Statehouse Update April 28-30

Update 4/29/26: Adjustments have been made to this summary to reflect developments that occurred throughout the week.

The Senate passed an amended state budget last week, sending the bill back to the House for consideration. With the end of the 2025-26 regular session quickly approaching, both chambers are meeting in committees to advance some important legislation to the floor for debate.

Taxes & spending

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 28 at 10am. Update: This bill has advanced to full committee, scheduled for Wednesday, April 29 at 11am.
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. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, April 28 at 11am. Update: This bill has advanced to the full House Ways and Means committee.
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. Update: This bill has received second reading.

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. Click here for the full breakdown of this bill. This bill is on the Senate floor. Update: This bill has received second reading.
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.
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. This bill is on the House floor.

Data center

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 Tuesday, April 28 at 10am. Update: This bill has advanced to the Senate floor.

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. Click here for a comprehensive report from the Policy Council explaining the underlying road issues and offering actionable solutions. Update: S.831 has received second reading as amended.

Regulatory reform

Small business regulatory freedom H.3021 – State agencies will conduct an internal review of their regulations to determine whether they need more, less, or the same regulations. The report is submitted to the Legislative Audit Council (LAC), who will conduct their own review to ensure the proposed regulations are statutorily authorized and determine whether they are effective. Review will happen every five to eight years depending on the agency, with the schedule for each agency set by the legislature. The LAC will submit their report along with internal reports to the appropriate House committees, who will make the final say on regulation promulgation. This bill also ends the practice of judicial deference, prohibiting courts from favoring agency interpretations over the way a law was written. The full Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear this bill fifteen minutes after the Senate adjourns on Tuesday, April 28. Update: This bill was amended to re-include the "REINS" provision and has advanced to the Senate floor.
Rural transportation H.3474 – Amends the Transportation Network Company Act to redefine “personal vehicle” and “prearranged ride,” allowing smaller for-hire companies to qualify as Transportation Network Companies (TNCs). This would enable operators to select more affordable insurance coverage and file their own inspection reports, just as Uber and Lyft do. The full Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear this bill fifteen minutes after the Senate adjourns on Tuesday, April 28. Update: This bill has advanced to the Senate floor.
Roadside market regulatory exemption H.5097 – Creates new regulatory exemptions around state inspections and permitting for farmers who sell their farm products directly to consumers at individual markets. These exemptions do not apply to famers markets. The full Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear this bill fifteen minutes after the Senate adjourns on Tuesday, April 28. Update: This bill has advanced to the Senate floor.