Statehouse Update April 21-23

Update 4/23/26: Adjustments have been made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred throughout the week.

The fates of many legislative priorities are revealing themselves during these last three weeks of the 2025-26 regular session. Budget debate hits the Senate floor this week while the House looks to consider major reforms to the Department of Transportation.

Taxes & spending

General Appropriations H.5126 – Allocates the state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The budget bill is currently on the Senate floor. Update: The Senate passed an amended budget bill, sending it back to the House for consideration.
Capital Reserve Appropriations H.5127 – This bill allocates additional spending from the Capital Reserve Fund. This bill is currently on the Senate floor. Update: The Senate passed this portion of the budget without amendments, sending it to the Governor's desk for his signature.
Commercial airline incentives S.436 – Projects that qualify for fee in lieu of tax agreements to promote economic development may include commercial aircrafts as part of the project until June 30, 2027. Projects will be approved by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development subject to existing state law. This bill is on the Senate floor.
Manufacturing property tax exemption S.439 – Increases the property tax exemption for manufacturing property, allowing a larger portion of its value to be excluded from taxation. The full House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to hear this bill immediately after the House adjourns on Thursday, April 23. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the House floor.

Education

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. The full House Education and Public Works Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 21 at 10am. Update: This bill was found favorable as amended and advanced to the House floor. On Thursday, April 23, the House passed the bill as amended. It will return to the Senate for consideration.
Teacher safety H.5483 – Increases protections for teachers when enforcing classroom rules, directing schools to have clear procedures for the referral, removal, and administrative response to students that threaten teacher safety. The full House Education and Public Works Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 21 at 10am. Update: This bill was found favorable as amended and advanced to the House floor.
Workforce readiness H.3197 – Establishes the goal of 60% of all working-aged South Carolinians to have a high-quality postsecondary degree by 2032. This bill also directs public and charter high schools to offer remediation in math and literacy to high school seniors seeking postsecondary education that are not academically prepared. This bill is on the House floor.

Data center reform

Comprehensive data center regulation S.867 – Creates a statewide office under the Department of Environmental Services to manage data center applications and approve sites, reducing risks presented by local county decisions. There are financial assurance requirements, along with provisions for water usage, noise, light, buffers, and sites that can be used based on infrastructure adequacy. Also establishes a tax incentive program for brownfield site usage that's more targeted than the current incentive structure. Finally, data centers must cover their own energy costs, contracts, and infrastructure, preventing ratepayers from footing the bill. Onsite power generation is allowed. Decommissioning plans are mandatory, and energy/water usage data is public via FOIA requests. The full Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Thursday, April 23 at 10am. Update: The hearing for this bill was rescheduled to next week.

Department of Transportation

SCDOT modernization H.5071 – Designates the Transportation Secretary as the sole governing authority for many functions while retaining the SCDOT Commission. Also transfers responsibilities previously held by the Commission to four deputy secretaries accountable to the Secretary. This bill introduces 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 or choice lanes added onto existing roads. This bill does not allow for existing roads to be converted entirely into toll roads. Countywide transportation plans must include project selection criteria such as road condition, safety, traffic efficiency, and economic development, and must be updated at least every four years. County transportation committee (CTC) members must also live in the county they serve. This bill allocates $15 million of existing department funds to permanently fill potholes along the state highway system. Citizens will be able to report potholes online or via an app on their phones. Finally, the bill creates a 12-member Coordinating Council for Transportation and Mobility to identify state-owned roads for counties and municipalities to request control of. Counties and municipalities that take control of state roads can increase local property and sales taxes to cover increased costs. The Senate passed their own proposal, S.831, but the House Ways and Means Committee amended the bill to be identical to H.5071. Both bills are on the House floor.

Miscellaneous

Lawmaker pay raise S.933 – Raises lawmaker pay from $22,400 to $32,500, with a mechanism for future raises based on CPI and a maximum increase of 5% every two years. This bill is currently on the Senate floor.
Tropical trade commission H.4476 – Establishes a new fifteen-member South Carolina-Bahamas Trade Commission to advance bilateral trade between our state and the Bahamas. A House Labor, Commerce & Industry subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill one hour after the House adjourns on Tuesday, April 21. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full House LCI Committee. On Wednesday, April 22, the full Committee found the bill favorable as amended and advanced it to the House floor. On Thursday, April 23, the House passed this bill. It will be sent to the Senate for consideration.