COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — At least three-quarters of South Carolina's House members approved the more than 100 sections of the state's $14 billion spending plan this week, but is wasn't as easy as that makes it seem.
Harsh words were exchanged and members repeatedly interrupted discussions with accusations of breaching decorum or personal attacks as a small group of Republicans demanded massive cuts in spending, although often without details.
The spending plan passed on a 99-13 vote late Tuesday after nearly 20 hours of debate over two days. House members stayed until early Wednesday so they could formally send the budget to the Senate and go home for two weeks.
The budget arguments were in many ways a continuation of nearly every substantial debate in the South Carolina House this year. They had arguments over who are true Republicans followed by what most of the GOP and House leadership want easily passing.
The Freedom Caucus, made up of fewer than 20 representatives in the 124-member House, said it set out to cut $1 billion from the state's 2025-26 fiscal year budget so it could drop South Carolina's income tax rate from just over 6% to 5%. Republicans hold 88 of the seats.
“This is not just a trim. This is a fundamental reshaping of the way we think about government just as President Trump has proven in Washington," said Freedom Caucus leader and Republican Rep. Jordan Pace of Goose Creek.
South Carolina's Freedom Caucus hasn't had the same success as similar groups in Western states. Wyoming's Legislature passed most of the agenda for its Freedom Caucus, including a property tax cut. They've also had success in South Dakota preventing land from being taken for a pipeline. Many of their ideas have been echoed by President Donald Trump's actions in his first months in office.
Freedom Caucus takes aim at education and agencies
Suggestions from the Freedom Caucus included ending tuition freezes at state colleges and slashing nearly the entire budget of agencies like the South Carolina Arts Commission, the state Human Affairs Commission and the Sea Grant Consortium.
Republican leaders said the budget was carefully crafted with input from Gov. Henry McMaster and weeks of hearings by the Ways and Means Committee.
Mainstream Republicans said the Freedom Caucus isn't trying to run the government better but to make campaign speeches. They said the $1 billion in cuts was actually less than $100 million and took exception after Republican Rep. April Cromer of Anderson said the budget was “chock full of crap.”
House Majority Leader Davey Hiott responded: “Law enforcement is not crap to me. Our schoolteachers are not crap to me. Our disabled and special needs kids are not crap to me.” He added: “everyone that has a job and is paying state taxes is not crap to me.”
“The state of South Carolina deserves better than what we are seeing right now,” Hiott said to a standing ovation from most of the chamber, other than the Freedom Caucus members.
Proposed changes voted down, including one to prove a point
All the Freedom Caucus changes to the budget were voted down, including a suggestion by Republican Rep. Jay Kilmartin to cut 10 cents from the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism budget just to show they could cut money at an agency.
“This is real. I want to see if you can cut 10 cents,” Kilmartin said. “I thought a dollar was too much.”
Other Republicans pointed out earlier in the debate that the General Assembly and governor have worked to cut the income tax rate from 7% to 6.2% with a cut to at least 6% to come in this spending plan.
Plan addresses education costs and aftermath of Hurricane Helene
The highlights of the House spending plan include freezing tuition for in-state students currently in state universities but allowing schools to increase tuition for newcomers.
There is a $1,500 raise for all teachers increasing starting pay to $48,500 a year.
The state would pay $220 million to free up money from other places to pay for Hurricane Helene damage and $50 million to help the South Carolina Department of Transportation for what it spent to clear and repair roads after the storm that killed 49 people moved across the western part of the state.
And under the House plan, the state would pay an extra $89 million on health insurance premiums for state employees but for the first time in more than a decade won't cover the entire cost, meaning state workers will have to pay more from their own pockets.
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