Jack O'Toole

South Carolina

Statehouse Reporter at The Charleston City Paper

Recently, city of Charleston. Currently, Statehouse Report and Charleston City Paper. (Photo: Leonel Heisenberg/Unsplash)

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Articles

S.C. Democrats see need to modernize, reform

2 weeks ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

For Democrats in South Carolina and around the country, the numbers are stark — and daunting. In the Palmetto State, Republicans have controlled every statewide elected office for 20 years and now command supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Nationally, they hold the presidency and both houses of Congress.
S.C. senator sues legislature over $18K pay raise

2 weeks ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

A photo of the Statehouse in the late 1950s or early 1960s, via U.S. Library of Congress S.C. Sen. Wes Climer, R-York, is suing his fellow lawmakers in the South Carolina General Assembly, saying they are illegally giving themselves what is effectively an $18,000-a-year raise.
S.C. braces for renewed offshore drilling fight

3 weeks ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

Palmetto State political and environmental leaders say it’s too soon to know how serious the renewed threat of offshore oil drilling is for the South Carolina coast. The Trump administration has officially put the issue under review at the federal level, according to federal officials. But in 2020, Trump signed an executive order that banned drilling off the South Atlantic seaboard through 2032.
S.C. braces for renewed offshore drilling fight

3 weeks ago | pmg-sc.com | Jack O'Toole

Palmetto State political and environmental leaders say it’s too soon to know how serious the renewed threat of offshore oil drilling is for the South Carolina coast. The Trump administration has officially put the issue under review at the federal level, according to federal officials. But in 2020, Trump signed an executive order that banned drilling off the South Atlantic seaboard through 2032.
GOP budget would hurt hundreds of thousands in S.C., experts warn

4 weeks ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

A Republican budget bill that would slash more than $1 trillion from federal health care and food-assistance programs, cut taxes primarily for wealthy Americans and add almost $4 trillion to the national debt is raising alarms among experts and advocates across South Carolina. The legislation, officially dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed the Republican-controlled House on May 22 in a 215-214 vote, overwhelmingly along party lines.
State budget has more money for teachers, taxpayers, legislators

4 weeks ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

A $14.7 billion state budget that includes an income tax cut, higher teacher pay, more money for ailing roads and bridges, and a raise for legislators is headed for the governor’s desk after it won final passage in the General Assembly on May 28. In addition, the spending plan maintained existing freezes on state employee health insurance premiums and in-state tuition at colleges and universities.
Federal judge blasts Trump administration in local grants case

1 month ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

The courthouse complex at the Four Corners of Law in downtown Charleston. Credit: File photo A Lowcountry nonprofit won its David-versus-Goliath fight against the Trump administration last week when U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel ruled federal officials illegally canceled an $11.4 million Biden-era local grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) .
S.C. budget deal adds $3M for legislative pay raises

1 month ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

With a wary eye on Trump administration tariffs and federal budget cuts that experts warn could blow a hole in South Carolina’s budget next year, state lawmakers moved this week to sock away another $500 million for a rainy day. That was the key takeaway from a $14.7 billion 2025-26 state budget deal hammered out Wednesday by S.C. House and Senate negotiators — an agreement greased by the last-minute discovery of $1 billion in new money thanks to updated revenue forecasts.
What’s ahead in education advocacy for S.C.

1 month ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

They say all politics is local. So, too, is education, says the incoming president of a major state teachers’ organization who plans to advocate with a strong focus on what teachers want at the local level. “We talk a lot with our state legislators, which is important because it affects everybody,” said Dena Crews, a Florence teacher and incoming president of the South Carolina Education Association.
S.C. justices uphold abortion law, weigh in on Amazon

1 month ago | charlestoncitypaper.com | Jack O'Toole

With the South Carolina General Assembly out of session, the state Supreme Court took center stage this week, handing down a major abortion ruling and hearing arguments over whether online retailer Amazon owes S.C. taxpayers $277 million in back taxes. S.C. Supreme Court Credit: via WikiMediaOn Wednesday, the court ruled 5-0 that the state’s so-called “fetal heartbeat” law bans abortion six weeks after conception — often before many women know they’re pregnant.