SC General Assembly Passes $39 Billion Bloated State Budget

Legislators "found" $1 billion surplus of taxpayer money...and spent that too.

On May 28, 2025, the SC Senate and SC House voted to pass a ginormous budget for FY 2025-2026 that legislators like Sen. Josh Kimbrell are touting as the “most conservative budget in modern history” with a price tag that is over $39 BILLION taxpayer dollars.

This budget includes:

• Spends an extra $1 billion surplus instead of giving it back to the taxpayer

• Taxpayer-funded abortion (This happens in two places: the Health & Human Services budget funds Planned Parenthood and the Public Employee Benefit Authority provides the state health plan that funds abortions)

• Subsidizes college tuition

• Builds $18 million in funding to build a walkway for MUSC

• More than $13 million for Green New Deal USC battery study

• 80% pay increase for legislators

• Funds for the Human Affairs Commission ($6 million and around 60 employees) that openly promotes DEI and is a completely useless quasi-judicial agency

• Over $6 million to the SC Sea Grant Consortium that researches climate change

And so so SO much more…

How The Senate Voted

The SC Senate passed the FY 2025-2026 budget with only three Senators voting against: Senator Wes Climer, Senator Tom Fernandez, Senator Michael Johnson, Senator Mike Reichenbach, and Senator Margie Matthews.

Senator Wes Climer was the lone rebel voice in speaking against the budget right before the vote took place.

The SC House had a little more fight.

How The House Voted

SC Representatives Joe White and Jordan Pace spoke against the useless spending that was found throughout the budget, including the $1 billion of taxpayer dollars that was recently “found” and of course, spent immediately. Watch Representative White’s chilling comments here:

Representative Jermaine Johnson took to X to express his concern over the bloated budget and chided the Republican supermajority for “not having any interest in giving that money back to the citizens”:

Rep. Kathy Landing even spoke about her frustration that legislators would receive an $18,000 pay increase after the House had previously voted against it this past session. She stated that this should happen in the future, but not in this budget. However, Landing voted for the budget when the vote came up.

The SCGOP Legislator of the Year, Rep. Brandon Guffey, spoke on how amazing this year’s budget was and why it should be passed. In the end, the House voted 88-25 to pass the $39 billion dollar budget:

The Full Breakdown

Want to see exactly what your taxpayer money is going towards? Take a look at the full Appropriations Act in all of its glory HERE.

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It is time for a major clean out of the SC General Assembly. Take a close look at how your Senator and your Representative voted. Did they vote for an extremely wasteful budget?

During a time where money is tight and the majority of South Carolinians are barely making a livable wage, your state legislators are misusing the precious dollars out of those wages. When will enough be enough to replace the yes-men in Columbia? Will you and your community do what it takes to save your families and your future generations? Or, are you going to continue to sit by as your elected officials continue to rob you and your children blind as they quite literally line their own pockets?