SLED director briefs House subcommittee on budget, staffing, forensics lab and school-safety training center

Representative Chris Wooten, chair of the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Subcommittee, presided over a Feb. 13, 2025 presentation by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division officials on the agency's internal operations, fiscal condition and capital projects.

SLED's director of internal operations, identified in the transcript as Mr. Royal (presented in committee materials as Don [surname transcribed variably]), told members the agency's total recurring budget for fiscal 2025 is $146,440,183 and described both recurring and nonrecurring funding, grant authority and staffing levels. "As you can see, we've had some growth since fiscal year 2020," the presenter said in explaining budget changes since FY2020.

Why it matters: The subcommittee is conducting a multi-part legislative oversight review of SLED. The briefing covered items that affect the agency's ability to investigate crimes statewide — including staffing and training, lab capacity and vehicle and equipment costs — and identified areas lawmakers may target for future funding or statutory change.

Topline fiscal details and grants SLED told the panel its recurring FY2025 budget stands at $146,440,183, up from roughly $103.3 million in FY2020. The agency said it currently administers roughly $25,000,000 in grant authority and expects that federal grant authority to grow by $5,000,000 next year to about $30,000,000.

Officials outlined recent nonrecurring appropriations that support operations and capital projects: $12,215,526 in nonrecurring funds allocated for agents; approximately $7.2 million (noted in slides as $7,197,226) and later cited as a current project budget of $8.6 million for the South Carolina Center for School Safety and Targeted Violence, $2,000,000 for the CWP program, $500,000 for personnel equipment, and $1,300,500 for specialized vehicles. They also cited a temporary increase of $3,000,000 in other-funds authorization to support lab relocation and radio upgrades, and a private Tri-County task force human-trafficking grant of $600,000.

SLED staff noted individual grant awards, including a $2,340,000 National Criminal…