$1.8B mystery deepens as SC lawmakers investigate source of funds

In South Carolina, a money mystery will take a lot of time to solve. $2 billion just about was found sitting in a State Bank account. Today. A new report says it’ll take a special accounting firm to determine where that money came from and what to do with it. Channel 9 South Carolina reporter Tina Terry has more on that report and a proposal to give that money back to the people we first told you about yesterday. I Yesterday, Senator Mike Fanning sits on that Senate Finance subcommittee and on the phone today he said that the State Treasurer has made it hard to identify the source of that money. Now, while lawmakers seek help to figure it all out, some House members are pushing a new bill to make sure that that money gets back into the pocket of taxpayers. I think they need better accountants. That’s ridiculous. Beth Brenneman has been paying attention to the Senate investigation into that $1.8 billion. A finance subcommittee found it sitting in an account unused more than two months ago and started investigating. Tuesday, the committee was to release a 100 page report explaining what happened, why and how to prevent it from happening again. County Senator Mike Fanning told Channel 9 the committee wants to hire a top accounting firm to help determine the origins of the money. If it is the people’s money, it should be returned back to the people. State Representative from York County David O’Neill says if the investigation reveals that money came from taxpayers, it needs to go back to them. He helped sponsor a bill mandating that and hopes it passes this session. And I think the people probably need it more in the state, especially since they haven’t used it for anything, whatever they taxed us for. Wasn’t appropriated properly, so let’s give it back to the citizens. Says the bill could give anywhere between 800 and $1200 back to taxpayers who filed a 2023 return. The details would have to be debated. Beth Brenneman and her husband want their lawmakers to support the bill. Put in savings in my retirement as I think people who have put into the funds, if there’s money that wasn’t used, it should come back to them. As senator, Mike Fanning says that lawmakers still have to determine the source of all of that money before making any decision on how to deviate out, and he says that could be a six month process. Reporting from Indian Land, Tina Terry, Channel 9 Eyewitness News.