Taxes and Spending

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

  • 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

  • Public cost of investigating disputed $1.8B grows to over $11M

    Editor’s note: This story is part of a two-article package today. The other story can be found here. By RICK BRUNDRETT More than $11 million in state funds have been spent on investigations of and other matters related to the disputed $1.8 billion, The Nerve’s latest review has found. The...
    Rick Brundrett

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    August 22, 2025

  • State treasurer, attorney general spar over outside legal fees

    Editor’s note: This story is part of a two-article package published today. The other story can be found here. By RICK BRUNDRETT S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis says he personally spent about $100,000 to defend himself in connection with the state Senate’s recent vote to remove him from office after the...
    Rick Brundrett

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    August 22, 2025

  • Hidden costs: How state agencies quietly spend above their budgets

    By RICK BRUNDRETT The adopted state budget for the current fiscal year that ends June 30 totaled more than $42 billion, though a low-key state office quietly approved an additional $858 million in collective “other” or federal fund spending requests after the fiscal year started, records show. And since the...
    Rick Brundrett

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    May 05, 2025

  • SC awash in multibillion-dollar surplus of 'other' funds

    By RICK BRUNDRETT In South Carolina, $8.6 billion represents about $1,600 for every man, woman and child. It’s also the total amount of “other” fund surpluses that state agencies carried into the start of this fiscal year, The Nerve found in a review of records provided by the S.C. Department...
    Rick Brundrett

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    April 23, 2025

  • Taxpayer tab now at $8M to investigate disputed $1.8B, related matters

    UPDATE: 4/21/25 - After hours of debate, the S.C. Senate voted 33-8 to remove state Treasurer Curtis Loftis from office for “willful neglect of duty” under a provision of the S.C. Constitution that requires a two-thirds vote of both chambers. The removal resolution will go to the S.C. House for...
    Rick Brundrett

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    March 31, 2025

  • State agencies reveal hiring outside lawyers after initial denials

    UPDATE: 4/21/25 - After hours of debate, the S.C. Senate voted 33-8 to remove state Treasurer Curtis Loftis from office for “willful neglect of duty” under a provision of the S.C. Constitution that requires a two-thirds vote of both chambers. The removal resolution will go to the S.C. House for...
    Rick Brundrett

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    March 31, 2025

  • State treasurer dodges key questions on $1.8B controversy

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Under questioning last April at a state legislative hearing, longtime S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis answered “yes” when asked by then-Sen. Mike Fanning if the mystery $1.8 billion was “real money that I can touch,” and if it could be withdrawn “today.” Loftis, a Republican who was first...
    Rick Brundrett

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    January 29, 2025