NEWS BRIEFS: State to have extra billion in cash in coming year

Staff reports  |  South Carolina economists are expected to announce that state lawmakers will have an extra billion dollars to spend in the 2022-23 budget thanks to federal pandemic relief funds and better-than-forecasted tax revenue collections.  

The state Board of Economic Advisers will release projected revenue numbers during a 1 p.m. meeting on Nov. 10, according to two Statehouse insiders who asked not to be named.

“We’re on a sugar-high,” one analyst observed. “Part of it is due to under-forecasted revenues” because economists widely predicted state revenues to take a big hit because of the coronavirus pandemic. But that didn’t happen.  While some businesses across the state continue to struggle with revenue shortfalls, they appear to be the exception, as highlighted by trends such as the state’s booming port activity, the return of tourism, low unemployment and a $1 billion state revenue surplus from the 2020-21 budget year.  Read more in Statehouse Report.

In other recent news:

Charleston expected to pick up state Senate seat.  A proposed map of new South Carolina Senate lines based on 2020 U.S. Census data moves one district from Richland County to faster-growing Charleston County.  The State newspaper reported South Carolina experienced more than 10 percent growth since 2010.  The influx of almost 500,000 people pushed the state’s population to more than 5 million with areas along the coast, parts of the Upstate and the area around Charlotte getting big growth.  The changes led to the proposal to transfer Senate District 20, currently held by Democratic Sen. Dick Harpootlian, to the Charleston area.

Pandemic update: 5.6 percent positivity.   S.C. health officials reported 825 total cases of COVID-19 Nov. 5, with 560 confirmed. A total of nine new deaths, six confirmed, were also reported. With 21,853 tests reported, 5.6 percent were confirmed positive. Meanwhile, Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order Thursday that would keep state cabinet agencies from enforcing federal vaccine mandates. More. AP News.

Hometown hero to lead Jan. 1 parade.  2020 Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders, a Charleston native and Burke High School graduate who achieved international acclaim at the Summer Olympic in Tokyo, will be the grand marshal for the 156th annual Emancipation Proclamation Parade, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg announced Nov. 4. The nation’s oldest parade commemorating the Emancipation Proclamation, the event has been held on New Year’s Day since 1866.

Big gift from Boeing.  The Boeing Company last week announced a donation of $150,000 to the Lowcountry Food Bank’s childhood hunger programs.  Its investment throughout 2022 will provide more than 165,000 nutritious meals to more than 23,000 area residents who struggle with hunger, according to a press release.  “This amazing donation from Boeing helps us expand our impact toward ending hunger in our community,” said Nick Osborne, president and CEO of the food bank.

Roper hospital to leave peninsula.  Roper St. Francis Healthcare, which runs one of the three hospitals in downtown Charleston’s medical district, announced plans Wednesday to move its flagship hospital off the peninsula, citing the threat of continued flooding, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

McMaster wants to use COVID education funds to pay for 2-year degrees. Also this week, the governor said he wants to spend the last $17 million of his COVID-19 education relief money to fully pay for anyone to go to a technical college for two years to train to enter high demand jobs. More: Associated Press.

Labor secretary talks about shipping slowdowns in Charleston. U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said Wednesday that slowdowns and bottlenecks at the nation’s shipping terminals are the result of an ongoing pandemic, coupled with problems like stagnant wages for some workers along the supply chain. He made the remarks while visiting South Carolina’s Port of Charleston, the nation’s ninth-busiest port, and after a roundtable discussion with truck drivers at a union hall in Charleston. More: The Post and Courier, WCIV.

Palmetto State Armory selling accessory with setting aimed at Biden. West Columbia-based Palmetto State Armory is marketing a gun accessory for AR-15s with three firing settings: “F@CK!” “JOE!” and “BIDEN!” The swear word is the safety mode, the president’s first name will fire, and his last name will go full-automatic. More: The State.

Grand jury indicts Murdaugh, Smith in Labor Day weekend shooting. A grand jury has indicted Alex Murdaugh and Curtis Edward Smith in connection with Murdaugh’s shooting over Labor Day weekend. More: The Post and Courier. 

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