| THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA |
| There are six days remaining in the legislative session. |
| THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS |
| The Senate completed its work on the state budget late on Wednesday, April 9. The Senate version is largely unchanged from the Senate Finance Committee’s budget. The specific recommendations impacting Clemson are as follows: Clemson E&G Recurring: $12.2 million in recurring funding for in state tuition mitigation (House recommended $10.2 million) $2 million in recurring funding for Student Experiential Learning (House recommended $2 million nonrecurring) $4 million in recurring funding for the Snow Institute for the Study of Capitalism (House recommended $2.5 million) $1 million in recurring funding for Call Me MISTER (House recommended $1.9 million) $500,000 in recurring funding for the Clemson Energy Center (House did not recommend funding) Clemson E&G Nonrecurring: $40 million in nonrecurring funding for the NextGen Computing Complex (House recommended $13.2 million) *$1 in nonrecurring funding for the Science Lab Building (House recommended $4.3 million) $4 million in nonrecurring funding for Maintenance, Renovation and Replacement (House did not recommend funding) *amount reflects a placeholder to allow for negotiations with the House Clemson PSA Recurring: $600,000 in recurring funding for Statewide Operational and Programmatic Support (House recommended $600,000) $1 million in recurring funding for Food Safety and Nutrition Agents (House recommended $1 million) $500,000 in recurring funding for Critical Vehicles & Equipment (House recommended $500,000) Clemson PSA Nonrecurring: $3 million in nonrecurring funding for Planned Maintenance and Critical Infrastructure (House did not recommend funding) Other Budget Items of Interest: $3.5 million in recurring lottery dollars for College Transition Program scholarships (like ClemsonLIFE). $10 million in recurring lottery dollars for the continuation of the initiative to address the shortage of nursing instructors. Increases the base pay for university employees by 2%. Flexibility remains for universities to reward an average of 2% based on merit for unclassified employees. No increases in health insurance for state employees. Removes language associated with the “cohort” model for tuition mitigation and requires a 0% tuition increase for instate students in order to draw down the state tuition mitigation monies. Clarifies that athletics fees are exempt from the tuition mitigation formula. Increases the tuition waiver amount from 4% to 8%. Requires agencies to eliminate 25% of vacant FTE positions. The budget now returns to the House at which time the House will consider the Senate amendments and offer additional amendments. Traditionally, the budget goes to a conference committee where three House Members and three Senators negotiate details of the final budget. 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. BILLS OF INTEREST The Clemson University Governmental Affairs office is monitoring several bills that have a potential impact on Clemson. A complete listing of these bills may be found here: VIEW BILLS. NEWS & FYI Please follow ClemsonGovAff on Twitter. |
State Legislative Updates
April 28, 2025
