SC senators ignore state constitution while hiking their pay

By Rick Brundrett | The Nerve

The South Carolina Constitution requires that “annual expenditures of state government may not exceed annual state revenue.”

Yet the state Senate last week skipped over Article 10, Section 7 (a) of the constitution when it approved, by a 25-20 vote, to allow all 170 lawmakers to claim an additional $12,000 yearly in “in-district” payments, which are considered taxable income.

The 100 percent increase in those payments, if it stands when the final budget is enacted, would cost S.C. taxpayers more than $2 million annually if all 170 members accepted it.

But The Nerve’s review of the Senate’s version of the fiscal 2015 state budget found no line item for the pay raise.

at The Nerve.