SC senator says taxpayers shouldn t fund officials state plane use, cites abuse Andrew Caplan, The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Mar. 5 WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. A South Carolina lawmaker is introducing legislation to sell two state airplanes meant for officials travel to and from official business.
Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, made the announcement Friday at the S.C. Aeronautics Commission in West Columbia following exclusive reporting by The State and Island Packet. The story appeared online on Thursday and will appear in the print edition in coming days.
After that same reporting, Gov. Henry McMaster directed the state s Department of Administration to conduct an up-to-date analysis on the cost and benefits of maintaining or selling aircraft owned by state agencies and institutions of higher education, McMaster s spokesman Brian Symmes said Friday.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and at least four lawmakers are calling for more scrutiny and fewer ethics loopholes for the stateâs many special purpose districts in the wake of a Post and Courier report that painted a portrait of free-spending agencies with little oversight.
The moves came less than 72 hours after the newspaperâs âUncoveredâ investigation showed how misconduct and lavish spending flourishes because of exceptions in state ethics laws, weak enforcement and shrinking scrutiny as news deserts grow. The investigation, published in concert with 10 community newspaper partners, focused on how officials with the stateâs little-known gas authorities gorged themselves on a buffet of perks.
The Post and Courier on a South Carolina House bill that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry handguns in view:
Most S.C. legislators know the claims that having more armed citizens makes us all safer are at best wishful thinking, at worst dangerously wrong - as demonstrated yet again Feb. 11 when yet another report came out indicating just the opposite, with the highest per-capita gun deaths in states with the most permissive gun laws and the lowest death rates in the states with the least permissive laws.
But the gun lobby is vocal, persistent, well-heeled and extremely influential in Republican primary races, and many of our legislators are afraid of the political consequences if they don’t sufficiently support the arming of our society.
SC makes COVID-19 vaccine available to people 65 and older lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.