The House adopted their second version of the FY25-26 budget “H2” amending the Senate’s version. As expected, H2 differs from the Senate version, and the House also made changes from the budget 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.
When it comes to allocations to SCDOT, the House maintains the $200 million in non-recurring funds to the state’s bridge program. They reduced the storm recovery allocation (originally $50 million) to $35 million.
They also removed the $9 million allocation for “road safety improvements” and left $1 on the line for litter pickup. (A $1 line item serves as a placeholder for conference committee so the line-item can be negotiated.)
SCFOR applauds the House and Senate for including transportation investments in the budget, and we look forward to the conference committee supporting these critical investments. We will encourage conferees to support the full $200 million allocation and $35 million for storm recovery.
The Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) meets on May 20, which may impact the amount of revenues available for spending. Therefore, we don’t anticipate the conference committee meeting until closer to the end of the month or early June.
Budget Conference Committee
Representatives Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville), Lee Hewitt (R-Georgetown), and Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston).
Senators Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee), Thomas Alexander (R-Oconee), and Darrell Jackson (D-Richland).