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At a meeting in Columbia on August 13, 2009, the South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, who wanted to introduce himself to the new Chief of Staff, holds up a book.
Mary Ann Chastain/AP
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Mary Ann Chastain/AP
At a meeting in Columbia on August 13, 2009, the South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, who wanted to introduce himself to the new Chief of Staff, holds up a book.
Mary Ann Chastain/AP
COLUMBIA, South Carolina — South Carolina legislators launched efforts to fire the state’s Comptroller General on Thursday, a day after he called for his resignation or firing, angered by a $3.5 billion accounting error. .
Secretary Richard Ekstrom told senators last month that he had unintentionally exaggerated the state’s cash position by $3.5 billion by overstating the amount the state sent to college in a decade. are doing.
The error was not in the actual cash, but in the way the state reported its balance sheet. You may lose the trust you once had.
A resolution submitted Thursday sought a two-thirds vote from the House and Senate to pass a state constitutional clause stating that the governor should remove Ekstrom for “willful neglect of office.” activate it.
Although the exact procedure is not clear, the Constitution authorizes Ekstrom to hold hearings for his own defense. I couldn’t remember it being used.
Eckstrom has been SC’s auditor or treasurer for almost a quarter of a century.
Mr. Ekstrom, 74, a CPA, served 20 years as Treasurer and, prior to that, served as State Treasurer for four years.
Republican Senator Larry Grooms, who sponsors the resolution, said, “For at least 10 years, he signed our state’s financial statements in the name of Richard Eckstrom, CPA. but every year he was wrong.
Grooms said Congress needed to act because Ekstrom had not done “the honorable thing” and had not resigned.
Thirty-eight of the 46 senators signed in support of the proposal. It takes just 30 people to cross the two-thirds threshold. In the House of Representatives, the resolution needs him 83 out of 124 votes.
Mr Grooms said that once Mr Ekstrom was dealt with, the Senate would take up other matters, such as dismantling his agency and transferring its duties to other offices, as recommended by his subcommittee. He said he hopes it will.
It all started with a $12 million coding error
The error began as a $12 million coding error in 2007 and got worse when the state switched accounting systems in 2011, Ekstrom told senators at hearings in the past few weeks.
State cash remitted to colleges and universities was double counted, and auditors said Ekström ignored repeated warnings about the problem. They said they waited five years to conduct a full review of the account, which ultimately helped them discover the problem about a year ago.
Ekstrom said in a statement to the Senate report on Wednesday that he did not intend to resign. His office worked tirelessly to find and fix the problems that first began occurring in 2013, he said. The issue was not reported to lawmakers or government officials until a few months ago.
Ekström said he would support a constitutional amendment in which offices would be appointed by the governor rather than by election, but in the meantime, “no one will be distracted from the task before us, and voters will I will not be distracted by the work that has elected me to do during this term.”
Mr. Ekstrom has run unopposed in the last two elections and was the last to field a challenger in the 2010 Republican primary.
Governor says Ekstrom should be held accountable by voters
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said last week that Ekstrom should be held accountable by voters and not impeached.
The resolution calls for the lower level of wrongdoing of willful dereliction of duty, and impeachment requires “serious crime or serious misconduct” according to the Constitution.
McMaster’s office did not immediately respond to questions about whether Thursday’s resolution from lawmakers had changed his mind.
We don’t know exactly what happens next. The constitution allows public hearings if Ekström wishes.
Grooms said, “We are currently consulting with Archives and History to ensure the correct procedures are followed. “He will get a chance to argue.”
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