Month: January 2026

State Legislative Update

January 26, 2026

THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Governor Henry McMaster will deliver his final State of the State address on Wednesday evening, January 28.

THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS

The House Ways and Means Committee (where the appropriations bill originates) began agency budget subcommittee hearings last week and will continue this process through January.    President Bob Jones and Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations and Chief Financial Officer Rick Petillo delivered Clemson’s Education and General (E&G) budget presentation to the Ways and Means Higher Education Subcommittee on Thursday afternoon, January 22.   On Tuesday, January 27, President Jones, along with Dr. Matt Holt, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences (CAFLS), is scheduled to present the budget requests for Clemson PSA to the Economic Development and Natural Resources Subcommittee.     House Ways and Means Subcommittees that will hear Clemson’s budget requests: Higher Education Subcommittee: Chairman Nathan Ballentine (R-Lexington) Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg) Representative Bill Taylor (R-Aiken)   Economic Development and Natural Resources Subcommittee: Chairman Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston) Representative David Weeks (D-Sumter) Representative Kevin Hardee (R-Horry)   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 direct state funding and are considered self-supporting divisions of the University. Clemson’s state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2026-27: Education & General (Recurring/Nonrecurring) Tuition Mitigation – $24.5M  Clemson University National Security Institute – $20M  Clemson University Energy Center – $5M  Public Safety – $2M    Public Safety – $1.7M  NextGen Computing Complex – $60M  Maintenance, Replacement and Renewal Projects – $25M Science Lab Building Construction – $35M  Clemson Center for Human Genetics – $20M    Public Service Activities (Recurring/Nonrecurring) Natural Resource Utilization and Planning Institute (NRUPI) – $3M  Protecting South Carolina’s Food Sources and Bolstering Agricultural Services – $2.6M  PSA Critical Infrastructure Needs – $4M  Strengthening Statewide Cooperative Extension Programming – $800K    Critical Infrastructure and Enhanced Biosecurity and Safety Upgrades – $18M

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

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State Legislative Update

January 20, 2026

THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA The second regular session of the 126th South Carolina General Assembly convened at noon on Tuesday, January 13. This is the second year of a two-year session which means those bills introduced in 2025 retain their places on the calendar and in committee and are carried over to this year. Each legislative session is held from the second Tuesday in January until the second Thursday in May.    The Senate pre-filed legislation on December 10, 2025. The House pre-filed legislation on December 16, 2025.   “This week, the House of Representatives passed H.4902, which addresses public disclosure related to South Carolina’s Name, Image & Likeness statute. The bill was introduced by Majority Leader Davey Hiott and was passed by the House on Thursday, The bill now moves on to the Senate for consideration. THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS The House Ways and Means Committee (where the appropriations bill originates) began agency budget subcommittee hearings last week and will continue this process through January.    President Bob Jones and Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations and Chief Financial Officer Rick Petillo will give Clemson’s Education and General (E&G) budget presentation to the Ways and Means Higher Education Subcommittee on Thursday afternoon.   On Tuesday, January 27, President Jones, along with Dr. Matt Holt, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences (CAFLS), will present the budget requests for Clemson PSA to the Economic Development and Natural Resources Subcommittee.     House Ways and Means Subcommittees that will hear Clemson’s budget requests: Higher Education Subcommittee: Chairman Nathan Ballentine (R-Lexington) Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg) Representative Bill Taylor (R-Aiken)   Economic Development and Natural Resources Subcommittee: Chairman Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston) Representative David Weeks (D-Sumter) Representative Kevin Hardee (R-Horry)   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 direct state funding and are considered self-supporting divisions of the University.  Clemson’s state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2026-27: On Monday, January 12, 2026, Governor Henry McMaster released his Executive Budget proposal for 2026-27. Below are Clemson E&G and PSA budget priorities for FY2026-27 with the Governor’s budget recommendations highlighted in orange:   Education & General (Recurring/Nonrecurring) Tuition Mitigation – $24.5M (Governor’s recommendation – $8M)  Clemson University National Security Institute – $20M  Clemson University Energy Center – $5M  Public Safety – $2M    Public Safety – $1.7M  NextGen Computing Complex – $60M  Maintenance, Replacement and Renewal Projects – $25M (Governor’s recommendation – $14M)  Science Lab Building Construction – $35M  Clemson Center for Human Genetics – $20M    Public Service Activities (Recurring/Nonrecurring)  Natural Resource Utilization and Planning Institute (NRUPI) – $3M  Protecting South Carolina’s Food Sources and Bolstering Agricultural Services – $2.6M  PSA Critical Infrastructure Needs – $4M  Strengthening Statewide Cooperative Extension Programming – $800K  Inflationary increases in operating costs – $750K (Governor’s recommendation)*    Critical Infrastructure and Enhanced Biosecurity and Safety Upgrades – $18M  Agriwellness Pilot – $100K (Governor’s recommendation)*  Multi-Agency Regional Complex – $3M (Governor’s recommendation)*  EIA funds for Clemson Agriculture Education Teachers – $2.14M (Governor’s recommendation)  *These recommendations were not requested by Clemson PSA.   Recommendations for Higher Education with direct impacts to Clemson: $2 million to fund a systemic review of the state’s 33 public institutions of higher education Proviso for a study of public higher education programs to be managed by the Coordinating Council for Workforce Development to ensure that academic programs offered in public higher education institutions are aligned with current and future workforce needs of the state. $10 million lottery dollars for Nursing Initiative $3.5 million lottery dollars for College Transition Program scholarships for students with special needs (ClemsonLIFE) $15 million in nonrecurring general funds for the Meeting Street College Scholarships  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 X.