Finance subcommittee advances packet of provisos: carryovers, deletions and new restrictions on incentives

The finance subcommittee met April 24 and advanced a large packet of provisos covering housing, forestry, agriculture, Clemson University, DNR, parks and recreation, commerce and multiple other state agencies. Most items were adopted as amended or were 'conformed to funding' — meaning the proviso remains contingent on a specific appropriation being placed on the fiscal line.

Jessa, committee staff, walked members through each proviso and the committee generally agreed with staff recommendations. Items carried forward for additional information included a House-added proviso authorizing the "Made It Home" program for affordable single-family construction; staff recommended carrying the item to full committee so the housing authority can provide more detail and the subcommittee approved that carryover. "Since it would be a good idea ... to get a little more information from the authority, I believe the subcommittee recommendation ... is to carry it over to full committee," Jessa told members.

Other actions taken by the subcommittee included: - Adopting a proviso allowing forestry to receive transfers from the disaster trust (and, if insufficient, the State General Fund) during declared emergencies, with required notification and reimbursement rules. - Approving an Agriculture proviso to allow carryforward of certified school cafeteria funds and a related retail-food proviso that would allow Agriculture to retain up to $580,000 of civil penalties to cover program costs if no recurring appropriation is provided. - Designating Clemson University as lead for regulatory eradication efforts against the Asian longhorned beetle and adding the yellow-legged hornet to the covered species list. - Conforming a DNR deer-processing pilot and other new Commerce provisos to funding so they trigger only if the General Assembly places appropriations on the line. - Adopting PRT (film commission) provisos to allow carryforward for regional promotions and to create a pilot post-production rebate program with up to $2 million set aside for a pilot rebate for qualifying productions. - Deleting several provisos whose mandated reports or studies have been completed or will be completed this fiscal year (agribusiness evaluation, SCORE/DNR disaster-type review, safe homes evaluation). - Requiring Aiken County to complete a regional wastewater-treatment needs evaluation by Nov. 2 or return funds, and requiring the State Ports Authority to transfer $1 million to the infrastructure bank for the Cooper River project as amended.

On commerce and incentives, members approved a new proviso barring Commerce from entering open-ended incentive agreements or contracts during the current fiscal year; every incentive agreement must specify a maximum expenditure amount. Members pointed to recent experience with a high-profile incentives project in arguing for the change. The subcommittee also adopted a proviso restricting Commerce to using funds appropriated in the current act only to complete projects under Act 3 of 2023.

The subcommittee approved a motion giving staff authority to make technical conforming edits to proviso language consistent with subcommittee actions and closed the packet.

Next steps: most adopted provisos will be reflected in the packet as forwarded to full committee, some provisos remain contingent on specific appropriations and will only take effect if those amounts are placed on the fiscal line.