South Carolina legislative leaders have reached a tentative agreement on a state government spending plan for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The deal, which was announced on Wednesday evening, includes a $42 billion budget that allocates $3 billion more than the previous year’s budget.
Corporate Welfare Handout
The agreement includes a $150 million corporate welfare handout for Scout Motors, which was tucked into three separate sections of the spending plan. This move has been criticized as a major defeat for taxpayers, who will be footing the bill for the handout.
The deal also includes $82 million in property tax relief for South Carolina senior citizens, which is well below the $250 million originally proposed by S.C. Senate leaders. Additionally, the property tax cut proposal does not prevent local governments from raising taxes to offset the relief.
Pork Barrel Spending
The final deal punts on pork barrel spending appropriations, which will be rolled into a single, standalone piece of legislation after an ad hoc committee conducts a prioritization of the projects. The committee’s deliberations and criteria for prioritization have not been announced.
Original reporting: FITSNews — read the source article.
