S.C. House OKs extra money for roads, teachers, tax relief

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina House passed the state's $10 billion budget Wednesday, putting additional money into teacher salaries, roads, safety at state prisons and tax relief and rebates.

The House finished work on the spending plan a day earlier than usual, much faster than expected given that lawmakers had $1.8 billion more to spend this year than last.

"Doing a budget in a year where people report you have 1.8 billion additional dollars is difficult ... because you have people always on your back," said Republican House Speaker Jay Lucas of Hartsville.

The biggest debate of the week was over raises for state employees. The spending plan offers $42 million for extra pay but sends the pool of money to agency leaders to decide who gets raises and how much.

Democrats wanted to offer an across-the-board increase - a 5% or 2.5% raise for all state employees that would be funded by reducing tax cuts - because they said it would take possible favoritism out of the equation.

"Not everybody in state government has the luxury of knowing somebody in this chamber," said Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg.

Republicans rejected the proposal.

Otherwise, there was significant agreement in all corners of the House on how to spend the state's money. The plan now moves to the Senate for extensive debate during the next several weeks.

The House budget adds $100 million to pave and repair rural roads. The state Department of Transportation will control $77 million, while each of South Carolina's 46 counties will have $500,000 each to spend as they wish on state-owned rural roads.

The 2020-21 House budget sets aside $213 million to give all the state's 55,000 teachers a $3,000 raise. Teachers also received raises in this year's budget.

The spending plan sets aside $120 million for income tax relief, with the details likely waiting for negotiations between the House and Senate later this spring. It also includes $128 million to give every state income tax filer a $100 rebate.

The House approved spending $53 million to expand pre-kindergarten to all 4-year-olds in poorer families across the state.

The budget has $100 million for safety upgrades at state prisons, including a new electronic cell-locking system to replace the key-based system used now. It includes almost $10 million for security upgrades and extra employees at the Department of Juvenile Justice, an item with extra weight after the federal government threatened to sue South Carolina over the condition of juvenile prisons.

Most of those items were also in the spending plan released at the beginning of the year by Gov. Henry McMaster. The governor and the House have worked closely on the budget during the past two years. Such collaboration was absent during the administrations of former Govs. Mark Sanford and Nikki Haley.

House members also used the budget debate to remember and honor House Ways and Means Committee Legislative Director Rena Grant. She died Feb. 23.

Several members cried as the House unanimously agreed to put $1 million into the budget to endow a chair for Sickle Cell Anemia research at the Medical University of South Carolina in Grant's honor.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Murrell Smith said Grant was invaluable to the budget process for many years, both making sure it worked and making committee members better people.

"We love you, Rena," the Republican from Sumter said. "We wish you were here with us. But your memory will be with us forever."