South Carolina state comptroller faces foreclosure over $3.5 billion accounting error: NPR

South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom holds up a book he wanted to present to his new chief of staff during his introduction at a meeting August 13, 2009, in Columbia, SC Pressure is mounting for Eckstrom after a $3.5 billion accounting error.

Mary Ann Chastain/AP

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Mary Ann Chastain/AP

South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom holds up a book he wanted to present to his new chief of staff during his introduction at a meeting August 13, 2009, in Columbia, SC Pressure is mounting for Eckstrom after a $3.5 billion accounting error.

Mary Ann Chastain/AP

COLUMBIA, SC — South Carolina lawmakers angry over a $3.5 billion accounting error by the state’s comptroller general began efforts Thursday to fire the official, a day after demanding he resign or be fired.

Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom told senators last month that he unwittingly overstated the state’s cash position by $3.5 billion by overstating how much the state had sent to colleges and universities for a decade. . He made it known that he would not resign.

The error was not in the actual cash, but in the way the state presents its balance sheets. It could hurt South Carolina’s credit rating and destroy any confidence that many lawmakers in the Republican-dominated state had in Eckstrom.

A resolution introduced Thursday calls for a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to trigger a state constitutional provision that says the governor should remove Eckstrom for “willful neglect of duty.”

The constitution allows Eckstrom to be heard in his own defense, though the exact procedure is unclear. Several senators did not remember that this process was used since it was added to the constitution more than 50 years ago.

Eckstrom served as Controller or Treasurer of SC for nearly a quarter century

A certified public accountant, Eckstrom, 74, spent 20 years as comptroller general and before that four years as state treasurer.

“For at least a decade we’ve known he signed his name, Richard Eckstrom, CPA, on our state’s closing financial document and every year he got it wrong,” said Republican Senator Larry Grooms, who is sponsoring the resolution.

Grooms said the legislature had to act because Eckstrom was not doing “the honorable thing” and resign.

Thirty-eight of the 46 senators have signed on to sponsor the proposal. It only takes 30 for the two-thirds threshold to be crossed. In the House, the resolution needs 83 out of 124 votes.

Grooms said he expects that once Eckstrom is dealt with, the Senate will address other issues his subcommittee has recommended, such as dismantling his agency and sending his duties to others. offices.

It all started with a $12 million coding error

The error began as a $12 million coding error in 2007 and was compounded when the state changed its accounting system in 2011, Eckstrom told senators during hearings in recent weeks.

State money transferred to colleges and universities was double counted, and auditors said Eckstrom ignored repeated warnings about the problem. They said he waited five years to do a full account review that finally helped uncover the problem about a year ago.

Eckstrom responded to the Senate report on Wednesday with a statement saying he was not giving up. He said his office worked tirelessly to find and fix the problem, which began to appear in 2013. The issue was only reported to lawmakers or other government officials months ago.

Eckstrom said he would support a constitutional amendment making his job gubernatorial appointee instead of elected, but until then “I will not be distracted by anyone from the job ahead of us, the job the voters elected me to do. do during this term.”

Eckstrom has run unopposed in the past two elections and last had a challenger in the Republican primary in 2010.

The governor said Eckstrom should be held accountable by voters

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said last week that Eckstrom should be held accountable by voters, not impeached.

The resolution demands a lower level of wrongdoing of willful neglect of duty, where impeachment requires “great crimes or gross misconduct” according to the constitution.

McMaster’s office did not immediately respond to questions about whether lawmakers’ Thursday resolution changed its thinking.

Exactly what happens next is not known. The constitution allows Eckstrom to be heard if he chooses.

“We are currently reviewing archives and history to ensure we are following the correct procedures,” Grooms said. “He will have the opportunity to refute.”