South Carolina agencies and programs have received more than $328 million from federal stimulus programs and more is on the way. The federal Education Department could approve as early as Thursday the state’s application for $348 million in money, mostly for schools.

SC State lawmakers fought for stimulus money in court…saying it would help the state for two years, until the economy recovers. But…what if the state economy is not better by then? Does the state have a plan for what to do…if things have not turned around, and the stimulus money is gone? WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert went to lawmakers for some answers…

The payday lending industry will face new regulations after the SC Legislature overrode Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto. The SC Senate overrode the veto with a 39-3 vote Tuesday, hours after the House did the same with a 105-4 vote.

Low-income senior citizens in South Carolina who qualify for help paying for their prescription drugs will be getting a little more help starting July 1. State lawmakers increased the amount the state will pay for from 10 percent up to 30 percent. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal to the oft-challenged Georgia law that requires voters to show photo identification before they cast their ballots. The move on Monday means a January 2009 ruling by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the state’s photo ID law is final.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says in a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan that he’s only requesting federal stimulus cash for the state’s schools because of a court order.

No two ways about it: Georgia’s top court has ruled the state law governing how to make a proper left turn is unconstitutional.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is expected to clear the way for the state to get $700 million in federal stimulus cash intended to help the state’s schools. Sanford has said he’ll sign the federal application for the money on Monday. He’s doing that under an order from the South Carolina Supreme Court after losing a fast-paced legal battle.

Don’t for a moment think that South Carolina’s budget problems will be solved with $350 million in federal stimulus money that has been the subject of a monthslong dispute.

South Carolina’s high court is ordering Republican Gov. Mark Sanford to request $700 million in federal stimulus money that would head primarily to cash-strapped schools.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has heard arguments in two lawsuits seeking to force Gov. Mark Sanford to accept $700 million in federal stimulus cash. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capiotl reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes wants his old job back. Barnes, who previously served just one term, made the announcement surrounded by family at a news conference Wednesday in Marietta. The Democrat says he wants to improve education and transportation and says he’s learned from past mistakes.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford predicts his fight to block federal money for schools is coming to an end and says he won’t appeal court decisions on the issue. Sanford told reporters Monday that he wasn’t optimistic the court would side with him in a months-long battle against $700 million intended to spare schools and colleges from deep budget cuts.

A federal judge in Columbia has ordered that two lawsuits dealing with challenges about federal stimulus funds be returned to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

South Carolina officials are preparing to file their arguments over $700 million in federal stimulus money and what should happen to it.

The official manual of South Carolina’s Legislature continues to label some of the state’s former politicians as “Negro” or “scalawag” - apparent remnants of resentment over Reconstruction that no one has bothered to change.

Gov. Mark Sanford’s response to a lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court was to ask that it be moved out of that court and into federal court instead. The governor is being sued by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators over his refusal to request $350 million in federal stimulus money, even though state lawmakers passed a budget that includes the money. The state Supreme Court ordered the parties to give their written responses to the lawsuit by noon Tuesday. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

South Carolina’s school principals and administrators are asking a federal court to toss a lawsuit that Gov. Mark Sanford filed so he could avoid requesting $700 million to spare schools from deep budget cuts. The South Carolina Association of School Administrators asked to become part of that case Tuesday and said the suit should be dropped and the issues handled in the state Supreme Court.

The seat stays empty….as Augusta’s state lawmakers fail to name the top seat on the new Augusta Coliseum Authority. The legislative delegation met Tuesday morning to appoint the chairperson of the new James Brown Arena board.

Gov. Mark Sanford announced details of his federal lawsuit against the state legislature Thursday morning. It names Attorney General Henry McMaster as the defendant, as the chief enforcer of South Carolina laws. The suit says the Republican governor has sole authority to request nearly $700 million in federal bailout money intended to keep the state from cutting education spending. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

Conservative groups are calling on South Carolina legislators to pass a measure asserting state sovereignty.

Gov. Mark Sanford announced Tuesday afternoon that he vetoed the main section of next year’s state budget and the section that directs federal stimulus spending. He’s been fighting the stimulus plan for months and wanted to spend $700 million of the money to pay down state debt. But the Obama administration twice told him that he could not do that.

South Carolina lawmakers want schools to help prevent violence between teens who date, but they apparently don’t care about violence if the students are gay. A measure approved by state representatives Thursday bars references to homosexual relationships in a handbook aimed at cutting down on abusive relationships.

South Carolina legislators have approved a resolution that might help them deal with legal challenges that could arise in forcing Gov. Mark Sanford to request $700 million in federal stimulus cash.

South Carolina has borrowed another $20 million to cover unemployment checks and Gov. Mark Sanford wants legislators to do more to head off a tax increase on employers. Sanford’s office Thursday provided a copy of a letter to Senate and House leaders that asked for a push to move the Employment Security Commission into a new Cabinet-level agency he would control.

Governor Sonny Perdue Wednesday announced that House Bill 119, the state’s Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) budget, has been signed into law. The FY10 budget year begins July 1, 2009.

The South Carolina Senate voted 32-14 Wednesday afternoon to pass a state budget that includes $350 million in federal stimulus money. It also requires Gov. Mark Sanford to request the money within five days of the budget becoming law, either by his signature or lawmakers overriding his vetoes. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has signed into law an $18.6 billion budget that slashes spending for state agencies but uses federal stimulus dollars to avoid painful cuts to Medicaid and education. Perdue OK’d the spending plan Wednesday, the deadline for him to sign or veto bills that passed in this year’s legislative session.

Despite a state budget that’s been cut by more than $1 billion, Governor Mark Sanford says lawmakers’ budget for next year still contains pork. The House and Senate hope to have a final version on the governor’s desk this week. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

Some South Carolina lawmakers say the Legislature’s best shot in years at passing payday lending restrictions could soon die.