COLUMBIA — Pay raises for state employees and teachers, improvements to roads and bridges, and upgrades to prevent a future ballooning in South Carolina’s costs for federal grocery aid are part of a first draft of the next state budget approved Wednesday. The spending package approved unanimously by the House budget-writing committee totals $15.4 billion, […]

COLUMBIA — In a nearly unanimous vote, the House passed a bill Wednesday giving parents more control over their children’s education and medical care, though some who voted for it said they still had concerns. The so-called Parental Rights Act passed in a vote of 116 to 1. Rep. Rob Harris, a Spartanburg County Republican, […]

COLUMBIA — The head of the South Carolina Senate GOP cautioned his fellow legislators on the optics of electing a former member of the General Assembly to the state’s highest court. “Y’all, this looks really bad,” Majority Leader Shane Massey said on the Senate floor Wednesday. In a rare move, the Edgefield Republican directly addressed […]

South Carolina’s economy is growing, evolving, and becoming more competitive every year. As businesses expand and new industries take root, one question determines whether South Carolina continues to thrive: Do we have the skilled workforce to support that growth? A new economic impact study conducted by the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of […]

COLUMBIA — A bill requiring law enforcement in South Carolina to assist federal immigration agents stoked fear among opponents that it could invite them to the state or break trust with police. A House panel did not vote Tuesday on the bill, which would require every law enforcement agency in the state that operates a […]

COLUMBIA — A South Carolina bill that seeks to end recreational sales of nitrous oxide, or “whippets,” advanced to the Senate floor Tuesday after viral videos took a cheap high that’s been around for decades to a new level of misuse. Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a common sedative breathed in through […]

COLUMBIA — South Carolina legislators will allow public colleges to continue concealing what they pay college athletes featured in university sports advertisements and promotions. The Senate voted 30-13 after about 90 minutes of debate Tuesday to approve a bill exempting from public records law details of so-called Name, Image and Likeness payments made to individual […]

COLUMBIA — An effort to overhaul the independent league that oversees middle and high school sports competitions in South Carolina resumed Tuesday as a House committee advanced a bill put on pause last year. The bill getting rid of the South Carolina High School League was on the verge of advancing in the final days of […]

COLUMBIA — A hardline faction of the state House’s GOP supermajority wants to impeach the Democratic chief prosecutor for two Midlands counties. It’s unclear whether legislators even have that authority. So, a House Judiciary panel voted Tuesday to find out. Members of the House Freedom Caucus accuse 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson of misconduct in […]

COLUMBIA — Elliott Mead, 10, is using his $7,500 from the state this year to learn about wildlife conservation and ukulele lessons on top of his core classes, all of which he takes at home. But the Beaufort fourth grader and other students using state dollars for homeschooling should never have gotten that money in […]

Every time a child in South Carolina opens their phone or tablet, they gain access to millions of applications available for download. Parents across the Palmetto State work hard to instill strong values in their children, but the reality is that not every app available at their fingertips reflects those same standards. A 2024 study […]

The bill to shelter millions of dollars in contracts between schools and athletes now pending in the South Carolina Senate is a betrayal. It is a betrayal of a commitment made by the General Assembly to the people of South Carolina more than 50 years ago when in 1972 it adopted the South Carolina Freedom […]

COLUMBIA — Days after a bill requiring social media sites to limit certain features for children became law, a company representing major technology companies sued the state, claiming the brand new law is unconstitutional. Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill, dubbed the Age-Appropriate Code Design Act, into law Feb. 5, following approvals from the House […]

COLUMBIA — Assembly line workers, building maintenance and mechanics who fix factory machinery are projected to be the most in-demand manufacturing jobs in South Carolina over the next five years, according to a study released this week. South Carolina has grown into a manufacturing powerhouse over the past three decades, since German carmaker BMW planted […]

ORANGEBURG — Two men were killed and a third was injured in a Thursday night shooting on South Carolina State University’s campus. The shooting took place around 9:15 p.m. at the Hugine Suites student dormitory on the campus of the public historically Black university in Orangeburg. The two victims who died — Henry Crittington, 19, […]

COLUMBIA — People who create or share images of children being sexually abused could be sent to prison for longer under legislation advancing in the Senate. This week’s unanimous vote by a Senate Judiciary panel comes amid continued allegations by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace that her chief rivals in the governor’s race protect pedophiles — […]

COLUMBIA — Two former state transportation employees are facing charges of taking kickbacks from contractors, the South Carolina attorney general’s office said Thursday. In two separate incidents, James Murray Cooper and Curtis Sims Jr., each face charges of receiving thousands of dollars from contractors working with the state Department of Transportation, according to a news […]

COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster officially endorsed his lieutenant governor, Pamela Evette, on Thursday, as the Republican who can carry his legacy into what he coined the “South Carolina century.” The backing of South Carolina’s longest-serving governor comes four months before voters decide the Republican and Democratic nominees. Evette is among five Republicans and two […]

COLUMBIA — Public colleges in South Carolina could continue concealing what they pay student athletes under legislation moving quickly through the Statehouse amid a lawsuit. The Senate Education Committee advanced the bill to the floor Wednesday without a public hearing. At least two senators — Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey of Edgefield and Sen. Richard […]

South Carolina’s new Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Act marks one of the most consequential shifts in the state’s traffic laws in years, and it deserves both applause and scrutiny. The law’s rollout included a 180‑day warning period during which citations were not issued, but starting on Feb. 28, 2026, citations will be issued. Over the […]