SC will have $3.5B more to spend. These House members will determine where the money will go

A Greenville County Republican is now leading the South Carolina House’s budget process, which will determine how to spend $3.5 billion in new state money in the coming year.

State Rep. Bruce Bannister was elected Wednesday to lead the Ways and Means Committee, which also has seven new members on the 25-person committee.

Bannister follows former state Rep. Gary Simrill, who chose not to run for reelection, and Speaker Murrell Smith, who are the most recent Ways and Means chairmen.

State Rep. Gilda Cobb Hunter, D-Orangeburg, was elected as first vice chair, and state Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Beaufort, was elected as second vice chair.

The committee will have first crack at how to allocate an estimated $3.5 billion in additional state revenue during the spring’s budget debate for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which begins July 1. About $754 million will be annual dollars, which can be used for ongoing expenses such as employee salaries and benefits.

“We’re going to take care of people instead of programs,” Bannister told The State after Wednesday’s committee meeting. “We’re going to try not to grow government, but the things that we have already running really well, and make sure that our people were compensated appropriately for the work they’re doing.”

Bannister added he expects to continue focusing on infrastructure in the state.

“We’ve done a really good job working closely with (the Department of Transportation), the counties to try to get our road systems in as good a shape as you can. I know bridges have become a significant problem and I expect that to be our focus,” Bannister said.

Committee members will consider how much of a pay increase to give to teachers and state employees, and how much money to send back to individual districts for lawmakers’ pet projects, usually called earmarks.

“We’re looking to stay ahead of the Southeast in terms of law enforcement, teachers (and) state employees to get those in a position that we can remain competitive,” Bannister said.

The 25-person budget-writing committee also has seven new members.

House Speaker Murrell Smith assigned state Reps. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington; Neal Collins, R-Pickens; Leon Howard, D-Richland; Max Hyde, R-Spartanburg; Chris Murphy, R-Dorchester; Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster; and Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, to the committee.

“I think the new members have a lot of talent in different places in the House of Representatives and bring a lot in committee,” Bannister said.

State Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, who was previously was on Ways and Means, moved to the Education Committee, where she was elected chairwoman. And Weston Newton, R-Beaufort, was elected chairman of the Judiciary Committee.