Happy Thursday.
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 while lawmakers are in session.
We said we'd be back briefly, and we meant it.
The Legislature returned Wednesday for one day only to pass a $14.5 billion state general fund spending plan that goes into effect on July 1.
It wasn't the only issue lawmakers dealt with in their return.
But it was the primary debate.
Gov. Henry McMaster has line-item veto power when it comes to the budget.
And, while he may use it — McMaster declined to tell reporters what exactly he might veto — the Legislature is unlikely to return to address those vetoes. That means The State House Gavel will be on somewhat of a break so we can cover other issues (did you hear about the 2026 governor's race) and we will return January of next year.
Notebook highlights:
- The Legislature passed its $14.5 billion budget that includes a legislative raise — an addition that some lawmakers said would prohibit them from supporting the larger spending plan.
- After months of work, Gov. Henry McMaster and Statehouse leaders celebrated the signing of a liquor liability bill.
- The House will work over the next several months to identify ways to "modernize" the state transportation department. We'll tell you what the House speaker says he wants done.
Lawmakers sign off on $14.5B budget with pay raise
The South Carolina General Assembly headed back home Wednesday after easily pushing through a $14.5 state spending plan that includes more pay for lawmakers for the first time since 1995.
For background: As a whole, the state budget is much bigger — about $41 billion — because it also includes federal and some other funds. What lawmakers focus on is the general fund, the part of the budget made up primarily of income and sales tax revenue. Last week, the Board of Economic Advisors also certified more than $1 billion in additional revenue, but lawmakers left almost half-a-billion-dollars unspent to use next year.
The Senate passed the budget 37-5 while the House vote was 88-25.
The pay hike will boost lawmakers' pay for in-district expenses — travel, office supplies and other eligible expenses — from $1,000-a-month to $2,500-a-month.
That's equal to about $18,000 per year at a total cost of about $3 million.
That money will be in addition to what lawmakers earn yearly — most lawmakers earn $10,400 per year, with the exception of those who hold leadership titles — and per diem.
The measure — called a proviso — to raise the in-district expense pay was first added to the budget during the Senate debate.
"The anticipation is you will spend that on your constituents, doing the job that they’ve elected you to do and going to the places they have asked you to go,” House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, told colleagues Wednesday. "It is not a pay raise. It is an expense reimbursement. If you do not spend the money on your constituents, then that is on you.”
Bannister asked lawmakers on the fence to look beyond the raise and see the rest of the "good" included in the budget, like:
- More than $290 million to lower the state's top income tax rate down to 6% from 6.2% (The House-passed income tax plan was not included in next fiscal year's budget)
- Nearly $106 million to cover state and school employees' and health plan premiums and more than $66 million to raise all full-time equivalent employees to a new pay band, or 2%
- $80 million for teacher pay raises of $1,500, bringing the starting salary to $48,500
- $200 million to fix bridges and $35 million for the transportation department to respond to Hurricane Helene damage
- $12 million for veteran home operating costs
You can view the full budget conference report here.
But for 30 lawmakers in the 170-member General Assembly that was not enough. (Some lawmakers also opposed the budget due to a lack of earmarks this year).
“If there is going to be a pay raise, the people by way of elections ought to decide who does and who does not get that raise,” state Sen. Wes Climer, R-York, told his colleagues.
Climer added that former Richland Democratic Senator Dick Harpootlian, an attorney, is interested in suing over the hike.
"I'm begging you to think this thing through," state Rep. Joe White, R-Newberry, told his House colleagues. "I don't think serving people should vote themselves a raise."
The in-district raise will take effect when the budget starts July 1.
And as the AP's Jeffrey Collins reports, by state law a salary raise cannot take effect until after the next election.
What's next?
The budget heads to the governor's desk for his signature.
Though McMaster — who has line-item veto power — declined to tell reporters Wednesday what specifically he might strike, he did say he is likely to leave the in-district raise in the budget.
You can listen to his full comments below:
As we reported above, the Legislature is unlikely to return to Columbia until session starts in January.
Gov, lawmakers celebrate 'landmark' bill
State legislative leaders joined Gov. McMaster at the Statehouse Wednesday to hail what they call “a landmark tort reform and liquor liability law."
Most of the law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
The new law enacts significant reforms to the state’s liability insurance laws for various businesses, particularly for establishments that serve alcohol.
Its purpose? Stop increases in the cost of liability insurance which businesses must pay, lawmakers said.
York County Republican Sen. Michael Johnson, one of the Senate floor leaders for tort reform, called the new law a step forward in fixing an old problem.
The new law also modifies the state’s “joint and severability“ statute, which determines ways in which juries may award personal and business damages.
House Judiciary Chairman Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, said the new law will bring “fairness to our judicial system."
Senators, however, said Wednesday they to go further.
Recall: The Senate tried to push through a much larger tort reform package. The House wanted to stick with a more narrow liquor liability bill as restaurant and bar owners urged lawmakers to help lower skyrocketing liquor rates. The two chambers negotiated a deal they coined "liquor liability plus" that responded to those owners and tackled joint and several.
"It is a step in the right direction, but it is a small step," said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.
All about roads
The S.C. House has a new target of interest: the state Department of Transportation.
More specifically, how to plan and manage the transportation network for a fast-growing state, how the state gets road projects greenlit faster, and how the state gets roads fixed and paved quicker.
This month, House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, created a special committee to come up with recommendations between now and January aimed at bringing South Carolina’s road system and the state transportation department into what he called a "modern age.“
Smith told members of the panel Wednesday that the state’s current road system — one of the largest in the country — was built for a state with a population of only 2 million to 3 million people.
Today, South Carolina boasts more than 5 million people.
“We need to recognize that we are moving toward 6 million people (population). So our roads that were created 30 and 40 years ago are not going to serve us for what we are doing right now,” Smith added.
What do lawmakers plan to look at?
- Congestion in the state’s urban areas
- The internal SCDOT structure
- Streamlining the road construction permitting process for road and bridge construction
- Raising fees on electric vehicle owners
- How the state raises money to pay for infrastructure
- State laws that govern the use of toll-roads, among others
These are not the only topic areas.
Smith added, however, he did not think the General Assembly should look at increasing the state’s 28 cents-per-gallon gas tax, which rose to that amount in July 2022.
A release says the panel will hold statewide public hearings through the year to hear from residents, and work with transportation officials.
Smith said he expects the panel to have a bill ready to be introduced on the first day of the new session in January 2026.
Who is on the panel?
- Co-chairs, Reps. Heather Crawford, R-Horry, and Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort
- Rep. Gary Brewer, R-Charleston
- Rep. Don Chapman, R-Anderson
- Rep. Kambrell Garvin, D-Richland
- Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-York
- Rep. Bill Hager, R-Hampton
- Rep. Bill Hixon, R-Edgefield
- Rep. Lonnie Hosey, D-Barnwell
- Rep. Roger Kirby, D-Florence
- Rep. Brian Lawson, R-Cherokee
- Rep. Steven Long, R-Spartanburg
- Rep. David Martin, R-York
- Rep. Cody Mitchell, R-Darlington
- Rep. Scott Montgomery, R-Spartanburg
- Rep. Michael Rivers, D-Beaufort
- Rep. Heath Sessions, R-York
- Rep. Mark Smith, R-Berkeley
- Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston
- Rep. James Teeple, R-Charleston
- Rep. David Vaughan, R-Greenville
- Rep. Mark Willis, R-Greenville
South Carolina deserves roads that move.
— schousespeaker (@schousespeaker) May 28, 2025
Today I joined the newly formed SCDOT Modernization Committee to charge them with a straightforward, but far from simple, mission: bring forward real, actionable solutions that modernize how SCDOT operates in order to help our… pic.twitter.com/1ADfhAFAE8
Clips from around the state
- South Carolina’s budget passes with a big raise in lawmaker pay (AP)
- SC governor celebrates new law aimed at reducing insurance costs for restaurants, businesses (SC Daily Gazette)
- South Carolina Supreme Court rejects inmate’s request for more firing squad details (AP)
- This SC pediatrician ran for Congress in 2022. Now she wants to oust Sen. Graham (The State)
