Your SC politics briefing
Good morning, and welcome to your weekly South Carolina politics briefing, a newsletter curated by The State’s politics and government team.
This week the House passed a $13.2 billion spending plan. It’s the second spending plan led by Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister.
Here are some highlights:
▪ $500 million for a one time property tax cut
▪ $230 million more in state aid to classrooms to bring the starting teacher salary to $47,000 up from $42,500, and extend the teacher salary schedule to 28 years from 23.
▪ $41 million to provide a $1,000 or 1.5% pay raise for state employees, whichever is greater, and $107 million for increased health care premiums for people on the state health insurance plan.
▪ $200 million to the Department of Transportation to address bridges in the state.
▪ $3 million for an outside audit of the $1.8 billion pass through account at the treasurer’s office, and an additional $1.2 million for the treasurer’s office to comply.
If you were on the State House grounds Tuesday during the budget debate, you probably saw additional law enforcement. The Bureau of Protective Services and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division responded when someone called Richland County’s 9-1-1 center at 2:48 p.m. claiming to be en route to the State House with explosives and a firearm.
After extra law enforcement arrived, “the threat was not deemed credible. BPS continues to work with our state and local partners to investigate the origin of this threat,” according to the Department of Public Safety.
(Photo via Travis Bell/StateHouse Carolina)
The fight over TikTok
Some South Carolina congressional members voted to force Tik Tok’s sale in the United States or ban it. A bill that passed in the House and is moving to the Senate would effectively do so. Here’s how the seven S.C. representatives voted.
Only two S.C. members of congress voted against the bill, Democrat James Clyburn and Republican Nancy Mace, while the other five voted for it.
The bill cites safety and security concerns over the app and would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell it within 180 days or it would be banned on U.S. app stores. The bill passed 325-65, and will now head to the Senate.
(Photo via Dreamstime/TNS)
Buzz Bites
▪ Sam Holland, one of the State House photographers is recovering from prostate cancer surgery, House Speaker Murrell Smith announced Wednesday. The surgery went well, but Holland faces a long recovery. We wish Sam well.
▪ A GOP group — Republican Voters Against Trump — has launched a $50 million campaign showcasing former Trump voters making the case for why they won’t support him in November.
▪ A state Public Service Commission member has resigned in protest from the utility oversight board because of concerns that a bill moving through the Legislature could lead to a repeat of the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project in South Carolina seven years ago.
▪ Volvo recently ran into trouble with state regulators, who identified multiple environmental violations at the auto factory in Berkeley County.
▪ A federal bill could stifle South Carolina’s travel and tourism industry by causing credit card rewards and loyalty programs to be scrapped, according to airport executives throughout the state.
Mark your calendar
April 2
State House District 109 special election
April 9-11
Senate Finance Committee budget deliberations
April 15
Income tax filing deadline
April 16
Annual legislative softball game at Founders Park
April 23-25
Senate budget debate
Before we adjourn
Now we’ve previously discussed how S.C. GOP Chairman Drew McKissick stepped down from his position as Republican National Committee co-chair as part of a shake up where Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel stepped and was replaced by Michael Whatley, a North Carolinian endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Because the co-chair has to be the opposite gender as the chair, McKissick had to step down.
Last week, McKissick gave a farewell address to the RNC during their spring meetings.
He repeated some of his usual messages of the need to win if you want to govern, having a good message for voters, the need to turnout voters and raising money.
McKissick ultimately is a team player.
“Good politics is about building a winning team and sometimes you need new people on the team. You got to bring in new folks to get the job done,” McKissick said as he formally resigned from the co-chair position. “But I’ll still be here. I’m not going anywhere. I will still be here to work with each and every one of you in any way I can to help you and to make sure that we win up and down the ballot.”
(Photo by the State’s Joshua Boucher)
Pulling the newsletter together this week was Javon L. Harris, a reporter on The State’s politics and state government team. You can keep up with him on Twitter and send him tips on Twitter at @JavonLHarris_JD or by email at jaharris@thestate.com.
To stay on top of South Carolina politics and election news, you can chat with us on Facebook, email us tips and follow our stories at scpolitics.com.
