Corporate Welfare

S.C. Commerce seeking money for program with ties to Scout Motors

By RICK BRUNDRETT UPDATE: 1/12/26 - In his proposed state budget for fiscal year 2026-27, which starts July 1, Gov. Henry McMaster included $50,048,662 through the S.C. Department of Commerce for "inflationary construction cost" related to the Scout Motors assembly plant under construction in Richland County. The proposed expenditure from...

Rick Brundrett

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December 12, 2025

  • S.C. Commerce seeking money for program with ties to Scout Motors

    By RICK BRUNDRETT UPDATE: 1/12/26 - In his proposed state budget for fiscal year 2026-27, which starts July 1, Gov. Henry McMaster included $50,048,662 through the S.C. Department of Commerce for "inflationary construction cost" related to the Scout Motors assembly plant under construction in Richland County. The proposed expenditure from...
    Rick Brundrett

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    December 12, 2025

  • Ethics Commission order reveals new details about Scout Motors project

    By RICK BRUNDRETT The $1 billion subsidy to Scout Motors is about $300 million to $500 million more than what states normally would have to offer in grants for comparable projects, The Nerve found in a review of a newly released State Ethics Commission order. After learning in late January...
    Rick Brundrett

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    October 01, 2024

  • SCPC, SCPIF dispute Commerce's spin on Scout ethics complaint

    May 16, 2024 MEDIA RELEASE The following is a joint statement issued by the South Carolina Policy Council and South Carolina Public Interest Foundation in response to a recent opinion column submitted by S.C. Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey to at least two news outlets in the state:
    Rick Brundrett

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    May 16, 2024

  • SC Policy Council, SC Public Interest Foundation file ethics complaint against Scout Motors

    By RICK BRUNDRETT The South Carolina Policy Council – the parent organization of The Nerve – and the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation have jointly filed a state ethics complaint against Scout Motors related to the $1.29 billion state appropriation last year for the company’s electric-vehicle assembly plant under construction...
    Rick Brundrett

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    April 29, 2024

  • Records: SC offered Scout Motors far sweeter deal compared to MS

    By RICK BRUNDRETT The $1 billion taxpayer-funded gift that S.C. lawmakers last year approved for the Scout Motors electric vehicle plant was seven times more than what officials in Mississippi, which lost out to South Carolina, were willing to offer in state grant funding through special legislation, records obtained by...
    Rick Brundrett

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    February 01, 2024

  • Scout Motors threatens legal action against The Nerve

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Scout Motors is threatening to take The Nerve to court if it publishes “confidential and proprietary” information contained in an incentives wish list that the Volkswagen company submitted to the state of Mississippi, which lost out to South Carolina for an electric vehicle assembly plant. In a...
    Rick Brundrett

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    January 31, 2024

  • What S.C. officials don't 'really, really' want you to know about incentives

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Update: 12/13/23 - Several hours after this story was published, Envision AESC announced in a state Department of Commerce press release that it would create an additional 450 jobs at its electric vehicle battery plant under construction in Florence County, bringing the total promised new jobs to...
    Rick Brundrett

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    December 12, 2023

  • Electric bus maker required to do less for taxpayer-backed incentives

    By RICK BRUNDRETT When Proterra announced in February 2010 that it was locating a hybrid- and electric-bus assembly plant in Greenville, the then-CEO said the company selected South Carolina over some 30 states because of the “numerous benefits in terms of workforce capabilities and research and development support.” Former CEO...
    Rick Brundrett

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    November 14, 2023

  • Hidden currents: How S.C. officials kept electric vehicle project secret

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Update: 11/7/23 - Eight days after this story was published, voters in the town of Blythewood ousted incumbent Mayor Bryan Franklin, electing Town Council member Sloan Griffin as the new mayor by nearly 70% of the vote, according to state election results. Voters also rejected a re-election...
    Rick Brundrett

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    October 30, 2023

  • Under the hood: huge taxpayer tab, ESG mandates in Scout Motors deal

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Taxpayers in South Carolina likely will be on the hook for more than the $1 billion already dispersed to help a recently created Volkswagen company build its first electric vehicle plant near Columbia. On top of that, under a state incentives agreement obtained by The Nerve, Virginia-based...
    Rick Brundrett

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    June 06, 2023