FY 2023-2024 Budget Brief: Interesting Initiatives Part 1
The House Ways & Means Committee met during the evening on February 22, 2023 to debate and vote on subcommittee allocations. The summary control documents are posted on the Ways & Means Committee webpage. View this primer for how to read a summary control document. Looking for what was included in budget requests by state agencies and entities? The Department of Administration posts them online; another transparency initiative of state government.
The first post discussed the big ticket items; today’s post will highlight some interesting initiatives of state government that may not make the front page of local newspapers. This is Part 1 of a series; stay tuned for more posts prior to the House floor debate during the week of March 13.
The probabilities of these items included in the enacted budget range from highly likely to a coin flip. But in four minutes - 885 words - readers will be that much more informed about this version of the budget.
Interesting Initiatives
Health
Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS): Rural Brain Health Network; $10M State nonrecurring
Department of Disabilities & Special Needs (DDSN): Greenwood Genetic Center; $2M for Carroll Campbell Project State nonrecurring
Department of Mental Health (DMH): Suicide Prevention; $2.856M State recurring
Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS): Center for Excellence in Addiction; $2M State nonrecurring
Department of Administration (Admin): Health Agencies Restructuring Study; $5M State nonrecurring
This committee’s budget has two initiatives related to research and treatment in the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. The first, a $10M appropriation DHHS to support the Rural Brain Health Network, is a “collaboration between the University of South Carolina (USC) and PrismaHealth to improve the appropriate diagnoses and care for rural South Carolinians with Alzheimer and other dementia-related conditions. The creation of local care practices in rural areas will serve those populations. With a hub and spoke system, these centers will be supported by specialists based in Greenville and Columbia” according to a budget request submitted by USC. The second is a $2M appropriation to DDSN to support a new Alzheimer’s research initiative at the famed Greenwood Genetics Center to be named in honor of the late Governor Carroll Campbell Jr., who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2001 and who passed away on December 7, 2005.
Mental health has been a significant topic in many states and South Carolina has invested more resources in recent budgets than ever before to expand access to mental health services. The committee’s budget increases funding for the state’s suicide prevention efforts by almost $3M, led by DMH. If you, a loved one, friend, colleague or neighbor just need someone to talk to, please call 988 (1.800.799.4889) or text HOPE4SC to 741741. Help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
DAODAS, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, and the Medical University of South Carolina have joined forces to create the Center of Excellence in Addiction. The committee allocated $2M to help the center get off the ground. The Center will have a pivotal role to play in how the state spends $360M over 18 years from the national opioid settlement approved in 2022.
There are several state agencies with missions and core functions that include health. For those who are patients of one of these agencies, the medical professionals who work in them, and the advocates who want to improve the quality of outcomes in the system, many believe the time has come to look at the structure of South Carolina’s health care agencies.
The committee included a $5M request from Governor McMaster, who wrote in his Executive Budget Summary, “The time has come for a modern-day re-evaluation, and re-invention and restructuring of South Carolina’s siloed healthcare delivery agencies.” If funded, the report would be completed by June 30, 2024 with recommendations for restructuring legislation to be considered as early as 2025.
The Court System
Prosecution Coordination Commission: Assistant Solicitor Personnel and Retention; $14.53M State recurring
Commission on Indigent Defense: Assistant Public Defender Personnel and Retention; $11.2M State recurring
Judicial Department: Circuit and Family Court Judges and Staff (Act No. 232 of 2022); $3.9M State recurring
Department of Juvenile Justice: Facilities Management Maintenance and Security Upgrades; $25M State nonrecurring
An underappreciated part of state government is the court system. Justices and judges, prosecutors and public defenders, law clerks and paralegals, and many other professionals have important roles to play in the court system. The committee’s budget proposes the largest investment in prosecutors and public defenders - $25.73M - since FY 2016-2017 when the General Assembly invested $14M. Additionally, the committee’s budget follows through on the requirements of Act 232 from last session, which increased the number of circuit court judges (+4) and family court judges (+3) in some judicial circuits where there is a severe caseload backlog. Whether it is a criminal or civil case, almost all parties will state they would like resolution of their case as soon as possible. With this investment, the court system can recruit and retain the attorneys necessary to reduce backlogs and resolve cases so the parties can move forward in their lives.
It’s not a secret that the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is rebuilding its culture after some rocky times in 2020 and 2021; use any search engine and it will provide multiple news stories. DJJ Executive Director L. Eden Hendrick has taken the bull by the horns and is making big changes in the agency’s culture and leadership. But to truly transform the agency, DJJ has made clear its dilapidated facilities must be renovated and secured to today’s standards for youth offenders. The current fiscal year provided $8M for facilities management maintenance and security upgrades, and FY 2020-2021 provided nearly $4M for the same purpose. The committee recommended $25M to DJJ for the next fiscal year, which when considered over the past ten years of budgets is a historic investment for the agency.
Have a question about this version of the budget? Need some help understanding it? Click the Contact link in the upper right hand corner and schedule a consultation - no charge for the first conversation. Thanks for reading; we welcome your feedback and commentary!
