Taxes, crime, culture war: Key prefiled bills for new session

Tax cuts for seniors? New protections for first responders? An end to drag queen story hours in public libraries?

Those are just a few of the ideas S.C. lawmakers have proposed in 327 bills they’ve pre-filed prior to next week’s kickoff of the 2026 legislative session.

Below is an annual roundup of some of the most consequential, controversial and just plain interesting pre-filed bills awaiting action as lawmakers reconvene on Jan. 13.

Economy, affordability and taxes

With inflation and tariffs continuing to punish S.C. consumers, several new bills promise to lower prices or put more money in residents’ pockets.

Among those bills, the most ambitious by far is H. 4817, a wide-ranging insurance reform package that aims to lower rates on homes, automobiles, health care and more. Co-sponsored by powerful S.C. House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, the bill is expected to be a major priority in 2026.

Other pocketbook proposals garnering early attention include bills that would exempt senior citizens from property (H. 4580) and automobile (H. 4598) taxes, eliminate the sales tax on baby products (S. 742) and expand the current sales-tax-free back-to-school weekend to cover the entire month of August (S. 728).

Crime and punishment

Despite dramatic declines in national crime rates in 2025, crime will remain a major focus for S.C. lawmakers in the new session.

Attracting the most attention out of the gate is the Criminal Coercive Control Act (S. 702), sponsored by Georgetown Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, a 2026 GOP candidate for S.C. Attorney General. Inspired by the April 2024 death of Myrtle Beach resident Mica Miller and the subsequent allegations of abuse against her estranged husband, the bill would outlaw “a pattern of behavior that seeks to destroy the mental and emotional state of the other person [and] strip away the individual’s sense of self.”

Also up for debate in 2026 are bills that would require county sheriffs to participate in federal immigration enforcement efforts (H. 4764), criminalize the possession of abortion pills (H. 4760), and establish penalties for interfering with the work of first responders (H. 4763).

Health and education

As the Trump administration’s health priorities continue to filter to the state level, several pre-filed bills reflect the controversial agenda of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. These include legislation that would prohibit vaccine mandates for children under the age of 2 (S. 741), require the state health department to advertise the availability of vaccine mandate waivers (H. 4803) and ban the addition of fluoride in public water systems (S. 743).

On education, major bills include legislation by Education Committee Chairman Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, requiring home schoolers who receive state voucher money to study an approved curriculum (S.692) and a bill co-sponsored bySmith that would effectively end tenure at state colleges and universities (H. 4761).

Energy and environment

After last year’s passage of deregulatory energy legislation aimed at ramping up production, two new bills look to start setting guardrails. The first, sponsored by S.C. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, would deny eminent domain powers to privately owned pipeline companies (S. 689), potentially complicating plans for a new natural gas plant in Colleton County. The second bill, introduced by Lancaster Republican Sen. Allen Blackmon, would require energy-hungry data centers to report their water usage to state officials on an annual basis (S. 724).

On the environmental side, noteworthy bills include a measure to add the state’s chief resilience officer to the Conservation Bank board and encourage public access to bank-supported sites (H. 4765), and legislation mandating safety buffers between hazardous-materials facilities and schools (H. 4785).

Culture war

With an open governor’s seat on the ballot in 2026 and culture war questions continuing to animate voters across the political spectrum, several pre-filed bills address perceived hot-button social issues head-on.

Among these are bills that would codify existing requirements that school children use the bathroom that matches the sex listed on their birth certificate (H. 4756), abolish the state Arts Commission (H. 4731) and designate each Oct. 14 Charlie Kirk Day (H. 4609) throughout the state of South Carolina – even though Kirk was not from the Palmetto State.

Other proposals likely to divide the 2026 electorate into culture-war camps include bills that would ban property ownership by the Chinese government or its citizens (H. 4787), deny state funding to venues where minors can see drag shows (S. 733) and require that the Ten Commandments be posted (H. 4762) in all S.C. classrooms.

CALENDAR: The S.C. House and Senate are expected to gavel back into session at noon Tuesday.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Click here to see our list of 10 Statehouse issues that are likely to be considered in 2026.
HAVE A COMMENT? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com