More fallout over the Comptroller general’s 3.5 billion dollar blunder

The legislative fallout over a $3.5 billion accounting blunder by South Carolina’s comptroller general took a new turn Tuesday as lawmakers moved to make his job a gubernatorial appointment instead of an elected position. A Senate subcommittee unanimously advanced a constitutional amendment allowing the governor to nominate the official for Senate approval. Currently, South Carolina is one of only nine states where voters elect the chief accountant, said sponsor and state Sen. Chip Campsen. Campsen filed the same legislation in previous years without results. But Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom’s revelation last month that he had overstated the state’s cash position by $3.5 billion has provided likely impetus for its support. Campsen, a lawmaker from the Isle of Palms, said he believes the amendment will allow better oversight and prevent similar failures going forward. Tuesday’s move is one of several recommendations suggested in last week’s damning report by a Senate panel investigating the error. It is also a change supported by Eckstrom, who has held the post for the past 20 years. But he has resisted senators’ demands that he quit or be fired. A separate resolution introduced Thursday seeks a two-thirds vote from the House and Senate to trigger a constitutional provision requiring the governor to remove Eckstrom for “willful neglect of duty.”