Tax relief, road repairs and parental bill of rights popular among SCPC readers

As the 2025-26 legislative session approaches in South Carolina, we conducted an internal survey of our readers August 31- September 4 to gather insights on key policy issues. The survey covered areas such as taxes and spending, infrastructure, education, legal reform, and transparency.

Our readers expressed the most concern about taxes and spending, followed closely by road improvements and transparency. With recent tax relief in 2024, this feedback is encouraging and suggests lawmakers should continue pursuing further cuts.

Below are the survey results, organized by category.

Taxes & Spending

89% said they strongly or somewhat support accelerated income tax relief.

62% said they strongly or somewhat support state agencies following zero-based budgeting guidelines outlined in state law.

73% said they strongly or somewhat support limiting ESG/DEI initiatives in state investments.

83% said they strongly or somewhat support reducing or eliminating corporate incentives in favor of simplifying the tax code to attract new business investments.

Infrastructure

95% said it was very or somewhat important that South Carolina reduces the number of deaths and injuries on state roads.

59% have personally experienced or know someone who has personally experienced vehicle damage due to poor road conditions.

63% agree that SC should pursue a model different than how the DOT is currently structured.

Education

78% strongly support or support expanding universal school choice.

92% said they strongly support or support the implementation of a Parents' Bill of Rights. (For context, readers were told that a Parental Bill of Rights is a law that outlines that parents have rights regarding the upbringing, education, and care of their children.)

63% strongly support or support legislation requiring all school districts to adopt an open enrollment policy but leave the specifics to the districts.

Legal Reform

73% said they strongly support or support reforming South Carolina's liquor liability laws to protect small businesses.

56% strongly support or support reforming South Carolina's civil asset forfeiture. (Civil asset forfeiture is a legal process that allows law enforcement to seize property if they believe it is connected to criminal activity, even if the owner has not been arrested or charged.)

65% said they strongly support or support reforming South Carolina's joint and several liability system. Currently under joint and several liability SC businesses can be forced to pay entire legal verdicts even if they were only partially at fault for an incident.

98% said they strongly support or support restoring property owners’ rights by cracking down on squatters

Transparency

96% said transparency in government spending and decision-making is very important to them.

94% said they strongly or somewhat support livestreaming state, county, municipal, and school board meetings.

We appreciate everyone who participated in the survey and provided contact information (we reviewed every submission!). This feedback is invaluable in demonstrating to lawmakers which issues are most important to South Carolinians. We will use this information as we finalize our 2025-2026 legislative agenda.