[UPDATED 11 a.m., 4/25/25] As the 2025 legislative session barrels toward its May 8 close, people on both sides of the political aisle can point to progress, setbacks and issues where the jury is still out.
“Overall, I think we still see a lot of potential,” said Sam Aaron, research director at the conservative-leaning S.C. Policy Council. “A lot of things are still up in the air.”
On the plus side, in his view, are bills to provide private school vouchers, lower the state’s top tax rate and zero-out earmarks in this year’s budget, all of which appear to be headed toward final passage. The major remaining question, he says, is how legislators will resolve differences on the push to lower sky-high liquor liability premiums for bar and restaurant owners.
Will they settle on a narrow bill aimed squarely at the problem of liquor liability, as favored by the S.C. House — or will they opt for a broader lawsuit reform bill championed by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey (R-Edgefield)? Or worse, will they stand by as the whole effort collapses amid finger-pointing and bitter recriminations?
“That’s the one I’m most curious to see,” Aaron said. “We know that across the state, bars and restaurants are shutting down at an alarming rate. And if they don’t find a way to get something done in the final weeks, those people are just going to be left out in the cold for another year.”
Less enamored of the top-rate tax cuts, school vouchers and general rightward drift of the 2025 session is Lynn Teague of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of South Carolina.
“There have been some positive developments this session,” she said. “But the overall direction has been disturbing.”
In particular, she said in an April 21 interview, the league is concerned about the impact of a bill that would tear down any vestige of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the state.
“We’re concerned about the anti-DEI push that discourages teachers and businesses from doing what they should do — which is not to give someone an advantage because of their identity, but to give them an equal playing field,” Teague said.
But beyond any single bill, what she’s found especially noteworthy about the session is the impact of expanded GOP supermajorities on the culture of the institution.
“With a supermajority in both houses, some legislators who aren’t wildly supportive of some of the more extreme bills feel they’re under more pressure to put them through,” Teague said. “And that’s unfortunate.”
2025 bills, passed and pending
With the clock ticking, legislators are set to meet three days a week through session’s end on May 8. Here’s a look at some of what they’ve accomplished — and what they’re still trying to get done.
The 2025-26 state budget (H. 4025): With the S.C. House and Senate now having passed broadly similar budget plans that cut the state’s top income tax rate from 6.2% to 6%, raise teacher pay by $1,500 and increase spending on roads and bridges, the two bodies will have to negotiate the relatively minor differences between the two bills prior to adjournment. Among those differences: increases in state employee health insurance premiums, in-state college tuition under the House plan and an $18,000 pay raise for lawmakers in the Senate’s version.
Private school vouchers (S. 62): After watching voucher initiatives get struck down twice in recent years by the S.C. Supreme Court, lawmakers say they’ve cracked the code this time. Under a House-Senate compromise announced this month, the program would provide up to 15,000 students with a $7,500 voucher for school-related expenses, including private school tuition.
Hands-free driving (H. 3276): Faced with the loss of $50 million in federal highway funds, the House passed a hands-free driving bill that requires motorists to put down the mobile phone and focus on the road ahead. The bill is now in the Senate, where it’s expected to pass easily. Currently, S.C. is one of only two states that allows motorists to use a cell phone with their hands while driving.
Energy (H. 3309): The S.C. House energy bill, a version of which died in the Senate last year without a vote, this year expands fossil fuel power by allowing a new natural gas plant partnership between Dominion Energy and state-owned Santee Cooper. But with removal or change to provisions limiting regulatory oversight of the state’s utilities, consumer advocates eased opposition and the bill is expected to reach the governor’s desk by the time the session ends.
DEI ban (H. 3927): With strong encouragement from the Trump administration in Washington, the House passed a broad ban on DEI initiatives in government and education. Supporters say the bill would end unfair and discriminatory racial practices. Opponents say it outlaws programs designed specifically to redress those wrongs. The bill is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Hate crimes (H. 3039): Passed by the House last year only to die without a vote in the Senate, the Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act is once again up in the air as the session moves to an end. Introduced after the 2015 Emanuel AME Church murders in Charleston, the bill would stiffen penalties for crimes motivated by hate. Related bills to close the Charleston Loophole that allowed the Emanuel killer to buy the gun due to a paperwork delay are again stalled in House and Senate committees. South Carolina is one of two states without a hate crimes law.
Liquor liability/tort reform (H. 4087): Whether lawmakers can settle very different approaches by May 8 is one of the key questions remaining in the session. Also at stake are moves to strengthen the state’s notoriously weak DUI laws, which many argue are a major contributing factor in the liability cost crisis.
Health agency consolidation (S. 2): After dying dramatically when a small group of opponents raised a technical objection in the final moments of the 2024 session, a bill to consolidate the state’s behavioral health agencies has passed both chambers and is expected to be signed by Gov. Henry McMaster. It was written in response to numerous state behavioral health scandals and an outside study that found S.C. has the least coordinated behavioral health system in the nation.
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