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The State House Gavel

The State House Gavel shares updates about the South Carolina General Assembly, including legislative actions, debates and discussions. Featuring news and interviews, so you have access to the latest developments in policy and decisions that shape South Carolina’s future.

The State House Gavel: SC goes to SCOTUS, tax plan clears 1st hurdle, Senate starts energy

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,

Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney

Published April 2, 2025 at 6:01 AM EDT

The S.C. Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

Statehouse reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter are back at the Capitol reporting what you need to know when lawmakers are in Columbia. They'll post news, important schedules, photos/videos and behind-the-scenes interviews with policymakers.

Welcome to Wednesday.

First, the S.C. House now has one vacancy after new Rep. Courtney Waters, D-Charleston, was sworn in on Tuesday.

Also, unofficial results in the House District 50 (which covers Lee County and parts of Kershaw and Sumter counties) special election Democratic primary to fill Democratic Rep. Will Wheeler's unexpired term showed Keishan Scott in the lead by 10 votes over Carl Whetsel. The primary heads to a recount.

The winner faces Republican William Oden on June 3.

And South Carolina's longtime U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond is no longer the record holder for longest speech on the Senate floor. Clocking in at 25 hours and five minutes per the Associated Press, Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, on Tuesday broke Thurmond's 24-hour and 18-minute filibuster 68 years ago.

You're reading The State House Gavel, a daily reporter notebook by reporters Gavin Jackson, Russ McKinney and Maayan Schechter that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse this year while lawmakers are in session.

Gov. Henry McMaster is in Washington Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Medina vs. Planned Parenthood, a case about whether South Carolina can prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving state Medicaid dollars for non-abortion family planning services.

Those services include cancer screenings, birth control and testing for sexually transmitted infections.

The case stems from a 2018 executive order by McMaster, who directed the state's health and human services department to stop sending Medicaid dollars to health providers that also operate abortion clinics. Planned Parenthood runs two in South Carolina.

Oral arguments are expected to start at 10 a.m.

You can listen to them live here.

And a case over whether the state Attorney General Alan Wilson had the right by law to give private attorneys a $75 million legal fee of a federal $600 million Savannah River Site settlement over plutonium is back in the state Supreme Court's hands.

The Supreme Court hearing starts at 9:30 a.m.

You can watch it live here.

Notebook highlights:

GOP Statehouse leaders' income tax plan cleared its first hurdle on Tuesday, a day after an impact estimate said the bill would, at least initially, raise taxes for nearly 60% of S.C. taxpayers.
The Senate started its dayslong debate over legislation that tackles energy capacity.
Takeaways from the House Judiciary Committee, which passed out a handful of bills to the floor.

Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson

House budget writers defend tax plan

A Republican-led bill to replace South Carolina’s personal income tax rate structure with a 3.99% flat tax for all filers cleared its first hurdle on Tuesday in a House Ways and Means subcommittee.

As background: As we previously reported, Republican Statehouse leaders have long complained about the state's top nominal tax rate, arguing that the effective impact on taxpayers is actually much lower than rates show. And, currently, 44% percent of state filers do not pay income tax, leaving 10% of filers paying about 63% of the total tax liability.

The Tuesday vote came a day after the proposal — H. 4216 — was scored by the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

The fiscal impact estimates that under a 3.99% rate:

21.2% of returns will not see a change to taxes
19.4% of returns will see lower taxes
59.4% of returns will see an increase in taxes
Filers with no tax liability will drop from 44% to 23%

For a 2.49% rate — implemented over time after enough state revenue growth — RFA estimates:

77.2% of filers will see a decrease in their taxes
22.8% of filers will see no change

Republican leaders defended the proposal Tuesday amid economic uncertainty, particularly on the federal level.

Here's Majority Whip Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, who spoke to reporters after the bill's passage to full committee:

S.C. Rep. Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, speaks to reporters 4.1.25

As Newton noted, full implementation could take years — what freshman House Freedom Caucus member Sarita Edgerton, R-Spartanburg, said would be a hard pill to swallow for her and her district.

"What are the guarantees that we will meet those triggers quickly to bring relief to the people of my district, who are already paying more than their fair share?" Edgerton asked.

Rather, Edgerton said, the Legislature should drop the rate immediately to 2.49% — a shift that the fiscal impact estimates would result in a roughly $2.7 billion revenue loss for the state.

Going to 3.99% first results in a $216 million cost.

State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, an Orangeburg Democrat and currently the longest-serving House member, told reporters that lawmakers should heed carefully on the legislation.

Cobb-Hunter is the first vice chair on House Ways and Means Committee.

You can listen to part of her remarks to reporters below.

S.C. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, speaks to reporters about income tax plan 4.1.25

The House is expected to debate the bill on the floor next week. It will then head to the Senate, which will have 15 legislative days to pass the bill and then work out any differences with the House.

McMaster has asked for a bill to sign before sine die, May 8.

South Carolina Rep. Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, leads a subcommittee hearing a bill to give South Carolina a flat income tax rate on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Senate starts energy capacity debate

Debate is underway in the Senate on a bill — H. 3309 — aimed at making sure South Carolina can meet its future energy needs.

The 72-page bill, already approved by the House, would:

Streamline the regulatory process for utilities seeking to build and operate new power plants.
Require that regulatory agencies, like the Office of Regulatory Staff and the Public Service Commission, to act on applications to build new facilities within six months. There currently are no time limits.
Provide for appeals of state regulatory decisions to go directly to the state Supreme Court and be considered as soon as possible.
Give state-owned utility Santee Cooper permission to partner with Dominion Energy to build and operate a new 2,200 megawatt gas plant at Canadys in Colleton County. How customers of the two utilities have to pay for the new joint plant is expected to be a flashpoint in the debate.

The so-called "Energy Security Act" is “our answer to the state’s energy needs,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin, R-Horry.

Look ahead: Supporters of “retail choice” are expected to try and amend the bill to allow very large power users, such as industrial plants and data centers, to be able to buy their power on the open market and not be required to be serviced by the utility that provides electricity to their specific area of the state.

What happened Tuesday: Supporters of renewable energy sources scored early victories. The Senate adopted two amendments sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, that incentivize Independent Power Producers (IPP), primarily solar operators, which are allowed to sell power to utilities when they can prove to regulators that they produce certain amounts of power cheaper than a major utility can.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, told colleagues they should expect Wednesday to be a long debate night.

S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, speaks in the Senate on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Columbia, S.C.

House Judiciary moves bills to floor

The House Judiciary Committee met Tuesday and passed out a slew of legislation that tackles judges, explicit photos, and guns to name a few.

In case you missed it, here's a look at what bills received favorable reports and what proposals were carried over for another day.

What passed:

H. 3058 (filed by Rep. Chris Wooten, R-Lexington) which makes intentionally disseminating intimate images, or digitally created intimate images, without consent a punishable offense.
H. 4160 (filed by Rep. Weston Newton, R-Beaufort) would turn five at-large circuit court seats into district seats. No new judgeships would be created, and just five would be reassigned based on needs and population growth.
S. 126 (filed by Sen. Michael Johnson, R-York) would increase personal privacy protection for law enforcement.
H. 3569 (filed by Rep. Mark Smith, R-Berkeley) would allow a tenant of a rental property who is a victim of domestic violence to terminate a rental agreement within 60 days without being held liable for early termination. The victim and perpetrator must be on the lease.
H. 3285 (filed by Rep. Kathy Landing, R-Charleston) would require continuing law enforcement credits for autism spectrum disorder training.
H. 3930 (filed by Rep. Bobby Cox, R-Greenville) would seek to ensure that a payment card network, like Visa or American Express, can't require or incentivize the use of a merchant category code that distinguishes a firearm retailer from other retailers, among other tweaks.
H. 3924 (filed by Rep. Wooten) targets hemp-derived consumables. It was amended to include a listing of 15 chemically-derived hemp cannabinoids. It prohibits anyone under 21 from buy the product.

Carried over:

H. 3049 (filed by Rep. Newton) would give someone a legal course of action against someone who intentionally publishes or threatens to publish intimate images of a person without their consent.
H. 3603 (filed by Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Richland) would tweak the "household member" definition, define "dating relationship," and amend who can file orders of protection.