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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: Lawmakers ready to elect Supreme Court justice, House takes on tax conformity

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,
Gavin Jackson
Published March 3, 2026 at 6:01 AM EST
The South Carolina Statehouse on Feb. 10 , 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
The South Carolina Statehouse on Feb. 10 , 2026.

It's Tuesday, March 3.

Welcome to March and Week 8 of the legislative session.

Counting this week, there are 11 more weeks and 33 more days (not counting furlough/perfunctory days) on the South Carolina Legislature's official 2026 calendar until sine die on May 14. We're also not yet counting days they'll potentially return for vetoes, etc.

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.

This is a big week in the Statehouse.

Before we break it down, several state lawmakers and the greater public on Monday said their final goodbyes and paid their last respects to civil rights leader and Greenville native Jesse Jackson, who was honored at the Statehouse.

You can read more here:

Notebook highlights:

  • House budget chief says chamber will deal with tax conformity
  • How the four-person state Supreme Court race became a two-man contest between an incumbent and former House speaker
  • What to watch in Week 8 of the Legislature
People gather inside the South Carolina Statehouse as the Rev. Jesse Jackson lies in state Monday, March 2, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.
Matt Kelley/AP
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FR172079 AP
People gather inside the South Carolina Statehouse as the Rev. Jesse Jackson lies in state Monday, March 2, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.

House wants to tackle tax conformity

In a schedule switch-up, the South Carolina House appears poised to pass tax conformity legislation after reporters were told the topic would likely not come up until after April 15.

Today, the House Ways and Means Committee will meet twice — once in subcommittee and then later in full — to decide whether to move forward on a tax conformity bill, lining up the state's tax code for one more year with the changes made in President Donald Trump's coined "Big Beautiful Bill."

In a statement provided to SCETV, House budget Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, said they've heard from many South Carolinians who want the benefits of Trump's tax law.

"In response, we plan to consider tax conformity legislation in committee next (this) week and anticipate further discussion on the House floor in the coming weeks," Bannister said in part. "As these measures move through the process, we remain focused on responsible, pro-taxpayer reforms that support economic growth and provide clarity for families and businesses across South Carolina."

What is conformity?

Every year, lawmakers pass a pretty standard tax conformity bill that "conforms" certain state tax provisions to changes at the federal level.

Why? Because state taxes are linked to the federal standard and itemized deductions.

So why the change/debate this year?

Trump's tax law heavily tweaked the tax code.

But, since last year, both chambers have been debating state income tax legislation. And that legislation unties South Carolina from the federal code. Plus, lawmakers have said they wanted to see what the final state income tax changes would look like before passing a very costly conformity bill that would make it harder to unwind from the federal framework.

Will the Senate agree to conformity?

It's not quite as clear. In the House, we should mention, all 124 members are running for reelection this year.

The Senate is not.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, told the Post and Courier this last week:

"I think we probably need to do a better job of getting the word out that we're not intending to conform this year because that would set people up for a significant tax increase next year if we did conform," Massey told the outlet. "We don't want to do that."

What's the status of the income tax bill?

The House-backed legislation is back in the lower chamber after the Senate passed the bill last week with a pretty significant amendment by lowering the cut in the first year to 5.21% from 5.39%.

The legislation, H.4216:

  • Eliminates the federal standard and itemized deductions, and lets state taxpayers claim a state income adjusted deduction
  • Shifts the state's 6% top income tax rate down to 5.21%
  • Requires that anyone with taxable income of up to $30,000 pay a 1.99% income tax
  • Requires that anyone with taxable income above $30,000 pay a 5.21% income tax
  • Eventually phases the income tax to zero, if the state takes in enough revenue, but this would takes years, maybe decades to accomplish

Who is affected according to the fiscal impact statement?

  • 22.6% of returns will see an increase in their liability
  • 42.8% of returns will see a decrease in their liability
  • 34.6% of returns will still not see a change in their liability

What about the cost?

The cost and how lawmakers will pay for it is a big question reporters are asking and may get some answers to soon.

Under the original bill passed by the House, the state's general fund budget took a roughly $119 million hit. Under the new version, the cost is nearly $309 million.

S.C. REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OFFICE

Take that updated income tax cost, plus the cost to expand the homestead exemption property tax — more than $247.6 million — plus the cost of tax conformity, and the impact to revenues would result in well more than half-a-billion dollars.

"We have closely monitored the Senate’s consideration of the bill, and we are excited to see it pass overwhelmingly this (last) week, lowering the top tax rate to 5.21%," Bannister also said in his provided statement. "This strong bipartisan support underscores a shared commitment to pro-growth tax policy and long-term economic competitiveness for South Carolina. We now look forward to receiving the bill back from the Senate and continuing to work through the remaining steps in the legislative process, with the hope of ultimately sending it to the governor for consideration."

State Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, speaks on the House floor, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Columbia, S.C.
Crush Rush/AP
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FR172229 AP
State Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, speaks on the House floor, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Columbia, S.C.

SC Supreme Court showdown: Few v. Lucas

A Supreme Court showdown in the General Assembly.

It's a four-person contest that has become a two-man race between sitting incumbent Justice John Few and the former Republican House Speaker Jay Lucas, a Darlington attorney.

Lawmakers were busy last week whipping votes for their preferred candidate, and reporters were told the race for justice could roll into two or three rounds of voting if someone doesn't drop out. That is still a big if.

Background: South Carolina legislators elect most judges in the state. That includes the justices on the high court. The General Assembly will meet in a joint session at noon Wednesday to decide several judicial seats, including elections for the Public Service Commission.

Who is running for the Supreme Court seat?

  • Justice John Few
  • Former House Speaker Jay Lucas
  • Administration Law Court Judge Ralph King Anderson III
  • State Appeals Court Judge Blake Hewitt

How did we get here?

It's unusual, and often can be rare, for a sitting justice on the Supreme Court to appear on rocky grounds with the Legislature to the point where their service is in jeopardy. In past years, justices have easily rolled over into another term. But Few has drawn the ire of particularly Republican legislators, critical of his 2021 vote to strike down a previous abortion ban — a decision he has defended. He later joined his colleagues to uphold the state's current six-week abortion ban. He's also been questioned about his temperament, a question every judicial candidate runs into during their screening by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission.

On the other side of the docket, Lucas hasn't escaped criticism either, from his age and whether he would fight the 72-year retirement age to optics and his lack of bench experience.

What will happen Wednesday?

Lawmakers have been quiet about how the votes are shaking out, outside of saying the chatter is Lucas is the top vote-getter as of now. And as we reported above, candidates could very well drop out moments or hours before the race and it's still an if whether the vote needs any additional rounds.

But perhaps appearing to acknowledge the writing on the wall, last month Few made a quick comment on his future during an asbestos-related case.

"It's been 26 or seven years since I tried cases," Few said. "It looks like I'm going to get the opportunity to do it again soon."

You can hear below:

S.C. Supreme Court Justice John Few John (A. Tibbs v. Asbestos Corporation Limited) 2.25.26

FILE - The exterior of the South Carolina Supreme Court building in Columbia, S.C. is shown Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. Justices threw out a deal, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, cutting 16 years off the 35-year sentence of as man convicted of murder, saying a prosecutor and judge shouldn't have allowed the process to happen in secret. (AP Photo/James Pollard, File)
James Pollard/AP
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ap
FILE — The exterior of the South Carolina Supreme Court building in Columbia, S.C.

What to watch in Week 8

The Supreme Court and Public Service Commission races are not the only legislative activities worth watching this week.

Finally, it's almost the annual suits and sneakers day, honoring cancer survivors and their families. We expect to see legislators in their finest shoes Wednesday. Please don't disappoint.

What's on the Senate's docket?

Senate leaders told reporters to potentially expect crime-related, and even hemp, legislation to come up on the floor.

Here are other hearing takeaways:

Tuesday

  • Beaufort Republican Sen. Tom Davis's data center legislation — S.867 — returns to a Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee at 9 a.m. It's the only bill on the panel's agenda.
  • Budget hearings continue this week in the Senate, starting at 9 a.m. with Clemson PSA, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Palmetto Trail and Patriots Point.
  • A Senate Education subcommittee will return at 10:30 a.m. to continue debate over S.692, sponsored by Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree, R-Horry. The legislation is what lawmakers are calling the "clean up bill" in the state's private school voucher law, aiming to more clearly define eligible expenses and restrict students from participating in the program who are being homeschooled. Last month, senators grilled Education Secretary Ellen Weaver about the latter. You can find our coverage here.
  • A Senate Finance subcommittee will meet at 3 p.m. to consider four bills that includes S.508, sponsored by Sen. Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, that would expand what falls under the Heritage Act and give greater powers to groups to sue to stop removal.
  • Senators on a Senate Judiciary subcommittee will meet in the afternoon on other data center-related legislation, such as S.902 sponsored by Judiciary Chairman Luke Rankin, R-Horry, and S.724, sponsored by Sen. Allen Blackmon, R-Lancaster, that requires commercial data centers to report water usage every year to the Department of Environmental Services.

Wednesday

  • A Senate Family & Veterans’ Services subcommittee will meet in the morning over S.540, sponsored by Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, that amends the definition of child abuse to state, in part, that a parent raising a child consistent with the child's biological sex at birth does not constitute as abuse, harm or neglect.
  • Budget hearings continue in the Senate Finance Committee with the Retirement System Investment Commission, and the departments of social services and environmental services.
  • A Senate Judiciary subcommittee will meet over S.922, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, which would partly eliminate the Senate's requirement to approve governor appointees to various boards and commissions. You can find more coverage via the SC Daily Gazette here.
  • A Senate Medical Affairs panel will meet on two vaccine-related bills. The first — S.741, sponsored by Sen. Carlisle Kennedy, R-Lexington — states that no vaccine could be required for infants under 24 months old, and only at the request of a parent. The second — S.897, sponsored by Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton — removes the religious exemption for school students to get the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.
  • The full Senate Transportation Committee will meet to decide whether to advance three bills that includes S.831, sponsored by Chairman Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, which seeks to modernize the state transportation department, ease congestion and identify new resources for infrastructure.

Thursday

  • The full Senate Corrections and Penology Committee will decide whether to send S.385, sponsored by Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine, D-Richland, to the floor. The legislation would seek to ease the prison sentencing schedule for eligible women inmates until they are 12 weeks postpartum.
  • A Senate Judiciary subcommittee will hold a hearing on two state regulations-related bills — H.3021, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Bradley, R-Beaufort, and S.254, sponsored by Sen. Davis.
  • Budget hearings in the Senate Finance Committee continue, starting with requests from Coastal Carolina University and the College of Charleston. Another hearing will focus on the Governor's School for Agriculture, the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum and the Arts Commission.

Now onto the House, which reporters heard last week may take up juvenile crime-related bills and, possibly, hemp regulations. There's also the bill hanging out there dealing with the dissolution of the South Carolina High School Sports League.

Here's what else is on tap:

Tuesday:

  • A Labor, Commerce and Industry panel will meet on three bills that include S.163, a cryptocurrency bill sponsored by Sen. Verdin.
  • The House Ways and Means Committee will meet in subcommittee, then later full, to fast-track legislation aiming to pass tax conformity this year.
  • The House's tort reform panel will meet in the afternoon on two bills — H.4544, sponsored by Rep. Jay Jordan, R-Florence, and H.4670, sponsored by Chairman Weston Newton, R-Beaufort — that deal with medical malpractice and the timeline to file personal injury, property damage, bodily injury, or wrongful death claims, respectively.
  • A K-12 Subcommittee of the Education and Public Works Committee plans to meet after the House adjourns on three bills that include H.3866, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Berkeley, that would require certain forms of parental identification to enroll a child in public school.
  • The Banking and Insurance Subcommittee will meet on H.4817, sponsored by Rep. Gary Brewer, R-Charleston, that would expand the Department of Insurance's role and tweak insurance policy holder protections. The same subcommittee will meet again Wednesday. The full Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee will meet on the bill Thursday morning pending a favorable report.

Wednesday

  • The 3M Committee's Military and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee will meet to discuss H.4974, sponsored by Rep. Doug Gilliam, R-Union, that would seek to ban China from owning or leasing any land or real estate within 25 miles of a state or federal military base to install or build a telecommunications or broadcasting tower.
  • The Judiciary's criminal law subcommittee will meet in the morning over three bills that includes H.4292, sponsored by Rep. David Martin, R-York, that ups penalties for anyone who purposefully obstructs a public road, highway, intersection or parking lot for illegal car exhibitions that could include "burnouts, drifting, doughnuts, speed contests, or other reckless driving maneuvers." Another bill on the agenda — H.3034, sponsored by Rep. Neal Collins, R-Pickens — would increase penalties and expand violators of a state law that targets anyone to hurts, taunts, or strikes an animal used by law enforcement.

Thursday

The South Carolina Statehouse on Feb. 10 , 2026.
GAVIN JACKSON
The South Carolina Statehouse on Feb. 10 , 2026.

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  • 4 p.m. — Gov. Henry McMaster, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge, Senate President Thomas Alexander and House Speaker Murrell Smith will hold a special announcement to recognize the signing of the Declaration of Independence at the Statehouse 

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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