House budget bill pays $200 bonuses to 32,000 state employees

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The budget proviso would pay the bonus to any state employee making $30,000 or less annually on the last payday before Christmas. The House is awaiting Senate action on the budget before both chambers begin negotiating differences.

"I think it's a good idea to give the bonuses," said Rep. Joe Brown, a Columbia Democrat who chairs the House Medical, Military Public and Municipal Affairs Committee and also sponsored the proviso. "They need a bonus. They need a salary increase."

The proposal requires agencies to pay the bonus without providing the funds to do so, something some agency directors said could make a bad budget situation worse.

"I guess I'll have to lay off some more people to pay a $200 bonus," said Jon Ozmint, director of the state's prison system. "It doesn't make much sense to me."

Ozmint estimated the bonus would be paid to 4,000 of his agency's workers at a cost of $800,000. The agency will finish this fiscal year almost $28 million in the red. Ozmint said he is preparing to announce another round of layoffs to try and save money for next year.

William Byars, the director of the state Department of Juvenile Justice, said his employees deserve the bonus. But he said that unless lawmakers provide the funds, the bonus idea could prove a burden to the workers it's meant to help.

"If the state doesn't find the funds, we might face the possibility of taking a furlough to pay for the bonus, which would be counterproductive," he said.

Byers said about 975 of DJJ's 1,400 workers would get the bonus, at a cost to the agency of $195,000.

Overall, the bonuses would cost about $6.3 million, according to Rep. Herb Kirsh, a Clover Democrat and a sponsor of the proposal. Kirsh said federal funds would pay $718,000 of the bonuses, while the state's General Fund and state fees would pay the rest.

"It's a morale booster," Kirsh said.

House Speaker David Wilkins said the bonuses are a one-time reward for employees enduring a "tough budget year."

"Our intent was to reward valued, faithful employees," he said.

Both Kirsh and Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, said the proposal also would help offset an increase in health insurance premiums for state workers next year.

But Sen. Mike Fair, a Greenville Republican and chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee, said requiring bonuses at a time of layoffs "doesn't make any sense."

"It's clearly something we're going to try and remove from the budget," he said. "It's a little bit of a stretch to give them $200 on Christmas and then furlough them for three or four or five days so they can afford to pay for the $200."

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which is now examining the budget, said granting employees bonuses is a good idea, but not if it forces agencies to make more furloughs.

"We'll have to take a look at it," he said.

The budget includes cuts for most state agencies that range from 9 to 18 percent. The agencies have already endured two mid-year budget cuts since last summer, forcing officials to cut workers and services to save money.