Budget Teed up for Conference Committee 

The House adopted “H2” on Wednesday, amending the Senate’s version of the FY24-25  budget that was returned to them late last month. As expected, H2 differs from the Senate version, and the House also made several changes from the version they originally passed back in March.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville) provided a summary of H2 to members, citing that the changes were intended to set the bill up for conference committee, recognizing that the Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) will likely announce that additional revenues will be available later in the month. (The BEA meets on May 20 to revise estimates.) 

You will recall that the House originally invested $200 million in non-recurring general fund revenues to the state’s bridge program. The latest version reduces that investment to $100 million. They also added several earmarks for local projects.

Chairman Bannister said that the reduction was intended to be temporary, and they would work to get to $200 million during the conference committee process. In addition, he noted the importance of County Transportation Committees (CTCs) which the Senate included allocations for in their budget.

The House reduced the property tax relief from Homestead Exemption (HEX) funds to $150 million. (They initially allocated $500 million in March). The Senate budget provides that $600 million of HEX funds be allocated to various areas, including accelerating income tax cuts and a hefty investment ($417 million) in transportation infrastructure.

While the reduction in bridge revenues may not seem like the best news, it’s important to remember that the budget negotiations are just starting. Pair the use of HEX funds with the likelihood that the BEA could increase revenues by upwards of $400 million later this month; much can (and will) change in the coming weeks. Because of this, Chairman Bannister’s remarks on the floor have us optimistic that infrastructure investments will remain a priority as negotiations move forward.

It was no surprise that when H2 returned to the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee) moved for Senators to reject the amendments so a conference committee could be appointed.

We applaud the legislature’s work in prioritizing infrastructure investments this year. SCFOR will continue to press for $200 million for bridges so that aging structures on primary and secondary routes can be adequately addressed. ($100 million could be used on interstate/primary routes, and $100 million could be used to bundle bridge projects on secondary routes.)  In addition, we will continue to support any additional investments to boost safety and county road programs.

At this point, it ultimately depends on how the use of the HEX funds and revenue estimates shake out in the coming weeks. The good news is that infrastructure remains a line-item priority for conference committee negotiations.