My budget subcommittee continued our work last month even while the House was not in session (due to weather).
For those curious, my subcommittee is one of several that broadcast our hearings online for everyone to see. (You can go to www.scstatehouse.gov and check daily House meeting schedule or click on Video schedule , or if you want to see prior meetings, click on Video Archives )
Nathan’s News readers heard earlier this year how currently we have $3 BILLION more requests from state agencies this year than we expect to have state revenues!
As you can see in the brief clip above, this means that even though politicians get blasted constantly for “spending, spending, spending”, we actually have to say “NO” many times. I wanted to prepare our colleges and universities that they would not receive all their requests, and frankly, will only receive a fraction of those requests this year.
My priority is keeping COLLEGE TUITION costs down – for our students and their families. Let’s keep tuition from rising and let’s admit more in-state students. My priority is not new buildings or expanding programs (‘mission creep’) or hiring more professors.
It’s my opinion that passing a BALANCED budget is our most important duty to you, the taxpayers of our state. Equally important is tax relief (which we continue every year) and also “saving for a rainy day” by building up our state reserves. Those 3 items are a must in order for me to consider supporting any budget.
Our hearings will continue into next week as we work towards preparing a budget for the full House Ways and Means Committee that hopefully the House will pass and send to the Senate for them to consider.
It’s a long process and I always invite your advice and input.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond to your efforts in this area. In looking at the increasingly exorbitant cost of college, faculty salaries seem the least of the problem. The number of administrative positions and their salaries along with high end finishes in buildings, plus all of the extras universities feel compelled to offer to compete for customers are the places I feel we should look for excess. While I also support the idea of SC universities doing more to attract and support in-state students, one has to be careful to avoid lowering admission standards. Finding ways to attract the best and brightest young South Carolinians to our universities via scholarships and other reduction in costs should be a top priority.
Thanks John for your comments. Agree on the “Taj Mahal” mentality of some institutions when it comes to new buildings, etc. You and I may differ slightly in the admissions area. I believe our instate institutions should focus more on instate students than what some magazine may rank them. Hopefully they can do both, attract top talent (INSTATE and out of state) to help the state, and to help their overall rankings/prestige.