News From South Carolina

The State House Gavel: Senate budget writers take on $15B spending plan

South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter,

Published April 7, 2026 at 6:01 AM EDT

Outside of the South Carolina Statehouse on March 31, 2026.

It's Tuesday, April 7.

The House is on furlough, and the Senate is holding a perfunctory session this week, meaning no floor work. But that doesn't mean the work completely stops in the chamber.

You're reading an abbreviated State House Gavel, your daily reporter notebook by Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson that previews and captures what goes on at the South Carolina Statehouse.

Like lawmakers, we are scaling a bit back this week as we prepare for Week 13 in the Statehouse and the sprint that will be five more weeks and 15 more days until sine die.

What does that mean?

Today, we're previewing what you can expect the Senate to tackle this week, and we will do a roundup of takeaways from the week on Friday. For additional coverage, find it here.

Notebook highlights:

Senators reconvene for hearings over the state elections director, judicial salaries and the chamber's version of the $15 billion state spending plan
Federal and state leaders break ground to start construction to replace Interstate 95 bridges over Lake Marion
You've seen her on your Statehouse stickers. Get to know this tour guide through our occasional tiny mic series

Reporters Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson, host of This Week in South Carolina and the SC Lede podcast.

What's on the Senate's agenda this week?

It's a light(ish) week.

The Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Gaffney Republican Sen. Harvey Peeler, will kick off the week with a hearing to start preparations around the state's roughly $15 billion state spending plan.

Senate budget writers will meet at 11 a.m. today to begin the work of crafting their own version of the budget, which will include provisos and earmarks, one-year spending that is set to make its return this year.

We expect more hearings this week.

The full Senate won't debate the budget until later this month.

And the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Horry Republican Sen. Luke Rankin, has four back-to-back hearings in a single day Wednesday.

The first hearing, a subcommittee will meet at 10 a.m. on four bills that include proposals to increase penalties for anyone who hurts, teases, taunts and torments police dogs or horses (S. 1100, similar to the House-passed legislation), two House bills that deal with juvenile offenders and H. 4292, which ups penalties for anyone who deliberately obstructs a public road with their car, referred to as a "street takeover."
The second hearing is an hour later, when senators will screen the State Election Commission appointment of Conway Belangia to be the next permanent State Elections Commission executive director. Belangia was an elections director in Greenville County for more than three decades before being named last month as the state agency's interim director.
Senators on the Judiciary Committee will meet at noon on two-data center related proposals, one that includes water reports, and legislation (H. 3474) that would tweak the statutory definition of "personal vehicle" and "prearranged ride."
In addition to deciding whether to advance Belangia's appointment to the full Senate, the full Judiciary Committee is set to meet at 2 p.m. to debate at least a dozen proposals that range from judicial salaries (S. 1005), to the removal of eviction filings (S. 983) and legislation (S. 915) that ups misdemeanor and felony penalties for anyone who knowingly makes or assists in a false claim, statement or misrepresentation within the state Medicaid program.

Senate Finance Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, speaks with Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin, R-Horry, in the Senate chamber at the Statehouse on March 17, 2026.

Officials break ground on I-95 bridge replacement project

As a child growing up in Sumter, Congressman Jim Clyburn said he could remember the little two-lane bridge that crossed Lake Marion.

Clyburn said his mother refused to travel across the bridge with his father, who pastored in Orangeburg County, forcing him and his brothers to make the trip.

Monday, he said, was a "full circle" moment, as the 6th District congressman helped break ground with state and federal leaders on the long-anticipated Interstate 95 Lake Marion bridge replacement project.

"Not only will this cause me to look to the future, but, quite frankly, every day I think about that experience, crossing that bridge as a kid, and it makes me believe in this state more than than I ever have," he said.

Starting this summer, crews will begin work to replace the aging Interstate 95 bridges in Clarendon and Orangeburg counties — a more than $400 million economic development project that officials hailed as vital for South Carolina and for the East Coast.

About 40,000 cars and trucks travel the bridges per day for work and travel, using the bridge to drive from Maine all the way to Miami. The bridges are also used as a major hurricane evacuation route.

Officials said the replacement will help ease congestion, improve connectivity for commerce and even help further expand needed water service.

Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster said the bridge replacement is not just about focusing on the traffic of today, it's also about prioritizing for tomorrow’s growth, he added.

The total cost of the replacement is nearly $430 million. About $175 million of that stems from a federal grant released about a year ago by the U.S. Department of Transportation, one of the largest grants received by the state transportation department.

"This project is not just important for the state of South Carolina," McMaster said. "We recognize the national and regional importance, up and down the East Coast, that support our economy."

South Carolina and federal leaders broke ground Monday, April 6, 2026, on the Interstate 95 Lake Marion bridge replacement project in Santee, S.C.

Tiny mics with tour guides

We are back with our tiny mics with tour guides series, an occasional series we launched this year.

We decided to bring the tiny mics to the people who know the Statehouse history best and ask them their favorite stories.

Our next guide is Rebecca Reinhart, whose been giving Statehouse tours for a little more than four years. You might recognize her from those cool Statehouse stickers available at the gift shop.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is your favorite part about the Statehouse?

It's a very hard pick, but this portrait above me of Ann Pamela Cunningham is my favorite story to tell, because she's a South Carolinian responsible for preserving George Washington's historic home in Mount Vernon.

She created the very first ladies' association in America at the time, and they went in, preserved the house from decaying and saved it for us to enjoy today.

Many people may not realize this, but you are also the face of the Statehouse stickers available at the gift shop. How did you get to be a part of that?

It started off as a joke with some of our marketing team, and then it happened, and there was such a great reception to it.

We're probably 15,000 stickers (and counting) deep at this point.

You get so many visitors from outside of South Carolina, but also from outside the United States. What's the No. 1 question visitors ask you, or that they're most surprised about?

I think something very surprising is learning that we are a two-party system, especially from the visitors coming from Europe. There are multiple different parties in their legislative bodies, but here in South Carolina, and really America, we have a two-party system.