Proposed Budget Highlights
The governor’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget prioritizes fiscal responsibility, accelerates income tax cuts, raises teacher pay, and invests in critical infrastructure and disaster relief.
Tax Relief
- Proposes a $2,000 nonrefundable individual income tax credit for individuals employed as sworn law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians.
- Includes non-recurring funds to accelerate the scheduled individual income tax rate reduction from 6.2 percent to 6.0 percent.
Education
- Provides funds to the State Aid in Classrooms formula to increase the minimum starting teacher salary from $47,000 to $50,000 and all cells in the State Minimum Teacher Salary Schedule by $3,000.
- Provides funds for instructional materials and to purchase 250 school buses.
- Adds funds to cover expected enrollment increases in the full day 4K program.
- Provides additional funds to hire 177 School Resource Officers, ensuring coverage at each of the remaining schools currently without an assigned officer.
- Adds mitigation funds to freeze in-state tuition rates for a sixth consecutive year.
- Provides lottery and general funds across multiple post-secondary student scholarships and grants, including those targeted for need-based grants, a nursing initiative, the National Guard repayment program, and students with special needs.
- Includes lottery and general funds to support South Carolina Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships (SCWINS) at the technical college system.
Infrastructure and Disaster Aid
- Provides non-recurring funds to repair and replace bridges.
- Includes recurring funding to reduce environmental permitting backlogs and support agency operations to ensure a 90-day decision permitting timeframe.
- Replenishes the Disaster Relief and Resilience Reserve Fund and Disaster Relief and Resilience Revolving Loan Fund.
- Requests non-recurring funds to cover the 25 percent state cost share required by federal law for natural disasters and to create the South Carolina Public Assistance program. This would be a grant program for local governments, public utilities, electric cooperatives, and charitable aid organizations that also applied for federal disaster assistance.
Health Care and Human Services
- Provides recurring funds for Medicaid maintenance of effort.
- Includes non-recurring funds to construct a Neurological Critical Care and Rehabilitation program in partnership with the University of South Carolina.
- Provides recurring funds to enhance placement stability for children in the Department of Social Services by increasing provider rates.
- Allocates funds to reduce the Home and Community-Based Services waiver program waitlists, increase provider reimbursement rates to behavioral health professionals and to address the opioid epidemic, and support intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization behavioral health programs.
Conservation and the Environment
- Recommends non-recurring funds to the Forestry Commission and Conservation Bank for the preservation and conservation of land of cultural and environmental importance.
- Provides non-recurring funds for beach renourishment grants and to support new state park development.
- Includes recurring dollars for fire prevention and other personnel necessary to protect state forests.
Public Safety and Law Enforcement
- Allocates recurring funds to hire 30 Highway Patrol officers.
- Includes recurring funds for law enforcement salaries due to step increases, while also providing recurring and non-recurring funds for additional staff at the State Law Enforcement Department.
- Provides additional funds to the Department of Corrections for increased agency operating costs as well as funds for the recruitment of critical agency personnel including correctional officers and medical personnel.
- Includes non-recurring funds to support Phase 2 of the agency’s cell phone interdiction initiative.
- Allocates recurring funds to recruitment and retention of critical non-attorney personnel in solicitor offices and public defender offices.
Other Priorities
- Allocates recurring funds to operate the six state veterans nursing homes.
- Provides non-recurring funds to support the state’s Closing Fund.
- Includes non-recurring funds to support the State Water and Sewer Fund and invest in the Rural Infrastructure Fund.
- Allocates non-recurring funds for a systemic review of the state’s public higher education system and how it supports workforce development.
- Provides funds for the state health plan with no resulting employee premium increase.
- Increases funding to fully fund the Local Government Fund.