The Statehouse Report
Another “surplus” of almost $2 billion in last year’s “unexpected revenues” that SC lawmakers can now dole out in one-time expenditures caught the eyes of some good government advocates.

“The state has so many needs and this surplus isn’t genuine,” S.C. League of Women Voters Vice President Lynn Teague told Statehouse Report. “This is money that needs to be used [for critical programs].”

S.C. Education Association President Sherry East echoed Teague’s concerns about the process.“You’ve got state workers, teachers, public employees, and they’re really hurting,” East said. “With more accuracy in the projections, [lawmakers] could make a long-term commitment to educators and firefighters and police officers in the budget.

The Statehouse Report

Statehouse handicappers say 2025 may be the year that lawmakers require South Carolinians to declare allegiance to one political party or the other when they register to vote, a long-time wishlist item for many GOP legislators. But Lynn Teague, vice president of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of South Carolina, says a switch would not be in the interests of nonpartisan voters. “The League opposes both bills,” Teague said in a Jan. 9 statement. “Although either would be acceptable if all unaffiliated voters could vote in any primary, without further conditions.”