THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA
The House of Representatives is on furlough this week and will return to Columbia the week of March 23.
H. 4902, which addresses the release of revenue sharing agreements between university athletic departments and student athletes was vetoed by Governor Henry McMaster. The House and Senate could override the Governor’s veto. We may request your help in contacting your legislators in support of the veto override.
THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS
The House completed its work on the state budget on Wednesday, March 11.
During the House budget debate on Monday, March 9, Representative April Cromer (R-Anderson) offered an amendment that would have eliminated Clemson’s state Education and General funding ($224 million) and would have equated to an increase of over $15,000 per in-state student or a tuition increase of effectively 101%.
After a call to action to the entirety of our Advocates program, but not before floor debate on the amendment, Representative Cromer motioned to table her own amendment and the measure was defeated.
We are very grateful for the leadership of Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville) and Higher Education Budget Subcommittee Chair Nathan Ballentine (R-Richland).
The House budget is largely unchanged from the Ways and Means Committee’s budget. Below is a summary of the items impacting Clemson University and Clemson PSA:
Education & General
$6 million recurring for SC FIRST (Tuition Mitigation)
$1 million recurring for Clemson University National Security Institute
$1.8 million nonrecurring Public Safety
$10 million nonrecurring for NextGen Computing Complex
Public Service and Agriculture
$1 million recurring for Natural Resource Utilization and Planning Institute (NRUPI)
$2.5 million nonrecurring for Infrastructure and Safety Upgrades
The House included several items from the Executive Budget of impact to the University:
$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 instructors in nursing schools
$15 million in recurring lottery dollars for Meeting Street Scholarships
The House included a base pay increase of 2% for state employees.
The House’s version of the budget includes an increase in the cost of health insurance for state employees. The employee portion will be partially paid by the state.
The budget now goes to the Senate Finance Committee which is scheduled to debate the bill the week of April 6.
The Senate Finance Committee continues to hold agency budget subcommittee hearings.
Senate Finance Budget Subcommittees that hear Clemson’s budget requests: Higher Education Subcommittee:
Chairman Ronnie Cromer (R-Newberry)
Senator Darrell Jackson (D-Richland)
Senator Tom Corbin Clemson ’87 (R-Greenville)
Senator Ross Turner Clemson ’86 (R-Greenville)
Senator Tom Young (R-Aiken)
Natural Resources and Economic Development Subcommittee:
Chairman Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) Senator Kent Williams (D-Marion)
Senator Tom Corbin Clemson ’87 (R-Greenville)
Senator Mike Gambrell Clemson ’80 (R-Abbeville)
Senator Stephen Goldfinch (R-Georgetown)
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.
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.
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