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Senate subcommittee orders audit, blocks Scout Motors repropriation pending report
Summary
A subcommittee added a proviso directing a joint Legislative Audit Council–Inspector General review of Scout Motors cost overruns and permitting, and said no funds tied to the company’s $150 million repropriation request may be spent until the joint report is delivered and the General Assembly acts.
A Senate finance subcommittee voted to add a proviso directing the Legislative Audit Council (LAC) and the Office of the Inspector General to jointly review alleged cost overruns, early-construction decisions and mitigation shortfalls at the Scout Motors manufacturing site in Blythewood.
The proviso, offered by Sen. Davis’s subcommittee, requires the audit council and inspector general to examine the $150 million overage estimate, evaluate whether Commerce’s environmental due diligence was adequate, review decisions to begin construction before a federal wetlands permit was issued and produce a joint report to the budget chairs, the governor and the attorney general within 120 days of enactment. “No funds may be expended on the Scout request until the report is delivered and the General Assembly has considered its findings,” the proviso states (subcommittee presentation: S19).
Committee members pressed for specifics about whether the language would trigger an automatic appropriation. Sponsor Sen. Davis told the panel the proviso is investigatory and does not itself authorize spending; any future repropriation would require subsequent legislative action. “This proviso does not contemplate either an appropriation or no appropriation — it stands on its own to gather facts,” he said (S18).
Members also debated the size and components of the alleged overage. One member said Commerce reported a $150 million request but that prior contingency funds and other expenditures could make the total cost higher: “The total debacle was $220,000,000,” a senator said during floor remarks (S5). Subcommittee proponents said the audit is intended to identify what portions of any overrun are contractual obligations, remediation costs, or potentially recoverable through third‑party liability.
The subcommittee carried the proviso over for further drafting and agreed members could bring additional questions forward; its sponsor said that any evidence of legal liability uncovered by the review must be referred to the attorney general within 10 days of discovery. The committee also discussed procedures for placing witnesses under oath during follow-up hearings that may rely on the audit’s findings.
Next steps: the joint LAC/Inspector General review will proceed, with the report due within 120 days; the committee said it will not authorize expenditure on the Scout repropriation request until the General Assembly has had an opportunity to consider the audit findings.
