Research

S.C. Senate procrastinates grading floor ban

Update 4/9/2026: A Senate Education subcommittee and the full Senate Education committee both scheduled H.5073 for a hearing next week South Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation that would prohibit school districts from requiring teachers to assign grades higher than a student’s actual performance.

Cameron Rumpp

Written by
April 08, 2026

  • S.C. Senate procrastinates grading floor ban

    Update 4/9/2026: A Senate Education subcommittee and the full Senate Education committee both scheduled H.5073 for a hearing next week South Carolina lawmakers are considering legislation that would prohibit school districts from requiring teachers to assign grades higher than a student’s actual performance.
    Cameron Rumpp

    Written by
    April 08, 2026

  • South Carolina needs to spend more (on tax relief)

    As the great Benjamin Franklin once said, “in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” In South Carolina, there might as well be another – government spending.  Over the past decade, one pattern has held constant: the General Fund grows nearly every year, typically outpacing both inflation and population growth. 
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    April 01, 2026

  • Governor signs South Carolina boat tax cut into law

    The state of South Carolina has a disproportionately high tax rate on boats compared to other property such as homes and cars. However, S.C. boat owners may finally be seeing meaningful tax relief as H.3858 has been signed into law by Governor McMaster.
    Ethan Brawer

    Written by
    March 31, 2026

  • Statehouse Update March 31 - April 2

    Update 4/1/26: Adjustments were made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred throughout the week. The General Assembly passed a massive boat tax cut last week that will cut the effective property tax rate on boats from 10.5% to 6% by 2029. On Monday, Governor McMaster signed this bill...
    Brendan Connors

    Written by
    March 30, 2026

  • Where SC’s Attorney General candidates stand on judicial reform

    A recent poll from the South Carolina Policy Council found that 58% of voters support reforming the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC). Currently, Legislators exert significant influence over the selection process due to their outsized control of the JMSC.  A bill making its way through the legislature would give the...
    Brendan Connors

    Written by
    March 30, 2026

  • Statehouse Update March 24-26

    Update 3/26/26: Adjustments were made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred throughout the week. The Senate is picking up where it left off last week with budget hearings and committee hearings on data center regulations, as well as an interesting AI bill. Meanwhile, the House is back after...
    Brendan Connors

    Written by
    March 24, 2026

  • Statehouse Update March 17-19

    Update 3/18/26: Adjustments were made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred during the week. The House is off this week after passing a $15.4B budget last week following two days of intense debate, cutting around $400M from the governor’s proposed budget. The House proposal now heads to the...
    Brendan Connors

    Written by
    March 16, 2026

  • Judicial reform gathering momentum at the Statehouse

    Two very important legislative proposals that would make substantial changes to the judiciary are working their way through the Statehouse.    Both bills – H. 3530 (magistrate reforms) and H. 4755 (Judicial Merit Selection Commission reforms) – originated in the House. 
    Sam Aaron

    Written by
    March 16, 2026

  • Media Release: SCPC statement on H.4216

    March 11, 2026  The South Carolina Policy Council supports continued progress toward comprehensive state income tax reform. H.4216 includes our amendment from last spring that ensures $200 million, or 25% of future budget surpluses, will be allocated to tax reform. This represents the most ambitious tax reform proposal in decades—a fight SCPC has championed since its inception. The amendment passed by a margin of...
    South Carolina Policy Council Team

    Written by
    March 12, 2026

  • Statehouse Update March 10-12

    Update 3/12/26: Adjustments were made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred during the week. Budget debate started in the House on Monday, with the process expected to last all week and possibly into next week. After finalizing a budget proposal, the House will debate tax cuts. Meanwhile, the...
    Brendan Connors

    Written by
    March 09, 2026