Taxes and Spending

Going over budget: A routine practice for some S.C. agencies

By RICK BRUNDRETT As S.C. lawmakers continue to slow-walk adopting a final state budget for the fiscal year already underway – which potentially could top $44 billion in state, federal and “other” funds – some state agencies likely are planning to seek mid-year spending hikes beyond their annual appropriations. For...

Rick Brundrett

Written by
July 31, 2026

  • Going over budget: A routine practice for some S.C. agencies

    By RICK BRUNDRETT As S.C. lawmakers continue to slow-walk adopting a final state budget for the fiscal year already underway – which potentially could top $44 billion in state, federal and “other” funds – some state agencies likely are planning to seek mid-year spending hikes beyond their annual appropriations. For...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    July 31, 2026

  • Over $1 million in pothole claims made against SCDOT in FY 2025-26

    By RICK BRUNDRETT In fiscal year 2025-26, at least 954 pothole damage or injury claims totaling more than $1 million were filed against the S.C. Department of Transportation, though less than half of them were approved with much smaller collective payouts, records provided to The Nerve show. Out of the...
    Rick Brundrett

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    July 20, 2026

  • The $8 billion that S.C. lawmakers don't talk about

    By RICK BRUNDRETT If history is any indication, the state budget for the new fiscal year that starts Wednesday likely won’t account for the collective billions in surplus “other” funds that S.C. agencies will have on hand. The Nerve’s review of records obtained last month from the S.C. Department of...
    Rick Brundrett

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    June 30, 2026

  • Certain state budget records remain secret

    By RICK BRUNDRETT If S.C. lawmakers this week finalize a state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, they likely will decide whether to authorize hundreds of millions of dollars in earmark spending. Meanwhile, there continues to be a lack of transparency about earmark requests by lawmakers for...
    Rick Brundrett

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    June 25, 2026

  • S.C. lawmakers jump back on earmark bandwagon

    BY RICK BRUNDRETT The S.C. Legislature’s addiction to massive earmark spending apparently is a hard habit to break. After taking a rare year off from making earmarked appropriations, the 170-member General Assembly collectively has proposed 475 earmarks costing taxpayers a potential maximum $467.23 million for the fiscal year that starts...
    Rick Brundrett

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    May 20, 2026

  • State pothole repair records full of holes

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Editor’s Note: This story is part of a two-article package on road issues facing South Carolinians. The other story can be found here. UPDATE: 5/18/26: Gov. Henry McMaster signed S. 831 into law, six days after the House and Senate approved a joint conference committee report on...
    Rick Brundrett

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    April 30, 2026

  • Digging below the surface of SC's road woes

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Editor’s Note: This story is part of a two-article package on road issues facing South Carolinians. The other story can be found here. When it comes to roads, Randy West knows how to look below the surface for problems. West is director of the National Center for...
    Rick Brundrett

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    April 30, 2026

  • State costs grow to $12.5M related to probes of disputed $1.8B

    By RICK BRUNDRETT The state-funded tab for investigations of and other matters related to the disputed $1.8 billion has grown to more than $12.5 million, according to the latest records reviewed by The Nerve. The new tally, which is based on records obtained under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act,...
    Rick Brundrett

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    November 25, 2025

  • Bumpy rides: Thousands of pothole claims filed against SCDOT

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Editor’s note: This story is part of a two-article package published today. The other story can be found here. Since 2020, more than 11,500 pothole damage or injury claims have been filed against the S.C. Department of Transportation, though less than half were approved and resulted in...
    Rick Brundrett

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    October 31, 2025

  • How a pothole changed an Anderson man's life

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Editor’s note: This story is part of a two-article package published today. The other story can be found here. Chris Ellis says when he was racing dirt bikes as a kid, his biggest fears were hitting “a deer, grass in the road, or another vehicle.” “Never in...
    Rick Brundrett

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    October 31, 2025