[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6104149,"mediaKeyId","2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146","parentId",2792330,"title","Attorney General urges seat on prosecution coordination commission and requests building renovation funds","audioSeconds",392,"startMs",2855480,"endMs",3248150,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146&start=2855&end=3248","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146/thumbnail_2855480.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6104149/South-Carolina/Attorney-General-urges-seat-on-prosecution-coordination-commission-and-requests-building-renovation-funds","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6104149-e9b39b8dad7dd452dbad0d911f471d23/orig.mp4?Expires=1771145266&Signature=gBUsA9SLYg9-gu1IvfMVYUilQmeQv7zjG9gO062AxgfyOx56gkCcL9mA~pMtDwOqzpxxsQ6eBN-AHnMc-WRAnB~E3TMtBoiDFo877xweh-9FJHUNSuS3QG7lthz87dzw0EG-EhLWk9uz4VCw8SfbJilMkHP7ehsJ2gA-iFIZb8WdL-0muqsmhN6~koxBQ3hzV808uWBmpLzDfnweaCAWK5WhrQQqZ~n38o3imjU0v3YXBhcFaKtYAvXmQpSMxpQpvZ9MlK6QE~rkDvFx~KcpI5VN5w-1aBGfMBLawWWUK5uxcgNftQV1bFWsWIJ15RBMoJBvZIdJlPMpiQobd7UcaQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","South Carolina Legislature","date","2025-02-19T00:00:00Z","article","The attorney general asked the Senate oversight subcommittee to consider two structural matters: adding the attorney general as a member of the Commission on Prosecution Coordination, and approving additional capital funding to renovate state office space currently occupied across three buildings.

Both requests are relevant to budget and governance decisions the General Assembly controls: membership on the prosecution commission would affect how solicitors and statewide prosecutors coordinate funding and operations; renovation funding would affect capital outlays and long-term occupancy of state-owned buildings.

The attorney general argued the office should be on the Commission on Prosecution Coordination because he serves, in practice, as an \"at-large\" or seventeenth solicitor who prosecutes cases across the state's circuits and handles appeals and post-conviction relief for solicitors. He told the subcommittee that the commission was created in 1990 to coordinate prosecution funding and training but that the attorney general is not currently a voting member; he said his presence would improve coordination when solicitors request funding or when the state must backfill rural counties.

On facilities, the attorney general described the Attorney General's Office occupying three separate buildings and detailed existing funding and additional requests. He said the office currently occupies parts of the Dennis (Dentist) Building, the Brown Building and the Truest Building; the Dennis Building has seven floors and he described some floors as 80 years old. He said the General Assembly previously appropriated $15 million for renovations and that the office has requested an additional $20 million. He summarized an architectural study that estimates $11 million to $13 million per floor to fully renovate and estimated a total project cost of roughly $40 million to $50 million to modernize and consolidate AG functions in the Dennis Building.

The attorney general said he was not pressing to tear down buildings but asked the subcommittee to consider renovation funding in light of building conditions and the state's broader facilities planning. The presentation did not include formal action or a committee vote; it was presented as part of the oversight review and may inform future budget deliberations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle"," Senate Legislative Oversight Committee -- Legislative Oversight Subcommittee on DCA Wednesday, February 19, 2025 11:00 am","oneSentenceSummary","The attorney general told the Senate subcommittee the office should be a voting member of the Commission on Prosecution Coordination and described a multiyear facility-renovation request tied to consolidation of the office’s multiple buildings.","taxTitle","Legislative Oversight, Standing, Senate, Committees, Legislative, South Carolina","taxId",17643,"location","South Carolina","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6104154,"Attorney General says Crime Victim Services now housed in AG’s office after 2017 consolidation",41,1958095,1999440,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146&start=1958&end=1999","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146/thumbnail_1958095.jpg","/articles/6104154/South-Carolina/Attorney-General-says-Crime-Victim-Services-now-housed-in-AGs-office-after-2017-consolidation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6104154-18af56b9a2177781e569915482e81fdf/orig.mp4?Expires=1771145266&Signature=ZS-F5EP92JHIUKGCyYvYthAc3JZMBP--I-qnZiq-wyr~4W7e-MccRuAz7N6WvVr52mLAbGVXFlQhbPAwxa~f4GMz5U0JmjxKzI~4teGL20EP4nB0JcZ2jXHhM7efB4JjTZJaq-ka4hMReUF07slhcs~gSgCuzcckVvX50C~jBgy46vO-WLbepTedKU8LJvk6vxf-dX6n06GSgNnqQQY1SRHQOduhvVI~~EccJlHNRt~cs3yv3xrgG08x4IVvfVRaQa3tBzlO9D7NbJS9mG5kUnXr4ZC8a3jLpzYOn27gl~p74FnXq-fbjwVIiUEl4N5XiRs7F8oL~DMmzM-H-tAj1A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The attorney general told a Senate oversight subcommittee that the state's Crime Victim Services programs were consolidated under the Attorney General's Office following legislation and administrative action in 2017.

The shift matters because it moved grant administration, training and victim-rights complaint processes into the AG’s office and, the attorney general said, made the attorney general the state’s chief victims advocate for victim-service providers and direct victims.

The attorney general described how, prior to 2017, victim-service grants and training functions were administered across several governor’s-cabinet agencies and the Department of Public Safety. He said the consolidation moved those functions to a single director within the Attorney General's Office and named BJ Nelson as the director of crime victim services, who was present during the hearing.

He said Crime Victim Services now handles frontline victim-service provider certification, distributes grant funds and maintains complaint processes tied to the victims’ bill of rights. The attorney general emphasized the statutory placement of crime victim services as reporting directly to the attorney general rather than through the chief deputy.

The attorney general also referenced recent additions such as an address-confidentiality program placed under the office last year. He characterized the consolidation as intended to improve coordination and training for victim-service providers and to centralize grant oversight.

No formal action was taken during the oversight hearing; the presentation described past statutory change and current program responsibilities.","The attorney general told the oversight panel that the state moved crime victim services under the Attorney General’s Office in 2017, making the AG the chief victims advocate and consolidating grant and certification functions under a director in the office.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6104158,"Attorney General highlights ICAC expansion, state grand jury role and fentanyl threat",162,1638950,1801910,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146&start=1638&end=1801","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146/thumbnail_1638950.jpg","/articles/6104158/South-Carolina/Attorney-General-highlights-ICAC-expansion-state-grand-jury-role-and-fentanyl-threat","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6104158-e306846e5f4ed44a97f33da77dede6cd/orig.mp4?Expires=1771145266&Signature=Fj6es8AZVS-0FYd61pNT3GvyU9FCF9dgt39enT~VZzPTC3bas7SRkyUMfEgakN5bFCOAStdZ0zg0e-hY~0XFM0e~YypWKMZlt0FboJjWM6hIJyQSphCS~PfOcGxvJ2Jna0DFTvQV32T8sC8Clr3xDX7RmIPxtLRwXsT9TdUJQoIpJI55cexrnhLYY9iG4kQQD~p-58jcRUTbUMzW0yf6CFe6u-1lSVV4SPBoEnilZAymCEqac1KJubJ-j4ZafxR8xakpnh-IgQGoXaqHxx2Q33ZJSjzATss7V6n~88Y6STXtatVG6x3OGzvPxAIChfV9Fk-FMOZ1zg7o~ZugHfN-WQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","During a Senate oversight subcommittee hearing, the attorney general outlined public-safety priorities including Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) work, a new violent-crimes case-reduction unit and the investigative role of the state grand jury.

The matters are significant because they describe how the Attorney General's Office is allocating investigators, emphasizing multi-jurisdictional work and highlighting a public-safety threat that officials said is entering communities and schools.

The attorney general said the ICAC task force has grown from about 44 participating law-enforcement agencies to over 128, with just under 30 full-time staff in the AG’s office devoted to ICAC investigations. He warned the internet has become \"a new wild, wild west\" that exposes young people to predators and said the office may request additional forensic analysts or investigators in coming years.

On violent crime, the attorney general described the newly formed Violent Crimes Case Reduction Unit (VCCRU) as a mobile team that the office deploys \"circuit by circuit\" at the request of local solicitors and sheriffs to reduce court backlogs of serious cases. He said the unit was recently active in the Third Circuit and that funding provided last summer enabled hiring additional staff for the effort.

The attorney general reviewed the state grand jury’s investigative powers, explaining it can handle multi-jurisdictional matters such as drug trafficking, computer crimes, election crimes and public-corruption inquiries. He said the grand jury requires a dual sign-off by the attorney general and the chief of the state law-enforcement division to initiate and that grand-jury investigations are limited to 15 enumerated areas of inquiry.

He raised fentanyl as an \"existential threat,\" saying a single case last year produced enough fentanyl to kill half a million people and that illicit pills and fentanyl are reaching schools. He linked large-scale trafficking to cartels and transnational gangs and described the state grand jury as an important tool in multi-jurisdictional responses.

The attorney general also mentioned an \"administrative subpoena bill\" that would allow the state to issue administrative subpoenas for subscriber information tied to IP addresses — a tool he said is currently handled by the U.S. attorney’s office — and called the proposal important to ICAC investigations.

No formal vote or statutory change occurred during the hearing; the session was informational. The attorney general said the office will continue to report on the performance of the VCCRU and may return with additional resource requests.

","The attorney general described expanded Internet Crimes Against Children task force participation, a new violent-crime case reduction unit and the state grand jury’s importance in multi-jurisdictional investigations, and warned about fentanyl trafficking into schools.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6104163,"Attorney General outlines office mission, staffing and revenue recoveries during oversight hearing",3337,10480,3348140,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146&start=10&end=3348","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2792330-c2a73efcf3666807f02bad8b91310146/thumbnail_10480.jpg","/articles/6104163/South-Carolina/Attorney-General-outlines-office-mission-staffing-and-revenue-recoveries-during-oversight-hearing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6104163-1e94feb184a2b5f819243219cf241c29/orig.mp4?Expires=1771145266&Signature=lXVwDHpqsXnScSdphZwvLYkFhY93qNqGOF1wOugJiP3WFpzKr5WHceTMrhzj5LCgQd1dNKP9aAT6W52ougO6txrmO-jpb6LqOac9ttQ1vHPxW3Oluw4ucD~OVMr0gtSbfymBSd8Z2WCnTICGvnUkxIA6SduQxcdpDfqs8bRajIDIqfgFJ6sA7qpKc1bSE52nAoEGR6qeaXHBeJyeN3YXLq9~xZ4wvZPidewrdRXYSG4SukckEAxDrx1g4kQiqM~MI7dMN1L5SZ6RBuh~tQgSxWUuFxuH2hcDBWRIcG763j8BaTbNGDqGvng3DrKB7tfPo0VOV-rZ84E1Njn2PXYBfw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The attorney general delivered a broad overview of the Attorney General's Office to a Senate oversight subcommittee, describing the office's mission, growth in staff and budget, and the revenue it returns to the state.

The presentation matters because the attorney general said the office now functions as a major state agency with statutory and common-law responsibilities that extend beyond traditional prosecution. That scope affects budget requests, interagency coordination and which officials the General Assembly consults on legislation affecting solicitors and criminal justice.

The attorney general opened by describing the office's constitutional role, saying, \"I am the chief prosecutor of the state,\" and explaining the office's supervisory—but not hiring or firing—relationship with locally elected solicitors. He told members the office traces constitutional authority to Article 4, Section 24 of the state constitution and also derives duties from multiple state statutes and court decisions.

The attorney general provided staffing and budget figures. He said the office employed roughly 310 full-time equivalent staff as of last summer, and that the fiscal 2024 appropriation for the office was about $115.4 million. He described the appropriation breakdown as approximately $28.7 million in recurring generalfund support, $26.7 million in earmarked funds (fees and fines), and about $60.0 million in federal funds that pass through the office to programs and grants.

He emphasized the office’s revenue-recovery work. \"Last year we recovered $67,000,000 for all of you to appropriate,\" he said, and pointed to variable annual recoveries from securities fees, civil settlements and Medicaidprovider fraud that can fluctuate widely year to year. He also highlighted ongoing tobacco settlement revenues that have contributed tens of millions of dollars annually.

The attorney general reviewed the office structure and principal divisions — civil litigation (including tobacco and securities), consumer protection and antitrust, solicitor general and opinions, criminal divisions (prosecution and post-adjudication), and administrative services. He noted specialized sections that generate state revenue (for example, securities and consumer-protection settlements) and stressed that many legal opinions issued by the office are advisory and interpretive rather than binding.

He described workforce challenges: the office has dozens of attorneys distributed across pay bands and faces competition from other public and private employers. He said maintaining competitive attorney salaries was a recurring budget pressure.

The presentation concluded with the attorney general saying the office performs annual internal reviews and external management assessments to guide legislative requests, and he invited further questions from the subcommittee.

Members did not take a formal vote during the presentation; the session was framed as oversight and information-sharing rather than a decision item.","The attorney general told a Senate oversight subcommittee the office now operates as a large state agency, described its statutory and common-law authorities, and detailed staffing, budget and revenue-recovery figures that the office generates for South Carolina.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Attorney General urges seat on prosecution coordination commission and requests building renovation funds

Attorney General says Crime Victim Services now housed in AG’s office after 2017 consolidation

Attorney General highlights ICAC expansion, state grand jury role and fentanyl threat

Attorney General outlines office mission, staffing and revenue recoveries during oversight hearing