COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina legislators handed out $43 million for local projects over the last two years, but most of the organizations receiving that money never showed how they spent the funds, according to the state inspector general.
The Post and Courier reports that the inspector general’s review included 16 state agencies that said they got money for hidden earmarks that they would send onto designated organizations. Those agencies never requested that money but received it due to legislators’ wishes.
The earmarks last year included $100,000 to a private family counselor in Charleston, $100,000 to Darlington Raceway and $2 million to expand a tennis center in Sumter.
There’s no teeth in state law that requires recipients to report to the agency that sent them the money, Inspector General Brian Lamkin said.
Of the 160 entities including churches, nonprofits and businesses, that got hidden earmarks in the last two fiscal years, only 43 provided documentation, the review found.
Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, asked for the review in January, as did Gov. Henry McMaster.
Harpootlian said the findings highlight “good ol’ boy politics at its worst.”
“This is more than just willful blindness,” Harpootlian told the newspaper. “This is real money - tens of millions of dollars spent in a way that’s not only nontransparent, it is a willful attempt to ensure no one ever finds out how that money was spent. It’s an outrage.”
Top lawmakers are now promising changes. Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, the House’s chief budget writer, said future budgets would be more accountable.
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