General Assembly Passes State Budget
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- With a vote of 100-9 in the House and 40-2 in the Senate, lawmakers passed an $8 billion state budget Tuesday.
Despite both chambers passing it overwhelmingly, there was one hang up that kept senators debating for hours.
The House passed a proviso that lawmakers say limits the commission on higher education’s administrative authority for construction at colleges and universities.
The House voted to include the proviso when they passed the state budget but it took senators a day of deliberating to get the measure passed. Some senators say the proviso was not a necessity for constituents.
“Let us review again what this proviso does and what it does not do. Just for the record, if this proviso fails not one citizen in South Carolina’s quality of life will be reduced. This is about sports. This is about athletic facilities,” said Richland Democrat Darrell Jackson.
If the provision did not pass, senators say the issue would have to go back to conference. The clause was eventually adopted by the senate by a vote of 28-14.
The Senate and House have officially adjourned. The bodies will reconvene this summer if the governor vetoes portions of the budget. If he does not, both bodies will reassemble next January.
