By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | S.C. Senate Judiciary Chair Luke Rankin, R-Conway, announced the creation of a committee Wednesday to evaluate a law firm hired by the state Department of Administration to help review the bidding process on the future of Santee Cooper.
So far, Rankin’s announcement is getting mixed reactions from lawmakers. Bonneau Republican Sen. Larry Grooms, who is publicly opposed to selling Santee Cooper, said it could “actually lead to other areas of concern” potentially upending the legislature’s work on determining the utility’s future. Meanwhile, it was dismissed as “propaganda” by others.
The committee was established after a Dec. 17 letter to Rankin on Senate letterhead by Georgetown Republican Sen. Stephen Goldfinch alleged the contract between the S.C. Department of Administration and the California law firm violates state law mandating consultants on evaluating the public utility’s future be devoid of conflicts.
Goldfinch told Statehouse Report this week that law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher of Los Angeles stood to gain an additional $600,000 should the legislature decide to sell the utility. He said he believed this was in violation of Act 95 , which directs the department to evaluate bids and issue a report. That report was made public Tuesday after being delayed nearly a month from its Jan. 15 deadline.
On Thursday, Department of Administration Executive Director Marcia Adams addressed the allegations, saying she was “shocked.”
“I would not allow Admin to enter into any contract that would advise toward a sale or any option,” she said. “This fee structure did not violate the resolution.”
Gibson Dunn Communications Senior Manager Michael Riley told Statehouse Report in a voicemail that the matter was for the Department of Administration to handle. A follow-up phone call was not returned.
The first meeting of the special Judiciary subcommittee was set for Feb. 18, but was canceled as of Friday. See the agenda here.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Hartsville, and Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, have announced limited floor sessions for both chambers while the financial committees review the report and determine a path forward.
House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford of Columbia said Thursday that what seemed like a straightforward debate on whether to sell the utility before the report came out now appears more complicated.
In other news:
KISS Day proclamation raises (painted on) eyebrows. After Gov. Henry McMaster declared Feb. 11 as KISS Day in South Carolina for the rock band, Charleston City Paper music editor Heath Ellison wrote: “If you’re confused why a group of New Yorkers is being honored with a day in a state that has a long history of musical innovation, often by black men and women, we’re with you.” Read the post here.
Day of ‘Bodily Autonomy’ announced for Statehouse. Reproductive rights activists have announced a collective day of action for bodily autonomy 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 19, at the Statehouse in Columbia. The day is aimed at opposition to abortion restrictions, and includes groups ACLU of SC, Columbia NOW, League of Women Voters of South Carolina, NARAL, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, and the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network. Learn more here.
‘Persistently poor’ black communities in S.C., South deserve spotlight. In a new piece in The Nation, Greg Kaufman examined what the 2020 presidential race means to the “Black Belt,” a name originally coined for dark, clay soil in the South but has come to represent the “persistently poor” black communities. The piece cites U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, who led efforts on the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission to bring federal funds to these communities, and Statehouse Report’s editor and publisher Andy Brack, who said the Black Belt “is a remnant of plantation life” even 150 years after the end of the Civil War. Read it here.
CofC profs talk presidential primary Feb. 23. College of Charleston political science professors Jordan Ragusa and Gibbs Knotts will offer Feb. 23 an analysis of the candidates ahead of South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary, which is set for Feb. 29. Read more.
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