South Carolina Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, left, House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, center, and Senate Finance Committee staffer Quentin Hawkins, right, talk after a conference committee reached a budget deal, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Columbia, S.C.
“I think this is a budget we can all be proud of,” said Democratic state Sen. Nikki Setzler of West Columbia who worked on his last budget as he retires from the Senate after 48 years.Florida medical marijuana patients get an unexpected email praising DeSantisone-time $500 million in a property tax rebate, the Senate plan chooses to spend $100 million to knock the income tax rate most people pay in the state from 6.4% to 6.
The House and Senate split the difference in how much of a raise to give state employees. Workers making under $50,000 a year will get a $1,125 yearly increase while those making more than that will get a 2.25% raise. The House had proposed a higher raise.. Every teacher would get a raise, and the minimum salary for a starting teacher would be increased to $47,000 a year — a nearly 70% increase from a decade ago.
The new budget year starts July 1, leaving a tight timetable to get the spending plan passed through the General Assembly and the up to five days the governor gets to review it and issue vetoes.