24 April 2025
This week, the SC Senate passed their version 2025-2026 budget, which includes a $1.5 million increase to state arts funding.
Background
The House adopted their version of the budget last month with $1.5M in new funding for the SC Arts Commission including:
- $500,000 in recurring funding
- $1. million in nonrecurring (0ne-time) funding
What’s New
The full SC Senate adopted their version of the state’s budget on April 23. That budget included the recommendations made by the Senate Finance Committee, which matched those passed by the House.
- Section 28 (Arts Commission) passed by a vote of 35 – 5
- The full budget bill passed by a vote of 41 -2
Also notable in the budget:
- Leadership in both chambers has agreed to a budget with no member earmarks this year
- Both versions of the budget raise the minimum starting teacher salary to $48,500
- Both versions lower the state income tax rate from 6.2% to 6%
Why it Matters
While the budget did not fully fund the requests made by the SC Arts Commission, any increase to statewide arts funding during a tough budget year is a strong signal of the continued bipartisan support for the arts in the SC General Assembly.
What’s Next
The Senate version heads back to the House who will either concur or non-concur with the Senate. Likely, this budget is headed to Conference Committee in the next two weeks (3 Senators, 3 House Representatives) to work out the differences between the two versions. Technically, session will adjourn for 2025 on May 8th — but budget work is permitted to continue until a budget is passed and signed by the Governor.
