South Carolina Daily Gazette

The South Carolina Daily Gazette is a nonprofit, unbiased news platform that focuses on state government and its officials. It highlights how their choices affect residents throughout the Palmetto State.

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SC senator invites President Trump to visit BMW's Upstate plant • SC Daily Gazette

1 week ago | scdailygazette.com | Jessica Holdman

COLUMBIA — The leading Democrat in the South Carolina Senate has invited President Donald Trump to tour BMW’s Upstate manufacturing facility.
Tax Day is still weeks away for SC taxpayers

1 week ago | scdailygazette.com | Jessica Holdman

COLUMBIA — South Carolinians have more than two extra weeks to file their state and federal income taxes, the state Department of Revenue reminded taxpayers Monday. The IRS and state Department of Revenue pushed back deadlines for filing tax returns and paying tax bills to May 1, 2025, in the Palmetto State as a relief measure following Hurricane Helene. The extension automatically applies to residents and businesses in all 46 South Carolina counties.
Pennsylvania man arrested for 'targeted attack' as Gov. Shapiro and family slept • SC Daily Gazette

1 week ago | scdailygazette.com | Peter Hall |Ian Karbal

Police have arrested a Harrisburg man in connection with what they call a “targeted attack” that caused a fire that heavily damaged the Pennsylvania governor’s residence early Sunday morning as Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside. Pennsylvania State Police Col. Chris Paris identified the 38-year-old as Cody Balmer.
U.S. Supreme Court declines to halt SC's second firing squad execution • SC Daily Gazette

1 week ago | scdailygazette.com | Skylar Laird

COLUMBIA — Mikal Mahdi, who pleaded guilty to two murders committed during a crime spree, is scheduled to become the second inmate in the state executed by firing squad at 6 p.m. Friday. The last remaining way for Mahdi, 42, to avoid the death chamber would be for Gov. Henry McMaster to grant him clemency, which no governor in modern history has done. The U.S. Supreme Court declined his final appeal Friday morning. Mahdi is one of 27 inmates remaining on death row.
SC treasurer petitions state Supreme Court to stop efforts to remove him from office

2 weeks ago | scdailygazette.com | Jessica Holdman

COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s treasurer is petitioning the state Supreme Court to halt efforts to remove him from office. Treasurer Curtis Loftis filed the petition seeking an injunction Thursday, about a week and a half before the Senate is set to weigh whether Loftis “willfully neglected his duties” for his role in a $1.8 billion accounting error that went unreported for nearly a decade.
ACLU seeks halt to SC law that keeps execution information secret

2 weeks ago | scdailygazette.com | Skylar Laird

COLUMBIA — A civil rights group asked a federal judge Wednesday to pause enforcement of a South Carolina law that keeps secret everything about the people and companies involved in executions. The requested suspension of penalties for disclosing the confidential information would not affect Friday’s scheduled execution by firing squad. Rather, the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking to block charges indefinitely while its challenge to the secrecy law progresses through the courts.
SC House advances hands-free driving bill to stop scrolling behind the wheel

2 weeks ago | scdailygazette.com | Jessica Holdman

COLUMBIA — South Carolina drivers caught holding or scrolling on their cellphones while driving would face upwards of $100 in fines under legislation approved by the House. Repeat offenders could see their insurance rates increase. The “hands-free” bill was approved 85-25 on Wednesday. All but three of the “no” votes came from Republicans. A perfunctory third reading, expected Thursday, will send the measure to the Senate. “We’ve all seen people going down the highway. They’re driving blind.
State lawmakers should not cut taxes and here’s why

2 weeks ago | scdailygazette.com | Paul Hyde

by Paul Hyde, SC Daily Gazette April 9, 2025 A camel, it has been said, is a horse designed by a committee. A committee of state GOP leaders recently designed a “historic” income tax-cut plan. But what they delivered was a camel: lopsided, ungainly, and reeking of a bad attitude. Worse, they put the cart before the camel, announcing the tax-cut plan with much ballyhoo and bunkum before realizing that it doesn’t cut taxes for most South Carolinians.
Lawsuit prompts bill changing 'racial quota' rules for SC's minority affairs board • SC Daily Gazette

2 weeks ago | scdailygazette.com | Jessica Holdman

COLUMBIA — A pair of senators wants to remove a provision in state law that requires South Carolina’s Commission for Minority Affairs to have a majority-Black governing board. The bill comes in the wake of a federal lawsuit filed by two women who say they were denied a spot on the commission when they sought to represent other minority groups. It’s co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, a white Republican from Edgefield, and Sen. Darrell Jackson, a Black Democrat from Hopkins.
SC Supreme Court declines to stop upcoming execution

2 weeks ago | scdailygazette.com | Skylar Laird

COLUMBIA — The state Supreme Court will not halt an execution scheduled for Friday, according to an order. Mikal Mahdi, 42, is scheduled to die by firing squad at 6 p.m. Friday. Mahdi pleaded guilty in 2006 to killing two men during a multi-state crime spree two years prior. Mahdi could still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution or ask Gov. Henry McMaster to change his sentence to life in prison.