Statehouse Update March 17-19

Brendan Connors

Written by
March 16, 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 Senate for consideration. The House also passed the most ambitious tax reform proposal in decades, concurring with Senate amendments and sending the bill to Governor McMaster’s desk.

Taxes
  • IRS conformity H.3368 – Conforms the state tax code to the provisions of the Big Beautiful Bill for the current tax year, including no taxes on tips or overtime pay. The full Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, March 17 at 2:30pm. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the Senate floor.
  • Hurricane Helene timber tax credit S.682 – Allows taxpayers to apply for a $550/acre tax credit based on timber casualty loss in a federally declared disaster area after Hurricane Helene. This bill caps the total credit for all taxpayers at $25 million over the next five years and will be first-come, first-served. The full Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, March 17 at 2:30pm. Update: This bill was amended to ensure taxpayers who collected federal relief money or insurance money cannot double collect. The bill was found favorable as amended and advanced to the Senate floor.
  • Municipal sales taxes S.866 – Authorizes municipalities in counties that don’t currently have a local sales tax to impose a voter-approved sales and use tax up to 1% for up to eight years. At least 20% of the revenue must be used to provide a property tax credit exclusively to owner-occupied homes. Remaining revenue may be used to fund local infrastructure projects. The full Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, March 17 at 2:30pm. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the Senate floor.
Education
  • School schedule flexibility S.708 – Authorizes local school districts, after board approval, to apply for up to three-year waivers from certain Department of Education statutory and regulatory requirements on instructional schedules, calendars, teacher contracts, and assessments. This would allow districts to implement innovative models such as four-day school weeks, competency-based pacing, alternative calendars, and reduced time-intensive testing while still covering all state academic standards. Approved districts must include rationale, stakeholder input, and evaluation plans in their applications, submit annual reports on student outcomes and teacher retention, and receive Department oversight. A Senate Education subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Wednesday, March 18 at 10am. Update: This bill has been carried over.
  • Recess in public school H.3195 – Requires public schools to provide mandatory minimum periods for physical education and recess for students in four-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade beginning in the 2026-27 school year. Students in four-year-old kindergarten through fifth grade must receive a minimum of one hour and thirty minutes of physical education each week. Students in sixth through eighth grade must receive a minimum of sixty hours of physical education during each school year. The bill specifies that the student-to-teacher ratio in a physical education class may not exceed the average student-to-teacher ratio as specified in the defined program. A Senate Education subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Wednesday, March 18 at 10am. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full Senate Education Committee.
  • Smart heart act H.3831 – Requires all public and charter schools to have a defibrillator and emergency procedures to deal with sudden cardiac arrest incidents, which will be outlined by the State Board of Education. This bill is currently on the Senate floor. Update: This bill has passed second reading in the Senate.
Regulatory reform
  • 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. Click here to read the Policy Council's full bill analysis. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Thursday, March 19 at 10am.
  • AI in therapy S.788 – Prohibits licensed therapists from using AI in their practice for supplemental tasks such as transcribing meetings without informed consent from their patients. A Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Wednesday, March 18 at 10am.
Data centers
  • Utility usage regulations S.902 – Tasks the Public Service Commission with managing 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 unless they can present a compelling reason, seemingly negating the proceeding ratepayer protection language. Onsite power generation is allowed. Decommissioning plans are mandatory, and energy/water usage data is public via FOIA requests. Click here to learn more about this bill and the alternatives making their way through the Senate. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill fifteen minutes after the Senate adjourns on Tuesday, March 17.
  • Data center water usage reporting S.724 – Requires commercial data centers that use at least three million gallons of water a month to report their water usage to the Department of Environmental Services. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill fifteen minutes after the Senate adjourns on Tuesday, March 17.
Government accountability
  • County treasurer qualifications S.97 – To serve as a county treasurer, one must be a qualified elector in the county they are serving and have either a four-year degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or economics from an accredited post-secondary institution; or at least four years’ experience in accounting or financial management in the public or private sector. The full Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, March 17 at 2:30pm. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the Senate floor.
  • County auditor qualifications S.98 – To serve as a county auditor, one must be a qualified elector in the county they are serving and have either a four-year degree in accounting, finance, or economics from an accredited post-secondary institution; or at least four years’ auditing experience in the public or private sector. The full Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, March 17 at 2:30pm. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the Senate floor.
Budget hearings

The following subcommittees of the Senate Finance Committee will meet to hear state agency budget proposals.

Tuesday, March 17

  • Natural Resources & Economic Development Subcommittee; hearing from the Sea Grant Consortium and SC Research Authority at 10am.
  • Health & Human Services Subcommittee; hearing from MUSC and the Commission for the Blind at 10am.

Wednesday, March 18

  • Finance Constitutional Subcommittee; hearing from the Adjutant General at 9:30am.
  • K-12 Education Subcommittee; hearing from the Public Charter School District and Department of Education at 10am.
  • Transportation & Regulatory Subcommittee; hearing from the Human Affairs Commission and Commission on Community Advancement and Engagement at noon.

Thursday, March 19

  • Higher Education Subcommittee; hearing from The Citadel and Commission on Higher Education at 10am.