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Gov. Henry McMaster said contractors who performed work to prepare the Scout Motors site for development should be paid now and not have to wait for a review on why the state’s work was $150 million over budget.
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McMaster on Monday vetoed a provision the state’s annual spending plan that required a Legislative Audit Council report on why the Department of Commerce was $150 million over budget on its work to prepare the Scout Motors site in Blythewood for development of a $3 billion electric vehicle plant.
It was one of 14 line item vetoes issued by the governor, allowing the rest of the more than $15 billion general fund spending plan to go into effect. This is the final budget McMaster approved. His term ends in January after being the longest serving governor in state history.
The budget allows the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation to have access to unused debt service money to pay back contractors who carried out work as part of a $1.3 billion incentive package to bring its plant to South Carolina. The $150 million in overruns include $89 million for additional environmental mitigation, $43 million worth of work on publicly owned roads and $18 million for work done out of sequence.
Lawmakers wanted a Legislative Audit Council report completed first and required separate legislation to release the money. The governor said no.
“The state of South Carolina must pay its bills, including debt owed to contractors and vendors who have completed work at the Scout Motors site,” McMaster wrote in a veto message. “For work that has been done, the bills should be paid now.”
State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who helped negotiate the final spending plan, was critical of the governor’s decision.
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“Letting money move before the Legislative Audit Council reports will only further erode public confidence in how this project has been handled,” Davis said in a statement. (The proviso) does not refuse to pay anyone. It declines to pay blind.”
Despite the 14 vetoes, McMaster agreed with much of the budget. Lawmakers included 92% of what he suggested in his executive budget.
“Well, you always think you could have done something better or something a little different. I’ve been satisfied with the work with the legislature,” McMaster said. “We haven’t had fights like they do some in places. That’s because I know a lot them for a number of years. But if you communicate, collaborate and cooperate … it works like a charm.”
The budget includes money to freeze college tuition rates for in-state students, enough money to bring the starting teacher pay in the state to $50,500 from $48,500, give state employees a 2% across the board raise, and an additional $377 million for road and bridge work.
The budget also increases the senior homestead exemption to $75,000 from $50,000 in an effort to provide property tax relief for people 65 years old and older.
McMaster said seniors have been in their houses for a long time.
“They paid a lot of taxes. They’ve done the work,” McMaster told reporters. “A lot of them come up the hard way. A lot of them didn’t have any, but they made it. They were disciplined. They worked, and I think that’s that’s one that is worth giving.”
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