Casino gambling on back-burner

The odds of lawmakers approving casino gambling in 2026 basically went to zero this week when the S.C. House voted to return a bill that would OK a proposed Santee-area casino to the Ways and Means Committee.

“We talked to the sponsors of the bill and they realized they didn’t have the votes,” House Majority Leader Davey Hoitt, R-Pickens, told S.C. Public Radio. “We just wanted to get it off the calendar, so our folks could say ‘OK, we’ve dealt with that issue for the year, let’s get on to something else.’”

Also introduced this week: Beaufort Sen. Tom Davis’s much-anticipated Data Center Development Act, a sweeping reform bill aimed at protecting the state’s energy grid, water resources and sensitive environmental areas from the explosive growth of resource-hungry data centers.

Below is an update on 10 other major issues highlighted in our 2026 legislative preview:

1. Income tax cuts: An income tax cut bill passed last year in the S.C. House is being considered by the S.C. Senate Budget Committee. The bill would set rates at 5.39% and 1.99% based on income — lower than the current rates, but taxing more people due to changes in income exemptions and exclusions. LATEST: The Senate Budget Committee advanced the House bill on Jan. 20, with an additional property tax cut for residents 65 and older.

2. Rolling back affirmative action and DEI: Several bills are currently awaiting consideration, including one to codify Gov. Henry McMaster’s executive order ending affirmative action in state contracting.

3. Juvenile justice: A special committee created by House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, is meeting throughout the session to advance reforms to the state’s juvenile justice system.

4. Highway reform: With traffic a growing concern across the state, leaders in the S.C. House and Senate have made reform of the S.C. Department of Transportation as a top priority for 2026. LATEST: Members of the House Ad Hoc SCDOT Modernization Committee introduced sweeping legislation on Jan. 29 aimed at shaking up the state’s transportation system, including stronger SCDOT executive oversight, increased county responsibility for some state roads and higher taxes on electric vehicles.

5. Fix the pay raise: When the S.C. Supreme Court last year struck down an increase in lawmakers’ “in-district expenses” stipend, the decision also incidentally killed the $1,000 a month that legislators were already receiving. LATEST: A bill restoring the $1,000 stipend retroactive to July 1, 2025, is headed to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk after clearing the Senate Jan. 21 and the House Jan. 29.

6. Judicial selection: A bill with the support of leaders in both chambers would give the governor more power in selecting state judges. It’s currently awaiting action in the House Judiciary Committee. LATEST: The leaders’ bill cleared committee Jan. 28 and now heads to the House floor for further action.

7. Abortion: A House Judiciary subcommittee on Jan. 14 killed one bill to treat abortion as homicide and advanced another to reclassify abortion pills as Schedule IV drugs.

8. Concurrency: A bill by Davis that would allow local governments to limit development in areas with insufficient infrastructure is pending consideration in the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

9. DOGE SC: Multiple bills promising to cut the state workforce and the regulations they enforce have been introduced for consideration in 2026. In particular, House GOP leaders have pledged to get their “Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act” passed into law this session.

10. Immigration: Currently in the House Judiciary Committee, H. 4764 would require all S.C. sheriffs to partner with the federal government to enforce national immigration laws.