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1 week ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds |Anna Wilder
COLUMBIA — The S.C. Legislature overwhelmingly passed a $14.7 billion state budget May 28 despite concerns from some members over a more than doubling of their allocation for in-district expenses to $18,000 per lawmaker per year. One legislator threatened to sue over the bump, saying he believed the increase — which was passed through the budget and will take effect immediately — is unconstitutional.
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1 week ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — If plans to entice private investors to revive a pair of unfinished reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant were ever going to happen, South Carolina needed to keep tax credits dating back to the Biden administration. And for a while, state leaders thought they would lose them.
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1 week ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — Out of the hundreds of votes South Carolina legislators make each year, the state budget is supposed to be one of the easiest. But ahead of an anticipated May 28 consideration on the final negotiated spending plan, something is complicating the process: a last-minute proviso to increase legislators' in-district expenses from the current $1,000 per month to $2,500 per month — or $18,000 per year.
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2 weeks ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — Statehouse budget negotiators approved boosting lawmakers' in-district pay May 21, clearing the way for the 170 members of the General Assembly to get their first compensation bump in 30 years. The unanimous vote between the six House and Senate members who were finalizing the state's 2025-26 budget would raise legislator compensation from $1,000 per month to $2,500 per month to cover lawmakers' in-district expenses.
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2 weeks ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — One of the leaders of the Senate effort to oust South Carolina's treasurer over fiscal mismanagement allegations says he is exploring a run for attorney general amid speculation incumbent AG Alan Wilson is planning a run for governor. Murrell's Inlet Republican Sen.
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3 weeks ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — House Speaker Murrell Smith had one message for reporters about his chamber’s accomplishments on the closing day of the 2025 legislative session: it’s not about the quantity of bills you pass, but the quality. Judging solely by numbers, it was a relatively slow year in the S.C. Statehouse. Even with a flurry of closing floor activity May 8, lawmakers managed to send just 81 bills to the governor’s desk.
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4 weeks ago | 
postandcourier.com | Anna Wilder |Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — South Carolina lawmakers concluded their 2025 legislative work by championing this year's accomplishments but still have to come back and adopt a budget in the coming weeks. Entering the final day of the 2025 session, most of the major fights — liquor liability and lawsuit reform, a sweeping energy permitting bill and a revised effort to fund private schools with public funds — had already been passed and settled, leaving lawmakers free to clear their slate for next year.
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4 weeks ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — A sweeping energy reform bill is headed to Gov. Henry McMaster's desk after last-minute changes by the House of Representatives some feared could put the bill at risk. The South Carolina Energy Security Act is widely considered to be one of the lengthiest and most complex pieces of legislation lawmakers have passed in years.
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1 month ago | 
postandcourier.com | Anna Wilder |Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — More than two dozen House lawmakers abruptly resigned from the ultra-conservative Family Caucus on May 7 over personal and philosophical differences with its chairman, Greenwood Republican John McCravy. The list of 29 House representatives, which includes House Speaker Murrell Smith, comes days after the resignation of the second-leading Republican in the House from the caucus, Majority Leader Davey Hiott.
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1 month ago | 
postandcourier.com | Nick Reynolds
COLUMBIA — A sweeping energy reform bill is headed to Gov. Henry McMaster's desk after last-minute changes by the House of Representatives some feared could put the bill at risk. The South Carolina Energy Security Act is widely considered to be one of the lengthiest and most complex pieces of legislation lawmakers have passed in years.
