Last Wednesday evening, members of the budget conference committee struck a compromise agreement on the state’s over $15 billion spending plan for FY2026-27.
The compromise agreement increases the homestead exemption for homeowners aged 65 years or older from $50,000 to $75,000 and sets aside roughly $380 million in one-time money for community projects. A separate legislative panel will be established to review all the community projects included in the House and Senate versions (roughly $430 million) and produce recommendations for a separate bill to be voted on by the General Assembly later this year.
$309 million to reduce the state income tax from 6% to 5.21%, as prescribed by the Income Tax Reform bill (H.4216/Act 110) that was signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster.
$190 million to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for bridge repairs.
$175 million to the County Transportation Committees (CTCs) for road work.
$112 million to increase teacher pay and raise the minimum starting salary to $50,500.
$95 million in technical college scholarships for critical-needs jobs via SCWINS.
$75 million to the Department of Education (DOE) for construction projects for rural K-12 public schools.
$60 million for statewide airport infrastructure improvements.
$15 million for readySC.
$12.5 million to DOT for a road buyback program to transfer state roads to county control.
$11 million for statewide water and sewer projects.
This content is sourced from
Florence Chamber of Commerce
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
