South-Carolina
Another 'Anomoly?' South Carolina Lawmakers Must Return 'Extra' $1.8 Billion To Taxpayers – FITSNews
“This pot of money could be a lifeline …”
The headlines came fast and furious for former South Carolina comptroller general Richard Eckstrom last year. In early February, his office announced it had uncovered a $3.5 billion “anomaly” in the state’s general fund budget. This disclosure prompted a legislative investigation – followed by calls for Eckstrom’s head.
At issue? “Differences in the way the state was accounting for cash that was transferred over to colleges and universities,” according to the elected accountant. Specifically, he referenced “a huge amount of Covid money.”
A billion here … a billion there, right?
Within two months, Eckstrom had resigned under pressure … and lawmakers were already engaged in a spitball fight over his replacement. Unable to settle on a successor, they punted to governor Henry McMaster – who made an interim appointment.
As for the money? It was chalked up to a “reporting error,” not a “cash error.”
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This week, anomalies are back in the news as S.C. auditor George Kennedy revealed the Palmetto State was apparently in much better shape financially than anyone realized.
How much better? A cool $1.8 billion better.
According to Kennedy, this money has been sitting in a “flow-through” account for the past five years.
“The net amount in this account should always be zero,” Kennedy told lawmakers, according to a post from state senator Mike Fanning. “It has always been zero.”
Five years ago, though, this “flow-through” or “clearing” account inexplicably registered at $1.8 billion – and has remained at this level ever since.
“Who does the money belong to?” Fanning asked Kennedy. “Where was it supposed to go?”
According to Kennedy’s magic eight-ball, the reply is hazy. No one knows who “owns” this pot of money, he told state lawmakers.
(Click to view)
To his credit, Fanning acknowledged precisely who “owns” this pile of cash.
“This is taxpayer money,” Fanning noted.
Indeed … and it needs to stay that way. Based on the latest state revenue projections (.pdf) – which call for an estimated $400 million general fund surplus – there should be absolutely no issue whatsoever with lawmakers putting every single cent of this $1.8 billion into taxpayer rebates.
Put another way, they have no excuse to spend this money on bloated bureaucracy – which could provide a huge stimulus
For those of you keeping score at home, South Carolina’s “Republican” supermajority – or rather the special interest-led uniparty which likes to masquerade as a GOP supermajority – has been spending money hand over fist. “Republican” lawmakers blew a record $38.8 billion in the current fiscal year budget – which ends on June 30, 2024. And they are currently in the process of writing the budget for fiscal year 2024-2025, which according to our sources could eclipse $40 billion.
That is definitionally unsustainable, people … something I have been preaching for years.
The GOP-controlled General Assembly has grown government faster than taxpayers’ ability to pay for it for decades, ignoring calls for broad-based income tax relief along the way. Once … just once … they need to put their bloated, ineffectual bureaucracies and crony capitalist overlords on the back burner and give the money back to the people for a change.
Individuals taxpayers and small businesses are struggling mightily right now. And while permanent tax cuts are infinitely preferable to one-time rebates, this pot of money could be a lifeline for these taxpayers and businesses – and the people who are relying on them to make ends meet.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.
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Richard Hricik, South Carolina’s Democratic nominee for attorney general, has officially launched his campaign for November’s general election.
Hricik was unopposed in the primary, automatically advancing to the ballot in November. He will now race against the Republican nominee David Stumbo, who beat Republican challenger Stephen Goldfinch in a runoff on June 23.
Hricik launched his campaign on June 25, just two days after the Republican primary runoff concluded.
In a press release Hricik, a Charleston attorney of more than 25 years, said that his campaign focuses on the fact that the rule of law should protect everyone equally.
“The Rule of Law isn’t red or blue. It has to apply to everyone, and be defended for everyone,” Hricik said. “An Attorney General who treats the law as their own political agenda — who protects some people and not others — threatens our democracy and makes every South Carolinian’s rights less safe. If someone attacks the State House in Columbia, I won’t ask who they voted for; it won’t matter — they are going to prison. That’s the law, and the Attorney General’s job is to defend and uphold The Rule of Law. For everyone.”
Hricik also announced that he has a no-money pledge for his campaign.
“An Attorney General is supposed to answer to two things: You and The Rule of Law. No one and nothing else,” Hricik said. “So, I take no money — not from special interests, not even from myself. That’s not a gimmick. It’s my firewall against corruption and influence. When you owe no one, you can fight for everyone and The Rule of Law.”
There has not been a Democrat in the attorney general office since Thomas Medlock, who left office in 1995.
Stumbo, who is currently serving a fourth term as Solicitor for the Eighth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina, ran his primary campaign on the basis of being a career prosecutor and lifelong Republican.
On runoff election night, Stumbo and his supporters gathered at the City Club of Greenville to watch results come in. In his winning speech that night, Stumbo said that while there hasn’t been a Democratic attorney general in South Carolina in many years, there would still be work ahead.
“We still got a lot of work to do, and I need everyone in this room fighting like crazy for the next few months to make sure that when we’re standing there on election night in November that we are officially the next attorney g eneral of South Carolina,” Stumbo said.
Ruth Cronin covers Greenville County business, growth and development. Contact her at rcronin@usatodayco.com.
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — A judge has started the process for South Carolina to pursue the death penalty against Brandon Council, the man accused of killing two women during an armed bank robbery at CresCom Bank in 2017.
Council is charged federally with murder after authorities said he walked into the bank to commit an armed robbery that ended with two employees being shot and killed.
He was originally sentenced to death in federal court, but the Biden administration commuted the sentences of 37 death row inmates, changing their status to life in prison.
With Council no longer facing execution under the federal sentence, South Carolina is moving to revive state charges that had been dropped before he was federally charged.
READ MORE: Spectators pack courtroom as Alex Murdaugh returns to court after convictions overturned
In court, prosecutors sought to add dates to the case calendar as they pursue the death penalty again.
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said the state had initially been looking at April 2027 for a trial date, but the judge denied that as too soon.
“We were being as aggressive as we could be. But by July 17th, the defense will give their order. We will turn in another order, and we’ll see if we can’t come to an agreement. That way, the judge doesn’t have a lot of problems. It’s just an agreement between the two sides,” Richardson said.
During the hearing, the judge and the state were asked about any bias before moving forward.
Richardson said, “I don’t know him. So he’s from a different state, and, they ask us to let them know about any bias. I don’t know about any bias. I just, you know, it’s whatever the crime is.”
He added, “The main thing for me was to get the schedule in order so that we know where we’re going, and it looks like we’re on the road to that, but we’re not there yet.”
READ MORE: Florence woman sentenced to 35 years in prison for 2-year-old’s death
At one point, Council sought to represent himself in court and objected to statements made by the prosecution.
By the end of the hearing, he changed his mind and accepted representation.
Richardson said he does not expect the trial until 2028.
The world of recruiting has been hot for South Carolina so far this summer, especially in the past week. For a class than stood at just 8 commits entering June, the Gamecocks now sit with 13 and have raced up the national rankings. Here is a recap of the month of June and where the Gamecocks may be looking to add in the coming weeks.
Iveon Lewis, Richmond, Virginia native, is the highest rated recruit Shane Beamer has added in June. The 6-foot-2 receiver is playable both inside and outside for Kendal Briles next year. Andrew Ivins, Director of Scouting for 247Sports, says Lewis passes the eye test for a Power Four wide receiver and has shown the ability to overwhelm opposing defensive backs. Wide receiver is a position group the team can afford to get better at and Lewis is a great piece to do just that.
Jackson Ross is the most recent addition as he committed on June 28. From right in there own backyard, Shane Beamer and his staff land a 6-foot-3 and 215 pound line backer that is an explosive athlete. Over his sophomore and junior season, Ross has averaged 118 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, double digit sacks, and multiple turnovers.
South Carolina was able to go into rival territory this past week and land Kelvin Millington out of Bogart, Georgia. The 6-foot-3 and 180+ pounder chose the Gamecocks over Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and Georgia Tech. He brings elite size and great athleticism to the position and South Carolina has been known to develop defensive backs in recent years.
James Ross is the second player South Carolina has landed right here in Columbia. Ross is a a 6-foot-5 offensive tackle, who doubles as a star in track and field. Beamer won his services over Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State and others.
Finally Clayton Lee is another offensive tackle the Gamecocks were able to land, this time out of the state of Florida. The 6-foot-7 and 290 pound tackle has the ideal size teams covet in the SEC. Randy Clements, South Carolina’s new offensive line coach, has two players added this month that showed help sure up the offensive tackle depth for next season and beyond.
Names to Keep an Eye on
NEWS: South Pointe (SC) 4-star DL Seth Tillman is down to five schools with four OVs locked in.
What’s next?
Read: https://t.co/S6geoAyghT pic.twitter.com/ncae17wQEy
— ChadSimmons (@ChadSimmons_) May 13, 2026
South Carolina would like to add multiple running backs in this class, after failing to land a high school running back in each of the last two cycles. New running backs coach Stan Drayton was able to land four-star tailback Brayden Tyson back in May. Looking to add to that room here are a few names to keep an eye on: Caden Waye, Elijah Kimble, Caleb Mattison, Franklin Richardson, and Joel Bradford.
Dewey Young is a four-star offensive tackle prospect from Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Missouri. Young is a top 10 player in the state of Missouri and a top 300 recruit in the country. South Carolina is battling with Colorado, Vanderbilt, Purdue, and Georgia Tech in his recruitment.
Finally, four-star defensive lineman Seth Tillman is another name to watch. Tillman named the Gamecocks along with Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, and Kentucky. Defensive line coach Travian Robertson is the primary recruiter tasked with landing the great playmaker out of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
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