Statehouse Update March 24-26

Brendan Connors

Written by
March 24, 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 a week off, and representatives are hitting the ground running on taxes, regulatory reform, and a bill addressing medical malpractice.

Taxes
  • Boat tax package H.3858 – Exempts 42.8571 % of the fair market value of a boat from property tax, which effectively lowers the current 10.5% assessment ratio to 6%. This bill also authorizes an auditor to combine a boat and outboard motor on a property tax notice, removing the requirement to title the motor. Instead, motors must be registered annually for $10 subject to a $15 late fee after thirty days and a $30 late fee after sixty days. Earlier this month, the bill was amended and advanced by the Senate. It is now on the House floor for consideration. Update: The bill as amended by the Senate has passed the House and will be sent to the Governor's desk for his signature.
  • Film industry handouts H.3832 – Allocates rebates amounting to 30% of an annual production budget to film producers that spend over $250,000 and heightens that budget limit to $2 million annually. This bill also heightens the cap for tax incentives from $10 million to $30 million while allowing unused portions of that cap to carry over for up to three years. Click here for the full analysis by the Policy Council. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill one hour after the House adjourns on Tuesday, March 24. Update: This bill was found favorable as amended and advanced to the full House Ways and Means Committee.
  • Pregnancy care tax credit S.32 – Creates a tax credit for taxpayers who donate to crisis pregnancy centers or pregnancy resource centers, limited to 50% of a taxpayer’s total liability. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill an hour and a half after the House adjourns on Tuesday, March 24. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full House Ways and Means Committee.
  • Soda sales tax H.5208 – When the federal government banned SNAP benefits from going towards certain foods like candy, energy drinks, soft drinks, and sweetened beverages, the move called into question the sales-tax exempt status of those items due to the correlation in SC law between SNAP eligibility and the sales tax. This bill would prevent a sales tax from being imposed on any goods that are currently exempt from the sales tax. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill an hour and a half after the House adjourns on Tuesday, March 24. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full House Ways and Means Committee.
  • Education sales tax H.4589 – Allows counties to impose a sales tax for the purpose of education capital improvements if the county has imposed a local sales tax for less than ten years, is encompassed entirely by one school district, and collected less than $70,000 in state accommodations taxes in the most recent fiscal year. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Wednesday, March 25 at 9am. Update: This bill was found favorable as amended and advanced to the full House Ways and Means Committee.
  • Manufacturing property tax exemption S.439 – Increases the aggregate reimbursement cap for the manufacturing property tax exemption from $170M to $300M. A House Ways and Means subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Wednesday, March 25 at 9am. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full House Ways and Means Committee.
Data centers
  • Utility usage regulations S.902 – Tasks the Public Service Commission with managing data center applications and approving 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, 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 preceding ratepayer protection language. On-site 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 24. Update: This committee hearing for this bill was canceled.
  • Water use 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 24. Update: The committee hearing for this bill was canceled.
Tort reform
  • Medical malpractice H.4544 – Changes the definition of an occurrence to include multiple acts without breaking the causal chain, even if those errors are made by one or more individuals or entities. The bill also directs the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office to raise existing damage caps annually according to the Consumer Price Index. The full House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Tuesday, March 24 at 10am. Update: This bill has passed the House and will be sent to the Senate for consideration.
Regulatory reform
  • 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. The full Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee is scheduled to hear this bill on Thursday, March 26 at 9am. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the Senate floor.
  • Drone regulations H.4679 – Creates new guidelines for lawful and unlawful drone use. A House Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity & Special Laws subcommittee is scheduled to hear this bill on Wednesday, March 25 at 9am. Update: This bill was found favorable and advanced to the full House Judiciary Committee.
Judicial reform
  • Magistrate reform H.3530 – Requires the JMSC to review magistrate candidates. Also expands magistrate jurisdiction to civil cases up to $25,000 and criminal offenses punishable by up to $25,000 in fines or one year of imprisonment, and all future magistrate appointees must be attorneys in good standing with the South Carolina Bar. Finally, this bill imposes a 14-day limit on magistrate holdover service before the Governor must appoint a temporary replacement. This bill is on the House floor. Update: This bill was recommitted to the House Judiciary Committee.
Senate budget hearings

Tuesday, March 24

  • K-12 Education Subcommittee; hearing from Revenue and Fiscal Affairs and reviewing provisos when the full Senate Finance Committee adjourns.

Wednesday, March 25

  • K-12 Education Subcommittee; hearing from Education Television and reviewing provisos at 9am.
  • Natural Resources & Economic Development Subcommittee; hearing from the Department of Commerce, Rural Infrastructure Authority, and Santee Cooper at 11:30am.
  • Transportation & Regulatory Subcommittee; reviewing provisos at noon.

Thursday, March 26

  • Higher Education Subcommittee; hearing from the University of South Carolina System and the Medical University of South Carolina at 9am.