Legislators returned to Columbia on Tuesday to pass the FY26-27 budget. The House passed the spending plan by a vote of 100-17, and the Senate approved it 37-2.
When it comes to roads and bridges, approximately $380 million is going to SCDOT and County Transportation Committees (CTCs).
The budget includes a $50 million allocation from non-recurring general funds for the bridge program. These funds, along with $139.5 million from the Capital Reserve Fund (approved in separate legislation earlier this year), will be used to tackle a growing number of aging bridges statewide.
Additional one-time dollars were provided for a Road Buyback Program ($12.5 million) and litter pickup efforts ($2.5 million) across the state. SCDOT also received a recurring allocation of $750,000 to hire additional encroachment permit engineers.
Local projects received a boost through a $175 million non-recurring allocation for County Transportation Committees (CTCs).
Finally, another small win was a recurring allocation to the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (PRT) for $5.14 million for welcome centers. This expense is something that SCDOT usually has to pay for, so this is good news that they will no longer have to transfer those funds to PRT. Now, this money can be put towards maintenance.
Legislators did not adopt a resolution to establish an earmark review committee. Therefore, no earmarks were addressed in the budget as passed.