South Carolina lawmakers approved a measure in 2006 that slashed property taxes for the state’s homeowners by roughly half.

Those homeowners would see the line for school operating funds vanish from their tax bills. School districts would get that money, instead, from the state by way of a new penny sales tax.

In the eight years since implementation of the law, the penny sales tax has never generated the money needed to reimburse school districts for the lost tax revenue, according to revenue figures obtained by The Greenville News.

Not even close.

Instead, with little notice or debate, lawmakers have covered the $866 million shortfall with money principally from the General Fund that could have paid for road improvements, health care and other education needs.

Lawmakers interviewed by The News blamed what happened on a combination of factors that included the Great Recession, overly optimistic revenue projections and reliance on a revenue source that is not as stable as the one it replaced.

Don Weaver, president of the South Carolina Association of Taxpayers, said his organization has supported Act 388 because it gave relief to property owners facing rising property taxes they could not afford, especially the elderly.

“Our group thinks Act 388 is extremely important to protect especially (for) elderly homeowners who saw a tremendous rise in property taxes,” he said. “So we remain steadfast in our support of Act 388.”

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/01/tax-swap-leaves-big-hole-sc-budget/24193621/

Republican Gov. Nikki Haley has been meeting with some GOP House members — as recently as Tuesday at the Governor’s Mansion — in an effort to merge two competing road repair proposals.

Haley’s plan to fix S.C. roads and a proposal by state representatives had appeared to be on course for a head-on crash. But the two bills soon may become one vehicle, aimed at repairing and maintaining the state’s roads.

In meetings with House GOP caucus members, Haley has indicated a willingness to compromise on gas tax hikes, the size of a cut in the state’s income tax and how to restructure the state Transportation Department.

“She gets a lot of grief from time to time that it’s her way or the highway … but she has shown me a great willingness to work with the Legislature, which is something I haven’t seen in my 10 years in office (from a governor),” said state Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Richland, a Haley ally.

For instance, Ballentine said Haley told GOP legislators that she would accept a slightly smaller income tax cut — to 5.5 percent — than the 2 percentage point cut to 5 percent that she originally proposed.

House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, said Haley has been discussing what a roads plan should look like with many House members before a proposal is sent to the state Senate.

“She is advocating for the strongest bill that she can get out of the House,” he said.

Gov. Nikki Haley slammed the state’s House of Representatives on Wednesday for a borrowing proposal she said would reverse years of fiscal restraint in South Carolina.

Haley specifically called out the chairman of the House’s budget-writing committee, Rep. Brian White, R-Anderson, for sponsoring a roughly half-billion dollar bond plan she said underwent little scrutiny.

“That is basically our call to action, it’s to go and remind the Chairman of Ways and Means this is South Carolina, this is not (Washington) D.C.,” Haley said. “To go let the members of the Ways and Means Committee know that we would appreciate it if they would reverse what just happened.”

White said he was disappointed Haley took to a press conference instead of discussing her concerns with him first, adding “it’s just politics, I guess.”

White also said it was “a little disingenuous” for her to say that the budget-writing process was done in the cover of darkness.

“It’s not like this was done secretly,” White said. “I didn’t write the budget alone. I didn’t write the bond bill alone.”

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http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150225/PC1603/150229593/1031/gov-nikki-haley-slams-sc-house-for-borrowing-plan