Palmetto State News

Governor Henry McMaster announced line item vetoes for the FY 2024-2025 state budget at a Statehouse news conference. The budget includes 292 proposals from the governor's executive budget, an increase of more than 126 from two years ago, totaling $2.4 billion. These proposals encompass an income tax cut, teacher and law enforcement pay raises, a college tuition freeze, and investments in bridges and workforce development through SC Nexus and South Carolina Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships.

The governor commended the General Assembly for disclosing sponsors and recipients of earmarked apportionments. He issued 21 vetoes totaling $2.3 million. "After decades of overriding the gubernatorial vetoes of innocuous sounding appropriation titles inside of which the earmarks were hidden, the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives now disclose the sponsors and recipients of earmarked appropriations," Governor McMaster wrote in his veto message.

The governor reiterated his call for a public, merit-based competitive grants process for earmark appropriations to ensure transparency and accountability.

Significant proposals funded in the final budget include:

SC Nexus: "This budget builds on my request by providing $20 million to support SC Nexus."

Income Tax Cut: "This year taxpayers will keep an additional $199 million."

Teacher Pay Raise: "This budget increases teacher salaries by $4,500."

School Resource Officers: "This year’s budget provides $2 million to continue adding officers in remaining schools without an assigned officer."

Tuition Freeze: "This year marks the fifth consecutive year that we froze college tuition for in-state students."

South Carolina Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships: "$94 million in lottery funds to South Carolina Workforce Industry Needs Scholarships."

Bridges: "$200 million was appropriated by the General Assembly for emergency bridge replacement and repairs."

Conservation: "$30 million to the Office of Resilience and $28 million to the Conservation Land Bank and Department of Natural Resources."

Law Enforcement Pay Raise: "This state budget continues that investment by providing an additional $6.1 million for recruitment and retention pay raises."