said the state has federal matches to put up money for and natural disasters to pay for, which could take a priority over the surplus funds. Updating voting machines also could be a priority, and teacher pay raises aren’t on the radar yet, but they could be, he said.
Other findings from the BEA release include:
- The board predicts “normal growth rates” for the state’s economy;
- Personal income is predicted to grow 4.25 percent in the state for 2019-2020; and
- The board continued to express concern over the impact of federal tariffs on the state.
- Read the full report here.
Other news items:
“Minimally adequate” education in spotlight. The Post and Courier conducted an eight-month-long investigation into the state’s “minimally adequate” education standards and found that it negatively affected communities of color and did not produce workforce-ready graduates. The investigation paints a stark picture of lawmakers ignoring their own mandates on education, and a system that isn’t keeping up with the state’s newfound prosperity. Check it out here.
- Related: The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office released a report this week regarding the state’s education spending model. Here is the presentation made to the House Ways and Means Committee this week.
- Related: Statehouse Report has offered information on shortfalls for several years, such as in this June story. Columnist Andy Brack has railed for years about education underspending and how ignoring levels in state law was hurting education. In a September column, he offered this question to candidates running for the House:
“The state of South Carolina regularly overrides the state education funding formula in the law, which allows it to underinvest in public K-12 education by hundreds of millions of dollars. Are you for or against following the K-12 funding formula in state law or do you support breaking that law and continuing to underinvest?”
Citizenship question lawsuit. A New York federal court will likely hear closing arguments today in a lawsuit contending that the U.S. Census Bureau has no legal right to ask if respondents or members of their household are legal citizens. In our last edition, we explored what that citizenship question could mean for South Carolina (spoiler alert: likely fewer federal dollars for lower-income resident programs). Read about the latest in the lawsuit here.
Paper is in. A bipartisan group of lawmakers are pushing for the state to return to using paper ballots in order to ensure election integrity. South Carolina is one of five states to have zero paper trail for votes cast on its electronic machines, causing some to worry about hacks. Read more about the new push here.
Liz Patterson, 78, dies. Former U.S. Rep. Liz Patterson, a Democrat of 4th Congressional District, has died. She was the state’s last woman representative in Congress. She was defeated in 1992 by Republican Bob Inglis. Patterson also formerly served as a state senator.
Education report cards delayed. S.C. schools chief Molly Spearman said the state’s school report cards will be delayed until Nov. 29. The report cards were due to be released this week. Spearman fingered a student survey containing inaccurate data for delaying the release.
“We learned of errors in critical data files claimed to be accurate by a vendor, AdvancED. This data is used to measure school quality, one of the indicators that makes up our school rating system,” Spearman said. “These inaccuracies cannot be remedied in time for the scheduled release and those at fault will be held responsible.” Read more here.
More screening meetings. The Judicial Merit Selection Commission will continue its public hearings on judicial qualifications next week, convening 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 19, and then again Monday, Nov. 26, through Thursday, Nov. 29, in room 105 of the Gressette building.
- Agenda for Nov. 19 meeting; and,
- Agenda for the week of Nov. 26.
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