SC Gov. McMaster signs deal to keep government open, boost COVID-19 testing by $25M
Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday signed a more than $155 million COVID-19 relief package that will help provide statewide virus testing and keep South Carolina’s government operating until lawmakers adopt a new budget in the fall.
But in his signing statement to S.C. House and Senate leaders, he also urged them to call lawmakers back to Columbia quickly to address how to spend the state’s $1.9 billion federal share designated for COVID-19 spending.
This month, the state’s public health agency rolled out plans to boost COVID-19 testing to 2% of the state’s more than 5 million population — or 110,000 people — in May and June each. And to help in that effort, state lawmakers awarded the Medical University of South Carolina $25 million to work with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the S.C. Hospital Association to develop a plan that zeroes in on rural and other high-risk communities that are most vulnerable to catching the potentially fatal disease.
In a letter to House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, and Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, McMaster wrote that he commends the Legislature for using money from the state’s surplus account to address the COVID-19 outbreak and response.
“These funds will be immediately used to expand testing capabilities and contact tracing efforts in our rural areas and to focus on our at-risk and elderly population,” McMaster said in his signing letter. “In addition, these funds will help provide resources to help ensure the safe conduct of statewide elections.”
MUSC spokeswoman Heather Woolwine said in a statement the hospital appreciates “the confidence the South Carolina General Assembly has placed in MUSC to expand statewide mobile testing efforts in rural and underserved areas of our state.”
The state’s public health agency reported Monday it is on track to meet its 2% goal.
In April, the Legislature spent $45 million to help DHEC’s COVID-19 response. As of May 1, it had more than $35 million left over.
“We look forward to leading this innovative mobile/drive through testing effort, and are eager to work with our DHEC and South Carolina Hospital Association partners to decrease access barriers to free COVID-19 testing for our most vulnerable populations,” Woolwine said.
McMaster signed the emergency legislation on Monday, nearly a week after the General Assembly passed what is called a continuing resolution to keep government running without a new budget and outline what they’ll debate when they return to the state Capitol in September.
The governor’s letter capped some behind-the-scenes tension last week between the Governor’s Office and the Legislature over who had the ultimate authority to spend the state’s $1.9 billion share from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, federal legislation signed by President Donald Trump to cover financial losses related directly to COVID-19.
To date, South Carolina has received more than $2.7 billion in federal COVID-19 relief.
But the state share specifically to help the state and local governments was given to governors to spend at their discretion.
Lawmakers disagreed and, in legislation to keep the government running, leaders added a measure to put the $1.9 billion into a separate account and treat its spending similar to how the Legislature approaches a budget bill: allow the full General Assembly to first approve it.
Meanwhile, however, the governor’s task force charged with reopening the state’s economy safely — Accelerate South Carolina — is slated to release a list of recommendations this month to the governor.
“These relief funds belong to the people of South Carolina, not politicians, and we must deliver them to where they are needed,” McMaster wrote to Lucas and Peeler. “Consideration for their appropriation must be done expeditiously — but also wisely, transparently and with meticulous accountability.”
Once he’s approved the recommendations, McMaster urged the speaker and president to call lawmakers back to Columbia.
“Any delay will cost the people of our state the one thing they don’t have — time,” McMaster said.
Lucas said Monday he expects to work closely with McMaster to move quickly move on identifying spending priorities.
House budget chairman Murrell Smith echoed Lucas on Monday, saying the proposals will be a blueprint for the Legislature.
“We will try to get to work as soon as possible,” said the Sumter Republican. “We’re committed to moving this through the legislative process as quick as possible, and we’re committed to working with the governor and the Senate in trying to expend this money in the manner which aligns with the CARES Act and that benefits the citizens of South Carolina.”
The legislation signed by the governor on Monday goes several steps further to respond to the virus’ outbreak.
It spends $15 million to address voting and safety during the state’s June primary and November general election.
It gives state schools Superintendent Molly Spearman flexibility to waive state-mandated testing, assessments and reporting, bolsters summer reading camp programs and freezes the state’s salary step increases for teachers to current levels.
And it also allows state agencies and colleges and universities the ability to furlough employees, a step the University of South Carolina has been considering after it moved classes online and returned money back to students, similar to other schools.
In an internal email sent last week, the college’s Faculty Senate Chair Mark Cooper wrote the state’s flagship college will experience a budget shortage likely “about twice as large as we faced in 2008” during the housing market crash.
“In addition to hiring freezes and across-the-board reductions, we can anticipate furloughs, with sharper cuts for high-income administrators,” Cooper wrote.
Late Sunday, USC president Bob Caslen announced the college will cancel fall break and suspend in-person classes after Thanksgiving. Caslen said the decision came after the university’s COVID-19 models showed a spike in positive cases at the beginning of December, which also happens to be the start of flu season.
“These changes are part of the new normal that all of us must embrace as we return to campus for work and study, and they are necessary for us to successfully resume in-person instruction,” Caslen said. “Most importantly, they reflect our top priority: your health, safety and well being.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 4:40 PM with the headline "SC Gov. McMaster signs deal to keep government open, boost COVID-19 testing by $25M."
