| THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA |
| There are nine days remaining in the legislative session. The House was on furlough last week and returns in statewide session tomorrow. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the nomination of Myra Reece Clemson ’80, Governor Henry McMaster’s nominee to head the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services to the full Senate. THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS The Senate will begin deliberations on the state budget this week. As a reminder, current specific budget 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) $500,000 in recurring funding for Call Me MISTER (House recommended $1.4 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. Recommends increasing base pay for university employees by 2%. Flexibility remains for universities to reward an average of 2% based on merit for unclassified employees. Recommends no increases in health insurance for state employees. 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. |
