Key Points for This Week
● Body adjourns in sine die sorta-kinda
● What passed, what didn’t?
● What now?

The One-Minute Drill
The Big Picture:
As of 5:00 PM on Thursday, the bodies officially adjourned sine die. Kind of. Sort of. Well. Not at all, really.
Both bodies adopted rule change legislation allowing the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to reconvene by June 30 to pass the budget and adopt any outstanding conference committees (if they were created before sine die). Nothing out of the ordinary there.

However, following the Senate’s rejection of the proposed sine die resolution that allowed them to return to take up Congressional redistricting, the Governor called the body back into session, which opens the entire calendar and leaves no rules for what gets taken up.

The Wrap Up
What Passed?
DOT: A conference committee adopted language around DOT modernization and reform on Tuesday. 
Unemployment/Business Tax Cuts: A Conference committee adopted the report on a bill to adjust the Unemployment Trust fund look back periods (S. 688). The bill was amended to include language from the Small Business Tax Act (H.5006) that would exempt the first $10,000 of business personal property tax, as well as exempt the first $50 million of paid-in or capital surplus capital for businesses whose corporate headquarters are in South Carolina. The adopted report included language from both bills.
Penny Sales Taxes: A bill allowing municipalities in counties to adopt their own penny sales tax (if their county does not have one) is awaiting ratification. The legislation allows municipalities to enact the same referendum process as a county would, but municipalities must use 20% of the revenue generated to reimburse taxes on residents.
Abandoned Buildings: Legislation clarifying the permitted applications of the abandoned buildings tax credits is awaiting ratification. The language is in response to a Supreme Court ruling and clarifies a property did not have to be income producing property to qualify.
Airline Economic Develpoment: For the next year, commercial service airports will be able to utilize fee-in-lieu-of-tax (FILOT) agreements as part of negotiations with airline carriers who want to make significant economic development investments in South Carolina. The agreements must be approved by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development within the Department of Commerce and meet existing requirements for FILOT agreements.
Drone Regulation: The bodies passed the S.C. Drone Regulation and Public Safety Act (4679), strengthening protections for airports as well as military installations and correctional facilities by establishing a 1,500-foot no-fly zone for drones and creating registration requirements for drone operators. 

What Didn’t?
Curbside Alcohol: The ability for retailers and restaurants to participate in the curbside pickup and delivery of alcohol has died on the senate floor again this year.
Tort Reform: The Senate did not finalize work on three bills that deal with liquor liability reform and tort reform. There was good conversation on the floor this year about the need to continue discussions on tort and lawsuit reform, and that the liquor liability reform passed last year did not go far enough.
Blue Ridge Community: A Greenville County Legislative Delegation bill, sponsored by Senator Corbin (R), that would have required single-family dwelling units in a designated area in the Blue Ridge section of the state to be built on a minimum of five acres. The bill failed on a house floor vote on Thursday.

What needs a Conference Committee?
Small Business Regulations: Small business regulatory relief (H.3021) is headed to a Conference Committee after the Senate voted to non-concur in a tie 22-22 vote. The bill has been heavily amended by both sides of the body but deals with limiting regulations. 

What Next?
Redistricting: The Governor wasted no time in calling the General Assembly back to deal with redistricting, and the House met on Friday and plans to meet on Monday and Tuesday. The Senate is expected to come back in once the House finishes to consider their maps.
Budget: The budget conference committee is expected to begin meeting the week of May 25th, with the body expected to come back to fully adopt the bill following the June 9 primary election.

Primaries for statewide seats and House members are still slated for June 9. Whether or not congressional seats will be on this ballot is still undecided, but the clock is ticking.

The Week Ahead
The House will return Monday and Tuesday. The Senate has no definitive plans, but are expected to return once the House concludes its work.

Key Points for This Week
● Three Legislative Days Remain
● House Tackles the Budget
● Redistricting steals the show

The One-Minute Drill
The Big Picture:
Just three legislative days remain. 

The House spent Wednesday afternoon debating the sine die Resolution. Normally a perfunctory resolution about what the legislature can and cannot return to Columbia to debate (budget, conference reports, vetoes). This year, thanks to a call to the GOP from President Trump on Tuesday, this year’s resolution includes the ability for the body to be called back to take on Congressional redistricting. That has kicked off a firestorm at the Statehouse.

The Senate
Senate Advances Small Business Priorities
The Senate advanced H. 5006, the “Small Business Tax Cut Act of 2026”. The bill would exempt the first $10,000 of a small business’s personal property (BPP) from county taxation, ease compliance burdens, and effectively eliminate the tax altogether for small businesses with less than $10,000. However, proponents worry the bill may be dead upon re-arrival to the House, as leadership is not thrilled with the numerous amendments tacked on by the Senate, including the contested increased homestead exemption property tax cut for Seniors. 

The Senate advanced a version of H. 3021, the “Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act,” which aims to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses in South Carolina. As amended, the bill strengthens the state’s existing regulatory review process by adding independent oversight to ensure regulations remain within statutory authority and are not outdated, while holding agencies accountable for compliance. The bill heads back to the House.

The House
House Takes Final Crack at Budget
On Wednesday, The House took their final stab at the FY2026-2027 budget. Debate was significantly shorter this time around, with the body spending just hours debating the large strike and insert amendment as well as a handful of additions.

The House version:
● Largely re-set funding levels to the House’s original line items.
● Included over $300 million in member requested funds for district specific projects.
● An increase of legislators' in-district pay to $2,500 per month, starting Dec. 1. (A stand-alone bill to do the same advanced from the House Ways & Means Committee Thursday).
● Reinstated language to offer every public school student free breakfast at no cost.
●Funds to allow the state to hire a third-party firm to help with monitoring compliance with recommendations over the AlixPartners forensic accounting report connected to the investigation into the $1.8 billion accounting error.
● Funds to require the public health department to spend up to $7.5 million to start and administer a statewide firefighter occupational health program for cancer screenings, working with the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

What did not get added to the budget?
● Any direct line item to meet the $150 million additional funds requested by Scout Motors and the Department of Commerce.
● A request by Spartanburg Republican Rep. Josiah Magnuson to suspend the state's gas tax from July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, until Aug. 1, or for 30 days. (House budget Chair Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, said the tax generates around $80 million a month, and around 30% of the tax is also paid for by out-of-state visitors.)

The Senate did not concur with the House’s amendments, as expected, and the bill is now headed to a conference committee. Should the budget not be agreed upon by June 30, both bodies have agreed to a concurrent resolution, funding the government at FY25-26 levels. 

What Else
This week, the House also advanced:
● S. 863, legislation that would allow Technical Colleges in our state to offer Bachelors Degrees in Culinary Arts. The lack of a four-year degree program is cited as a huge workforce barrier for our state’s hospitality industry.
● S. 439, legislation that would increase the cap for the Manufacturing Property Tax exemption from $170,000 to $300,000. Based on current projections, the state is expected to exceed the cap in FY2026, creating a major recruitment and new investment challenge for South Carolina. Increasing the cap allows businesses and industry to continue to plan and invest.

The Week Ahead
The bodies should be done with committee meetings, and will spend long days debating legislation on the floor. The final week is a chaotic whirlwind, especially in the second year of a two year session, where any uncompleted work dies. 

Key Points for This Week
● Six Legislative Days Remain
● Senate Takes up Tort
● House Passes DOT Reform

The One-Minute Drill
The Big Picture:
Just six legislative days remain for the bodies to finish their work before the General Assembly ends in sine die on May 14. There is still no sine die resolution, meaning any work not completed (conference committees included) cannot be taken up after May 14. While they may pass a resolution to allow for the budget to be taken up, even that is not guaranteed. So the next two weeks will be a mad dash to complete outstanding items. Still on the agenda? Data Centers, Abortion, Redistricting, and any other topics they decide to take up could grind the body to a screeching halt.

The Senate
Senate Talks Tort Reform
The Senate spent time on the floor Wednesday evening debating two tort-related bills but ultimately took no action. Both bills were ultimately contested, ending the debates for the time being.

H.4544 seeks to close loopholes that are causing increased financial exposure to healthcare providers in medical malpractice litigation by clarifying the circumstances where non-economic damage caps do not apply and redefining the definition of “occurrence,” to treat multiple negligent acts as a single occurrence when resulting in similar harm. The bill also increases the caps under the Tort Claims Act, adjusting liability limits for claims against governmental entities in civil actions. Majority Leader Shane Massey (R-Edgefield) proposed an amendment to eliminate the caps increase, arguing that the increase impacts more than just governmental entities in the healthcare arena.

H.4000 expands alcohol licensing to performing arts and convention complexes and municipal amphitheaters and establishes server training and compliance requirements for collegiate sporting venues. Sen. Michael Johnson (R-York) proposed an amendment to reduce the mandatory minimum liquor liability insurance coverage from $1 million to $500,000 and to eliminate the liquor liability risk mitigation program established in 2025 that has not led to lower liquor liability insurance rates.

What Else?
On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Finance Committee advanced H.5006, the “Small Business Tax Cut Act of 2026”. The bill would exempt the first $10,000 of a small business’s personal property (BPP) from county taxation, ease compliance burdens, and effectively eliminate the tax altogether for small businesses with less than $10,000 in BPP. The bill will likely be taken up on the floor next week.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced an amended version of H.3021, the “Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act,” which aims to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses in South Carolina. As amended, the bill strengthens the state’s existing regulatory review process by adding independent oversight to ensure regulations remain within statutory authority and are not outdated, while holding agencies accountable for compliance. The bill is now on the Senate calendar. 

The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee advanced an unamended version of this bill that would establish a framework for data center development (S.867), including creation of a Data Center Development Office within the Department of Environmental Services, along with permitting requirements, operational standards, utility oversight, noise standards, and decommissioning requirements. The bill is on the Senate floor where it has been contested.

H.4817, the Insurance Rate Reduction and Policy Holder Protection Act, advanced out of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. The bill aims to reduce insurance rates, combat fraud, and increase policyholder protections.

The House
DOT Reform Passes House
After dominating conversation throughout the off-session and most of the legislative session, the House passed their version of the DOT Modernization Act. The amended bill:
● Gives DOT greater ability to enter into public-private partnerships.
● Expands DOT’s tolling authority.
● Transfers National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) authority for permitting to DOT from the Federal Highway Administration.
● Provides greater oversight over county transportation committees.
● Makes the DOT Secretary a cabinet position appointed by the Governor.
● Eliminates the DOT Commission.
The bill is now likely headed to a conference committee.

What Else
This week, the House largely worked to remove House bills from the Calendar, and moved several Senate bills through the committee process.
● On the floor, the House passed Admissions Tax Exemptions (H.3371), a bill that exempts local chambers of commerce from the admissions tax. The bill now heads to the Senate.
● The House Ways & Means Committee advanced S.866, the Municipal Tax Relief Act, which allows certain municipalities to hold a ballot referendum to enact their own penny sales tax. The municipalities must be wholly or partially located in a county that does not currently have a penny sales tax for any purpose. The municipality is required to use 20% of their tax earnings to offset millage for residents, and the penny must run through the same referendum process as a county penny. The bill is headed to the House floor.

The Week Ahead
In the Senate:
● We will likely see the last committee meetings (subs and full) in the Senate this week, with a to-be-announced-agenda full Senate Finance Committee meeting occurring Tuesday afternoon.
● On the floor, the body is expected to take up the Small Business Tax Cut Act, as well as work through more of their expansive calendar.

In the House:
● We will likely see the last committee meetings (subs and full) in the House this week.
● The House will continue to work through their calendar, largely focusing on Senate Bills that have made crossover.