COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Gov. Nikki Haley has vetoed a bill that would send $40 million in aid to South Carolina farmers.
Haley called farmers a vocal industry who asked for more tax dollars to bail them out in her veto message Monday. The governor says farmers have plenty of options to pay for most of their losses and they shouldn’t get aid that was not available to all small businesses.
The veto sets up an override showdown with the House and Senate, which each passed the bill by wide margins.
Hundreds of farmers have rallied at the Statehouse, saying federal aid was not enough to pay for the massive damage from October’s catastrophic floods. The deluge came after several months of drought wiped out another round of crops.
