South Carolina’s new fiscal year budget, which takes effect July 1, 2025, reflects a strategic investment in the state’s workforce, infrastructure, education and economic competitiveness. Legislators left $248M in recurring funds and $225M in one-time dollars unallocated, signaling an interest in possible tax relief next session and acknowledging the looming uncertainty around future federal funding levels.

Despite that appropriate caution, the FY 2025–26 budget includes major wins for South Carolina’s business community including a continued phased reduction of the individual income tax, increased teacher pay that now outpaces neighboring states, historic investments in workforce training and site readiness and meaningful funding for rural infrastructure, healthcare talent development and higher education affordability.

To view the full list of legislative budget wins, please see below:

• $290 million to fund the phased-in reduction of the individual income tax rate from 6.3% to 6.0%.
  
• Funding to increase teacher starting salaries to $48,500 bringing South Carolina higher than Georgia and North Carolina.
  
• $3 million to increase full-day 4k funding.
  
• $91.4 million to fund the SC Workforce Industry Needs Scholarship Program (SCWINS). 
  
• $5 million to ReadySC for Economic Development Training.
  
• $71.3million to freeze in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.
  
• School of Workforce Innovation Pilot Phase 2, Dept. of Education.
  
• $13 million to enhance the technical college system and its 16 colleges’ ability to meet workforce demands effectively.
  
• $4.3 million to Trident Technical College for maintenance, renovation and replacement.
  
• $16 million to address workforce shortages by expanding medical residency programs and supporting the training and development of paraprofessional healthcare workers.
  
• $81 million to LocateSC to allow South Carolina to proactively prepare sites, plan on the state and local level, support local governments with grants and ensure the state remains attractive and competitive.
  
• $27 million to the rural infrastructure authority to further water and sewer grant opportunities.
  
• $5 million to fund first time homebuyer grant opportunities for workforce housing.
  
• $1.5 million for beach renourishment grants.
  
• $80 million for airport infrastructure and safety projects.
  
• $12 million to the rural infrastructure fund to enhance the quality of life for residents in communities across South Carolina by providing grant and loan financing options, as well as training, technical assistance and funding coordination for qualified infrastructure projects for water and wastewater systems and stormwater drainage facilities.
  
• $13.1 million to the Statewide Education and Workforce Development for portal development and maintenance. The Education & Workforce Portal will serve as the state’s central access point for education and workforce information to users as their opportunities and pathways change throughout their life. The portal will be a desktop- and mobile-browser-friendly online resource that will provide users with tailored resources relating to workforce opportunities and pathways.
  
• $200 million to SCDOT to accelerate bridge infrastructure improvements throughout the state.
  
• $40 million to Office of Resilience for disaster relief and reserve fund replenishment.
  
• $5 million to Military Enhancement Fund which provides grants to ensure the long-term success of military installations in South Carolina.
  
• $182,000 to Military Child Education Coalition. This funding will help increase the number of Purple Star Districts across the state.
  
• $14.5 million to Dept. of Environmental Services (DES) to improve permitting timeframes. This is accompanied by proviso language that implements a 90-day deadline for DES to issue a permit decision.

We are grateful to the many members of our delegation who supported these critical measures.  Later this summer, we will be providing details about the voting records of our delegation and those that achieved the distinction of being “Champions of Business.”

If you or your organization would like to become more involved with the Chamber’s Business Advocacy work, please contact me at bvincett@charlestonchamber.org

Have a great weekend!