Tax cuts, growth, culture dominate first half of session

With week nine of the 2026 legislative session now in the books, the annual five-month dash to do the state’s business is officially half-over.

And so far, much of the action saw lawmakers dealing with tax cuts, growing pains and (yet again) culture wars. Here’s our midsession update of what’s been happening.

Follow the money

In any given legislative session, a lawmaker’s primary duty is to pass a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year. But with three major tax cut bills moving alongside the budget-writing process, legislators say taxing and spending is more in flux at the midpoint of the session than it has been in years.

“At this point, you’ve got three pieces of tax legislation, all unresolved,” Beaufort Republican Sen. Tom Davis told Statehouse Report this week. “And so that makes for a very complex, confusing process, with a lot of different moving parts that have to happen in sync.”

This week, the S.C. House passed a $15.4 billion budget bill (H. 5126) that features a modest cut in the state’s top tax rate, teacher pay raises and about half of the $1 billion that Gov. Henry McMaster requested for roads and bridges. But three additional tax cuts have been approved by one or both chambers: a $250 million property tax cut for seniors (S. 768), a $300 million tax cut that mirrors President Donald Trump’s federal exemptions for tips and overtime pay (H. 3368), and a steeper top-rate cut that doubles the price tag to $309 million (H. 4216). Now, the S.C. Senate will have to try to reconcile everything as it works through its own budget process.

Growing pains

After five years of explosive growth compared to the rest of the country, South Carolinians are telling lawmakers they need relief from traffic jams, overburdened local water and sewer systems, and industries that are putting unprecedented strains on the state’s natural resources and power grid.

To address those growing pains, both chambers have bills that reform the way the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) does business. The House measure (H. 5071), still in committee, includes making the head of SCDOT a gubernatorial appointment, pushing counties to pay for maintenance of nonessential state roads and raising electric vehicle fees. The Senate bill (S. 831), set for debate as soon as next week on the floor, would expand SCDOT’s authority to toll roads, encourage public-private partnerships and increase state oversight of county transportation committees. With similar approaches but different specifics, expect the bodies to work out their differences late in the session.

Also on tap in the weeks ahead are concurrency bills (S. 227, H. 4050) — that is, legislation authorizing local governments to slow down development until infrastructure catches up — and a bill putting stiff new regulations on the massive data centers (S. 867) that have been springing up across the state, including restrictions on their water and power usage.

Law and order

Heading into the session, GOP leaders in the House and Senate pledged to change the way state judges are chosen, toughen penalties for certain classes of crimes and reform the state’s juvenile justice system.

In February, the House passed a bill (H. 4755) giving the governor the authority to nominate all 12 members of the panel that selects state judges subject to Senate confirmation, while banning lawmakers from sitting on the body. The legislation is currently awaiting action in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On the criminal justice front, the Senate unanimously passed a bill (S. 52) in February that would strengthen the state’s DUI laws, imposing stiffer penalties on intoxicated drivers and pushing suspects to submit to breath and blood testing. In addition, a bill (S. 405) signed by the governor in March extends the state’s homicide-by-child-abuse statute to cover minors up to 18 years of age. Previously, it had only covered children 10 and under.

And finally, the House has passed two major juvenile justice bills: one (H. 4151) that would make it easier to try some 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, and another (H. 5120) that would mandate fingerprinting and photographs of juveniles when they come into state custody and simplify information sharing between schools and law enforcement. Another bill (H. 5117), currently in the House Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support, would create stronger procedural safeguards before most children can be moved into an adult court.

Social issues

With an open governor’s race and all House members on the ballot in November, lawmakers in the lower chamber have passed several items that traditionally poll well with Republican primary voters.

Among those getting the most attention are bills that would reclassify abortion pills as controlled substances similar to Valium and Xanax (H. 4760), rename state roads in honor of President Trump (H. 4982) and slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk (H. 4573, H. 5000), and require schools to force children to use the bathroom indicated on their birth certificate (H. 4756) and post the Ten Commandments (H. 4762).

Charleston Democratic Sen. Ed Sutton was dismissive of what he described as the House’s “election year politics.”

“They’re sending us all sorts of crap right now,” Sutton told Statehouse Report Thursday. “So I’m sure we’ll have to deal with those items somehow during the closing weeks of the session.”

Odds and ends

On Thursday, McMaster vetoed a bill (H. 4902) exempting state colleges from the state’s Freedom of Information Act with regard to the cash they’re paying their student athletes. While the House is expected to muster more than enough of the two-thirds majority required to override the veto, prospects are more uncertain in the Senate.

A House-passed bill (H. 3924) regulating the marketing and sale of THC-infused drinks and edibles is currently under debate on the Senate floor. Votes to ban the products have failed in both chambers, as members have continued to debate where and under what circumstances they should be sold, as well as minimum age limits.

In February, the Senate passed a bill (S. 454) providing stricter regulations for charter schools, including streamlining the closure of failing schools and requiring board members to receive annual training.

And also in February, McMaster signed the S.C. Social Media Regulation Act (H. 3431), which requires social media platforms to give parents control over the apps their children use and how long they use them.