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Update 4/16/26: Adjustments were made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred throughout the week.
Last week was a little slower at the statehouse with the House off and the Senate holding a few committee hearings. Lawmakers in both chambers are back in the swing of things with a busy week ahead of them.
Taxes & spending
- Municipal sales tax S.866 – This bill authorizes municipalities in counties that do not currently impose a local sales tax to enact, by ordinance and subject to voter referendum, a sales and use tax of up to 1 percent. The revenue would be used to provide property tax credits for owner-occupied homes and to finance certain projects. The bill also specifies how the tax must be imposed and administered, and how the property tax credit is calculated. This bill is currently on the Senate floor. Update: This bill has passed the Senate and has been sent to the House for consideration.
- Insurance tax credits and fraud protection H.4817 – Increases the maximum amount of the residential retrofit individual income tax credit for a taxpayer’s legal residence from $1,000 to $2,000, and increases the maximum individual income tax credit for excess insurance premium taxes paid for property and casualty insurance from $1,250 to $3,000. The bill expands the allowable uses of Catastrophe Savings Account funds that are eligible for the individual income tax deduction and establishes an annual Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday to initially be held from Friday May 2, 2026, through Sunday, May 4, 2026. This bill also increases the insurance fraud oversight, investigation, and enforcement responsibilities of the Department of Insurance and transfers certain responsibilities to the Attorney General and SLED respectively. A Senate Banking and Insurance subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 14 at 10am.
- Business relocation grant fund H.5471 – This bill creates the South Carolina Headquarters Relocation and Growth Fund, a dedicated trust fund separate from any existing fund. Funds will be administered by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development to award grants to companies that establish or expand a corporate, regional, or shared-service headquarters in the state. To qualify, projects must create at least 50 new full-time jobs within five years, pay wages at or above 200% of the county average, invest a minimum of $10 million, and enter a performance agreement with clawback provisions. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 14 at 11am.
- Local property tax increases S.102 – Any municipalities that currently have no operating millage or municipalities incorporated after Jan 1, 2025, are authorized to impose a property tax up to one-third of their general fund expenses, or to reimpose a previously repealed millage at a higher adjusted rate. Any such new or reimposed millage requires approval by a majority of voters in a referendum held at the general election. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 14 at 11am.
- Commercial airline tax exemption S.436 – Provides property tax exemptions for 36.8421% of the fair market value of all aircraft of each airline company. The full Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on immediately after the Senate adjourns on Tuesday, April 14. Update: This bill was found favorable as amended and advanced to the Senate floor.
Education
- Grading floors ban H.5073 – Prevents schools from assigning a student a minimum grade that exceeds his or her actual achieved score. Also establishes a task force of education officials to evaluate and propose changes to the Uniform Grading Policy. A Senate Education subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 14 at 10am. Click here for the full breakdown of this bill. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full Senate Education Committee. On Thursday, April 16, this bill was found favorable as amended by the full Senate Education Committee and advanced to the Senate floor.
- Charter school accountability S.454 – Adds reporting requirements for charter schools and charter authorizers, changes the process for terminating and transferring charter authorizers, and ensures charter school authorizers are subject to the same ethics and accountability requirements as public employees. A House Education and Public Works subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 14 at 11:15am. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full House Education and Public Works Committee.
Department of Transportation
- SCDOT modernization H.5071 – This bill makes significant changes to the state road system. This bill outlines procedures for the government to enter into public-private partnerships to allow for private companies to help finance road projects, freeing up more state capital for repairs and maintenance. These projects would be funded via toll roads. This bill does not allow for existing roads to be turned into toll roads, but it does allow for the addition of choice lanes or express lanes on existing roads. This bill also makes significant leadership reforms, designating the Transportation Secretary as the sole authority of SCDOT and retaining the Commission for tasks like contracts and bond requests. It also creates a Coordinating Council for Transportation and Mobility that will determine roads that can be transferred to counties that choose to take responsibility for maintenance and repairs of those roads. It adds new requirements for county transportation committees (CTC) to include criteria for how they determine local projects and mandates that members live in the county whose CTC they serve on. This bill also introduces new revenue streams for SCDOT, including raising the alternative fuel fee for EVs and hybrids to equal the average gas tax paid by drivers in regular gas cars with language allowing for future increases based on the CPI. Finally, the bill allocates $15M to a new pothole maintenance program. The House Ways and Means Committee amended the language of a similar bill, S.831, which previously passed the Senate, to be identical to H.5071. Both H.5071 and S.831 are currently on the House floor.
Regulation
- Small business regulatory freedom H.3021 – Requires state agencies to remove two existing regulations for every new regulation introduced, aiming to reduce regulatory requirements by 25%, and changes the regulatory review process to prevent major regulations from persisting without legislative approval. This bill also ends the practice of judicial deference. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Thursday, April 16 at 10am. Update: This bill was found favorable as amended and advanced to the full Senate Judiciary Committee.
- Nonprofit donor reporting S.960 – Although noble in intent, the policies outlined by this bill poses unintentional harm to many nonprofits and research organizations statewide. The Policy Council authored a coalition letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing our concerns. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Wednesday, April 15 at 11am.
Miscellaneous
- Lawmaker pay raise S.933 – Raises overall lawmaker pay from $22,400 to $47,500, with a mechanism for future pay raises up to 5% every two years. That figure includes their salary plus in-district expenses. The full Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on immediately after the Senate adjourns on Tuesday, April 14. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the Senate floor.