Roads, raises, revenue: Inside the SC House’s proposed $15.4B budget

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina House lawmakers kicked off budget week Monday, unveiling a $15.4 billion spending plan that boosts funding for roads, bridges and teacher pay while renewing debate over how much the state should spend — and how much it should return to taxpayers.

The proposal allocates $15.4 billion from the state’s general fund, with roughly $500 million dedicated to transportation projects, a long‑standing bipartisan priority at the State House.

“One of the biggest complaints I get every year is our roads in South Carolina need help,” House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D‑Richland, said. “So we put half a billion dollars in the budget for roads.”

Republican leaders say rural communities would see significant investment through the state’s County Transportation Committees program, which helps fund local road projects.

“For a bunch of rural areas in South Carolina, we have $100 million for our CTC program,” said Rep. Brandon Newton, R‑Lancaster. “Those are our rural county roads — neighboring streets that we drive on every day.”

The budget also includes another pay raise for public school teachers. If approved, the state’s minimum teacher salary would increase to $50,500 — a 68% jump since 2017, according to House budget writers.

Newton said the increase would make South Carolina more competitive with neighboring states.

“We’ll have a higher average teacher salary than our neighbors, a higher starting teacher salary than our neighbors,” he said. “That’s something to be proud of in South Carolina.”

State employees will also receive a 2% raise.

Despite broad agreement on priorities such as infrastructure and education, the spending plan faces criticism from both sides of the aisle.

Members of the House Freedom Caucus argue the Republican‑led budget is growing too quickly. They say state spending should be more tightly tied to population growth and inflation.

“If we were going by population and inflation over the last two years, we should be at $13.25 billion and not be $15.4 billion,” said Rep. Jordan Pace, R‑Berkeley, who chairs the caucus. “So it is still too much money.”

Democrats, meanwhile, have raised concerns about the budget’s tax provisions. The plan includes another reduction to the state’s top income tax rate, lowering it to below 6%.

Newton defended the tax cuts, saying the budget balances relief for taxpayers with investment in public services.

“One‑third of every new dollar is going back to the taxpayers of South Carolina, and the rest is being invested into infrastructure and public services they want us to support,” he said.

House lawmakers are expected to work long hours over the next several days as they debate amendments and aim to pass the budget by Wednesday. Afterward, leaders say they plan to take up separate legislation that would gradually eliminate the state income tax altogether.

The Senate is drafting its own version of the budget, which it is expected to pass in the coming weeks. Any differences between the two chambers will be negotiated later this spring

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