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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 Gov. McMaster celebrates past, eyes the future in last state address

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson
Published January 29, 2026 at 6:01 AM EST
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster delivers his final State of the State address at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
/
SCETV
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster delivers his final State of the State address at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.

Statehouse reporters Gavin Jackson 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.

It's Thursday, Jan. 29.

The House gavels in at 10 a.m. The Senate is in at 11 a.m.

You're reading The State House Gavel, your daily reporter notebook by Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse.

Notebook highlights:

  • Gov. McMaster delivers his final State of the State
  • House debates bathroom use bill, and casino legislation sent back to committee
  • Bipartisan Senate group attach changes to DUI bill moving through upper chamber
Reporters Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson, host of This Week in South Carolina and the SC Lede podcast.
Andre Bellamy/SCETV
Reporters Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson, host of This Week in South Carolina and the SC Lede podcast.

McMaster reflects on past, says 'best is yet to come'

In his last state speech to the General Assembly, Gov. Henry McMaster — the state's 117th governor and the longest-serving governor — reflected on the past, stretching back to the creation of South Carolina and the country's 250 anniversary.

He focused on the current by urging lawmakers to pass his preferred policy and spending requests. And he laid out his hopes for the state's future.

"A few years ago, I asked the question: What will South Carolina look like in 100 years?" McMaster said. "Tonight, I am here to answer the question. Ours is a state of commerce, conservation and consequence."

The speech stretched more than 5,700 words.

In it, he highlighted requests in his executive budget, calling on lawmakers to raise the state's base teacher pay to above $50,000, and spend millions more to expand 4-year-old kindergarten and protect acres of land.

"Importantly, local governments have stepped up on land conservation, collectively investing many millions of dollars to conserve land and create new parks," McMaster said. "But, of the 46 counties in the state, only a few have conservation funding programs. I urge all of our counties to join this effort."

He also reupped his call that the governor nominate judges, with confirmation by the state Senate. And he urged the Legislature to enact magistrate reforms, including requiring those judges to be attorneys and eliminating county residency requirements.

"Magistrate judges should be compensated by the state in the same manner that circuit and appellate court judges are," he said. "The law should be changed to require them to be attorneys. They should be screened in a transparent manner and county residency requirements should be eliminated."

He also reiterated previous calls that the Legislature review the state's 33 higher education institutions.

"Will they be accessible and affordable?  Are they responsive and innovative?  Are they well run?" McMaster said. "Should we consolidate schools, programs, certificates, and degrees? And will enrollment grow, plateau or shrink?"

And in a way to tie the past with the future, McMaster, who as governor dealt with the $9 billion fallout at the V.C. Summer nuclear site, said the revival to finish two unfinished nuclear reactors "marked the beginning of a national effort."

In what he called his final observation for the state, McMaster called for more leaders.

He even offered praise for the General Assembly, a body of 170 members, saying the state was blessed with hardworking and talented people.

He may be ending his political career after 10 years in the governor's office, but claimed in his speech the "best is yet to come."

ICYMI: In his tenure, McMaster has overseen:

  • Significant economic development projects, like the expansions of BMW and Volvo and Scout Motors in Blythewood, and record-breaking investment in the state
  • A reduction in the personal income tax rate
  • A rise in starting state teacher pay from well below $40,000 to what will likely be above $50,000 when the Legislature passes the budget that takes effect July 1.
  • A push for a resource officer in every school, an expansion of 4-year-old kindergarten and the establishment of publicly-funded vouchers for low-income students
  • A multi-year state college and university tuition freeze for South Carolina students
  • Passage of a strict abortion ban and an expansion of gun rights
  • The preservation of thousands of acres of land for conservation efforts
  • The state's response to to the COVID-19 pandemic and several natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene in 2024
  • A growth in the state Republican Party, which now holds supermajorities in both legislative chambers
  • A surge in population growth, as South Carolina is now the nation's fastest-growing state
  • The fallout and planned revival of the V.C. Summer nuclear site
  • The restructuring of the former state Department of Health and Environmental Control and the consolidation of other mental health-related state agencies

State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, a Richland County Democrat, gave the Democratic Party's (pre-taped) rebuttal to McMaster's remarks.

"The State of our State is not what Gov. McMaster described. The real state of our state is what you can find at kitchen tables across South Carolina," Johnson said. "Kitchen tables where families are deciding whether they can afford rent or groceries as prices skyrocket out of control. Where families are forced to decide on spending money on school supplies or lifesaving medications."

Johnson, 40, has served in the House for three terms, but will leave the lower chamber after his term ends after deciding to focus his time on running for governor. Johnson will face Charleston lawyer Mullins McLeod in the June 9 primary.

"This moment calls for honesty. Because leadership means recognizing when policies fail our people and taking responsibility for changing them when the opportunity arises," Johnson said in his remarks. "South Carolina, you have that opportunity."

Read more:

House debates, delays bathroom use bill vote

An hourslong debate on Wednesday over controversial legislation that would require a person to use a restroom, locker room or changing room at public K-12 schools and public colleges and universities based on their biological sex at birth will carry over into Thursday.

That's after Democrats put up multiple amendments to try and derail and slow down the debate over H. 4756, authored by York Republican Rep. Tommy Pope, that Democrats have argued unfairly targets the transgender community. The House eventually invoked cloture, a procedural maneuver that limits amendments and debate.

If passed, the bill will codify what is already in operation under a state budget proviso but expands the law to further include higher education.

The Senate is working on its own version, currently being debated in the Senate Education Committee.

What else happened in the House Wednesday?

  • The full House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation in a 14-7 vote that would give the governor full appointment powers over the 10-member Judicial Merit Selection Commission, the body that screens judicial candidates for an eventual vote by the full Legislature. The bill, by Rep. Gil Gatch, R-Dorchester, now heads to the House floor.
  • Legislation that would restore the $1,000 monthly pay to all 170 legislators to cover in-district expenses — S. 779, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield — is now on the House calendar, expected to come up for debate soon. The bill is expected to pass the House and go to the governor’s desk for his signature.
  • The lower chamber sent a casino legalization bill — H. 4176, originally filed by former Rep. Chris Murphy, R-Dorchester — back to the House Ways and Means Committee. What that means is the bill that would greenlight a casino off Interstate 95 is all but dead for the year. Gavin Jackson caught up with House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, on the bill's future. Listen below:
S.C. House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens, on casino bill 1.28.26

Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope, R-York, author of the bathroom bill H. 4756, speaks with other lawmakers in the House chamber at the South Carolina Statehouse on Jan. 28 , 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope, R-York, author of the bathroom bill H. 4756, speaks with other lawmakers in the House chamber at the South Carolina Statehouse on Jan. 28 , 2026.

Senate works through DUI priority bill

A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday pushed through an amendment to legislation, S. 52, that chamber leaders say will put sharper teeth behind the state's laws over driving under the influence.

As we noted this week, this legislation was and is the first bill out of the gate for the upper chamber.

In both political parties, senators and advocates have criticized the current laws as too lenient, noting the statutes on the books do not do enough to penalize people who commit DUIs, even multiple times.

Too often DUI-related charges get downgraded to reckless driving, said Sen. Greg Hembree, an Horry County Republican and a former solicitor.

The bipartisan working group's amendment includes language to strengthen DUI penalties already in the bill, and close loopholes that could allow someone to avoid conviction, said Sen. Michael Johnson, a York County Republican and a cosponsor of the bill.

Johnson called the legislation the "most meaningful DUI change in decades."

You can listen to part of the senator's interview with Maayan Schechter below:

S.C. Sen. Michael Johnson, R-York, on DUI legislation 1.28.26

The Senate closed session for the day without taking a vote on the bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort.

And given Thursday's are typically "light" debate days, we're told it's a strong chance that this debate carries into the next week.

S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, speaks on the Senate floor about his legislation — S. 52 — to toughen the state's driving under the influence law on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
MAAYAN SCHECHTER
/
SCETV
S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, speaks on the Senate floor about his legislation — S. 52 — to toughen the state's driving under the influence law on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.

Daily Statehouse planner (1/29)

SC House

SC Senate

SC governor

  • 10:30 a.m. — Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to attend the YMCA of Coastal Carolina Mission Advancement Center grand opening in Myrtle Beach

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Maayan Schechter
Maayan Schechter (My-yahn Schek-ter) is a news reporter with South Carolina Public Radio and ETV. She worked at South Carolina newspapers for a decade, previously working as a reporter and then editor of The State’s S.C. State House and politics team, and as a reporter at the Aiken Standard and the Greenville News. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2013.
See stories by Maayan Schechter
Gavin Jackson
Gavin Jackson graduated with a visual journalism degree from Kent State University in 2008 and has been in the news industry ever since. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Louisiana and most recently in South Carolina at the Florence Morning News and Charleston Post and Courier.
See stories by Gavin Jackson