THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA
The House of Representatives is on furlough this week. The House will return in statewide session on Tuesday, March 28.
S.314 (Higher Education Permanent Improvement Projects) remains on the Senate calendar for second reading.
S.173, which clarifies language regarding the procedures for promulgating regulations related to Clemson’s plant regulatory services is pending in the House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee.
The State Budget Process
The House of Representatives completed its work on the state budget and the capital reserve fund bill on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. There were no changes adopted for Clemson University so dollar allocations remained unchanged from the House Ways and Means version.
Below is a summary of the items impacting Clemson University:
Clemson E&G
– $13,033,600 in recurring funding for tuition mitigation
– $20 million in nonrecurring funding for maintenance, renovation and replacement
– Not less than $1M in nonrecurring for Rural Health Programming by proviso in the Department of Health and Human Services budget
Clemson PSA
– $2.3 million in recurring funding for Employee Retention and Recruitment
– $1 million in nonrecurring funding for Statewide Program Support
– $954,000 in nonrecurring funding for Problematic Wildlife
– $3 million in nonrecurring funding for the Poultry Science Research Facility
– $2.1 million in nonrecurring funding for Critical PSA Infrastructure and Dam Improvements
The House included several items from the Executive Budget of impact to the University:
– $4.1 million in recurring lottery dollars for students with intellectual disabilities attending college transition programs
– $10 million in recurring lottery dollars for the continuation of the initiative to address the shortage of instructors in nursing schools
– $201 million in recurring lottery dollars for LIFE scholarships, $67 million lottery dollars for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, and $12.5 million lottery dollars for HOPE scholarships
– $51 million in recurring lottery dollars for tuition assistance at 2-year institutions (CHE and South Carolina Technical College System)
– $2 million in nonrecurring funding for a new Alzheimer’s disease research project partnership with Greenwood Genetic Center to be named in honor of Governor Carroll Campbell Jr.
$2500 increase for state employees earning $83,000 and under and a 3% increase for state employees earning over $83,000. The language (in proviso) that allows us flexibility to reward based on merit remains in the bill.
The House’s version of the budget includes an increase in the cost of health insurance and an increase in retirement contributions for state employees and employers. The employee portion of both will be paid by the state. The employer portion of both will have to be covered partially by the university.
The budget now goes to the Senate Finance Committee which is scheduled to debate the bill the week of April 4.
From a state budgeting standpoint, Clemson is considered two separate state agencies: a research university that receives an educational and general (E&G) state appropriation for teaching and student support, and a land-grant Public Service and Agriculture (PSA) division that receives a state appropriation to support agriculture, forestry and natural resource Extension, research and regulatory programs.
The university also has auxiliary operations, such as athletics, student housing and dining services, which receive no state funding and must generate all of their own revenue.
Detailed information on Clemson’s state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2023-24 may be found at these links:
Clemson Education and General (E&G) Priorities
Clemson Public Service and Agriculture (PSA) Priorities
BILLS OF INTEREST
The Clemson University Governmental Affairs office is monitoring several bills that have potential impact on Clemson. A complete listing of these bills may be found here.
NEWS AND FYI
Please follow CU at the Capitol on Twitter. Current news coverage of interest may be found here.