COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Senate approved a $6.6 billion spending plan Thursday that gives public workers a noticeable pay raise, distributes more money to public schools and hires more than 100 law enforcement officers.
The Senate gave the budget final approval on a 27-10 vote, sending its plan back to the House. The Senate then by a 27-9 vote approved a separate measure distributing $105 million from this year's rainy-day fund.
The Senate version provides for 2 percent raises to teachers, 5 percent for state law enforcement, and 3 percent to other state employees, while also fully covering increases in employees' health insurance premiums. State workers haven't gotten a raise in four years.
The proposal would add more than 80 new employees at the State Law Enforcement Division. It also would add 20 conservation officers at the Department of Natural Resources, 10 for the State Transport Police — the division enforcing trucking laws that's dwindled to less than two per county — nine officers to man security outposts at the Capital complex garage, and four agents to guard the lieutenant governor.
The SLED employees include 45 agents, 23 people to operate the statewide crime center and eight people in its severely backlogged DNA crime lab.
The proposal also gives $10 million to the Commerce Department for a closing fund for economic development deals. The fund is among pots of money Commerce uses to pay infrastructure costs to try to attract companies looking to locate or expand in the state.
But on Thursday, he said he looked forward to staying late into the night to vote.
The account is down to just $125,000. The state's economic development council has approved roughly $45 million so far this fiscal year for infrastructure grants, said Commerce spokeswoman Amy Love.
Approval of the budget came after senators defeated attempts by some Republicans to remove roughly $4 million for private nonprofits and local public projects. Items included $450,000 for infrastructure in Holly Hill; $300,000 for a North Myrtle Beach museum; $100,000 for a fire station in tiny Andrews: $200,000 to preserve African-American historic sites in Charleston: and $200,000 to buy land for preserving Mitchelville, America's first community of freed slaves on Hilton Head Island.
Democratic senators trumped the amendment by adding dozens of items, including money for public schools and colleges, tax relief for businesses, law enforcement equipment and homeowners' foreclosure assistance. The Senate then killed the whole thing. Senators made a similar move Wednesday, on an amendment removing roughly $2 million worth of items.
Sen. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, argued senators shouldn't lump together, for example, money for recruiting jobs and a park pavilion.
"There is a big difference between Boeing and a historical museum, between BMW and a community center," he said.
But Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman said what represents a special project is defined differently depending on the lawmaker.
"The viewpoint is in the eyes of the beholder," said Leatherman, R-Florence, who put items in the budget at senators' requests. "I really view that as an investment in parts of our state."
Amendments approved Thursday included a $2.5 million addition for Aiken Technical College, mostly toward a new job training center, with some money for equipment.