A legislative conference committee reconciling the differences between the FY 2010-2011 appropriations bills passed by the House and Senate agreed on Thursday to maintain funding for Higher Education Tuition Grants and Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, HOPE, and other scholarships at the current year's levels. Working to narrow a $50 million gap caused by the Governor's veto of a bill to increase court fees, conferees agreed on compromised spending reductions in areas of the budget that included social services, health programs, law enforcement, and the courts.
Funding for PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina's Academic Libraries) is now in the third priority position for funding from excess unclaimed lottery prize money. PASCAL officials will not know until later in the fiscal year whether they will qualify for up to $1.5 million.
Both the House and the Senate must agree on the changes before the bill can be sent to the Governor. By law, the legislature must adjourn on June 3. Both chambers will return to Columbia on June 15 to address vetoes by Governor Sanford. Primary elections statewide will be held on June 8 with run-offs scheduled for June 22.
