S.C. House members get first look at 2025-26 state budget

Members of the S.C. House on Monday will start consideration of the $14.1 billion state budget, a document they’ve been reviewing for the last week or so.

A generation ago, budget debate was hot, often lasting three or more days, and sometimes into the night. But in recent years with the chamber’s Republican supermajority, debate has been relatively tepid, with the billions in spending passing in a day or two.

In advance of next week’s floor debate, House members received a budget presentation Thursday that outlines 2025-26 funding priorities by the House Ways and Means Committee.

According to the presentation, the proposed budget reflects three major committee objectives: “meaningful tax cuts,” “smart investments” and “responsible budgeting.”

Cuts. The proposed budget includes more than $1 billion in tax relief, with $211 million in income tax cuts and $814 million in property tax reimbursements.

Investments. The committee is recommending a $1,500 a year pay increase for public school teachers, bringing the state’s minimum salary up to $48,500 — still $1,500 short of Gov. Henry McMaster’s requested $50,000. Other highlighted investments include new dollars for disaster relief, behavioral and home health care, school resource officers and state roads and bridges.

Responsibility. The proposal also recommends limiting the now seven-year old “tuition-freeze” at state colleges and universities to existing students, raising health insurance premiums for state employees by $34 a month and adding more than $100 million to the state’s “rainy day” funds, bringing their total value up to just over $1.2 billion.

The House is expected to take up “non-controversial” budget items first — that is, those without floor amendments — on Monday.

Measure passes first hurdle to stem liquor liability crisis

Ever since S.C. liquor liability insurance premiums started spiking in 2020 — forcing an increasing number of small bars and restaurants out of business — Statehouse observers have wondered whether lawmakers would use the crisis to push through a sweeping “lawsuit reform” bill, or craft a narrower fix for the immediate problem.

On Thursday, a unanimous S.C. House came down firmly on the “narrow” side of that debate, even as the S.C. Senate appeared to kill a broad lawsuit reform bill sponsored by Sen. Majority Leader Shane Massey (R-Edgefield).

House leaders quickly touted their approach in a statement after the vote.

“This is a targeted, effective solution that businesses support and need now,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Wes Newton, R-Beaufort, said after the vote. “A similar bill passed the House last year, but the Senate refused to take it up. We addressed the concerns raised, built consensus with stakeholders, and delivered a more comprehensive bill that will provide real relief while maintaining accountability in alcohol service.”

According to House leaders, the bill “quickly and directly addresses the liquor liability crisis” with several targeted actions, including:

An end to joint and several liability for alcohol sales: Under the House bill, bar and restaurant owners who are found to be 1% responsible for the harm caused by a drunk driver could no longer be forced to pay 100% of the damages.

Creation of a liquor liability risk mitigation program: Bars and restaurants would be incentivized to adopt responsible alcohol service policies to lower their insurance premiums.

Mandatory training: All servers and managers would be required to complete state-approved training to serve alcohol responsibly and recognize the signs of intoxication.

In addition to passing their own narrowly-focused legislation, House leaders announced the formation of a new committee to consider larger reforms to S.C.’s liability laws — a strong signal, according to one Statehouse insider, that members have no appetite for sweeping changes.

In that vein, freshly-installed Committee Chairman Bill Herbkersman, R-Beaufort, noted members would be taking their time to make sure S.C. lawsuit reform efforts don’t end up mirroring Florida’s 2023 legislation — a law that Massey’s bill is often compared to.

“South Carolina will take a deliberate approach, hearing from all sides before considering broader reforms,” Herbkersman said in a statement. “This committee will ensure we’re learning from other states, particularly Florida, to avoid unintended consequences and create meaningful, long-term solutions.”

On the other side of the Statehouse, Massey expressed frustration when senators refused to kill an amendment that would effectively gut his bill.

“We’re done,” he told his colleagues after the vote. “It’s over. Congratulations, y’all, it’s done. There will be businesses closed now because of this.” The House bill will move to the Senate next week.

Next week in the S.C. Statehouse

The S.C. House will reconvene on Monday to begin debate on the 2025-26 state budget. The Senate will return the next day for regular business. At press time, only two committee meetings are scheduled, both on the Senate side: a Finance subcommittee hearing to receive testimony from the S.C. Forestry Commission and the State Ports Authority, and an Education subcommittee hearing on the Educator Assistance Act, a bill that advocates say addresses longtime teacher concerns regarding contracts, recertification requirements and district administrative procedures.

A complete listing of streamable committee meetings is available on the Statehouse website at scstatehouse.gov/video/schedule.php.

In other recent news

How’s S.C.’s execution by firing squad will unfold. It will be three volunteer prison employees holding rifles about 15 feet away who will complete condemned killer Brad Sigmon’s punishment in what will be the United States’ first firing squad execution in 15 years.

GOP leaders call on S.C. reps to wait on total abortion ban. Republican legislators re-opened debate Tuesday on another attempt to ban nearly all abortions in South Carolina, carrying out a promise by the House’s most strident abortion foes. But House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, said in a statement for the House to wait on the Supreme Court’s ruling on the state’s 2023 law that outlaws abortions at six or nine weeks of pregnancy.

S.C. unemployment benefits could be increased for first time in decades. The state Department of Employment and Workforce announced in February it would increase the state’s maximum unemployment insurance benefit to $350 a week, marking the first real increase within the program in nearly two decades.

S.C. Senate advances bill banning vaccine mandates. An S.C. Senate panel gave its blessing to legislation that would prohibit vaccine mandates by public and private employers, after limiting its scope to “novel” vaccines that have not received full FDA approval. Gov. McMaster has called the bill “unnecessary.”

S.C. anti-DEI bill would mandate sweeping changes in public, private sectors. An S.C. House bill to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives would bar state and local governments from doing business with any entity with DEI policies, including major Palmetto State manufacturers like BMW, Michelin and Bosch.

S.C. Senate considers harsher penalties for human trafficking. A bill to make prostitution and coercion felonies under S.C. law is moving through the S.C. Senate, where sponsors expect it to be approved overwhelmingly. “I think it may be a unanimous vote,” said Spartanburg Republican Sen. Josh Kimbrell. “I can’t imagine anybody who doesn’t agree. Ultimately, we should protect these victims and go after people who victimize them.”

S.C. senators trying again to create vaping registry. A bill in the S.C. Senate would create a registry of vapes and e-cigarettes that are allowed to be sold in the state based on those that have approval or pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

S.C. bill punishes organized thievery passes unanimously. Thieves who work together to steal thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from South Carolina businesses would face stiffer penalties under legislation approved unanimously by the Legislature.
Students removed from S.C. voucher program after being deemed ineligible. About 1,000 students were kicked out of the state’s school voucher program in October, months after participating students had received the first of four $1,500 scholarship payments, but before the second round of funding. The S.C. Department of Education found them ineligible, according to an oversight report.