Senate finance leaders present balanced budget with tax relief, teacher pay increases and infrastructure spending

Senate Finance leaders on Tuesday introduced the committee's proposed general appropriations bill as a balanced plan intended to preserve tax relief while funding core state functions.

Senator from Cherokee, speaking for the committee, said the budget fully funds a reduced income tax rate and enlarges the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000, which the staff estimated represents more than $1.8 billion in income and property tax relief since fiscal 2023. The committee reported it would protect constitutionally required reserves totaling $1.4 billion and provide a 2% pay increase for state employees.

In education, the finance package raises starting teacher pay to $50,500 and allocates $150 million in state aid for classrooms and $50 million for rural and charter capital projects. The K-12 funding package also includes added money for school buses, teacher training and an education scholarship trust fund estimated to support about 15,000 scholarships.

Health and human services funding in the proposal included $142 million toward Medicaid to offset a decline in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage and $34 million to support SNAP administration and fraud prevention. The committee flagged recurring funding for operation of the newly opened youth psychiatric residential treatment facility and other behavioral health priorities.

Transportation and infrastructure priorities include a near-$190 million appropriation for bridge repair and an additional $200 million for county transportation committees, funds the committee said are intended to accelerate local road and bridge projects. The proposal also places recurring investments in DMV staffing and in airport and coastal infrastructure.

Committee chairs from subcommittees gave floor reports detailing priorities: higher education appropriations include $175 million toward a new cancer hospital at MUSC and continued tuition mitigation; criminal justice funding directed pay increases for corrections staff and design funding for a 256-bed secure housing unit; and economic-development items emphasized rural infrastructure and conservation investments.

Many subcommittee chairs cautioned that the budget remains subject to amendment and negotiation on the floor, and senators pressed for clarifications on implementation details for items such as school safety grants, Medicaid provider rates, and the timeline and funding for major capital projects. The finance committee's use of its version of H.51-26 as the amendment vehicle was approved by unanimous consent to allow floor amendment drafting based on the committee's base document.

The Senate set further debate and amendment consideration for upcoming floor sessions; senators said they expected additional votes and technical fixes as members refine priorities and reconcile competing demands at the agency and local levels.