The SC Senate budget slashes $2 billion in spending. How did they get there?
In a time when conservative voters are calling for reductions in government spending, the Republican-controlled state Senate found a way reduce the state spending plan in the upcoming budget year.
And the cut is a notable figure of $2 billion.
But how did the Senate cut the budget by $2 billion when the House’s general fund budget is $14.6 billion and the Senate’s is $14.4 billion?
The general fund budget, which sees its revenues from state income and sales taxes, is the part of the spending plan that receives the most attention and garners the most debate among lawmakers.
The state’s overall spending plan also includes authorizations to spend federal and other dollars sent to state agencies for specific purposes.
Last year, the General Assembly approved a $42.2 billion overall spending plan.
For the 2025-26 fiscal year, the House approved a $43.2 billion proposal. The Senate plan is $40.3 billion.
After the Senate Finance Committee adopted its budget proposal, the Senate GOP Caucus released a statement touting the $2 billion cut.
It was praised by hard-line conservative House members in the Freedom Caucus.
“The S.C. House GOP leadership might not understand economics or be able to read a room, but I’m cautiously optimistic that our Senate can,” state Rep. Stephen Frank, R-Greenville, posted on X. “We need to make real cuts to the budget, not just projected spending.”
According to budget documents, the $2 billion in reductions were done through reduced authorizations on spending of federal and other funds.
Senate Finance Committee staff looked at authorization levels and how much had been used by state agencies. Authorization reductions the Senate proposed are due to a program no longer existing or the money associated with it having been reduced.
“Staff implemented a project to look at authorization that’s in the budget, what we expect agencies to spend,” Senate Finance Chief of Staff Quentin Hawkins told senators during a committee meeting April 9.
Among the changes was $343 million less for the Department of Social Services. DSS receives federal dollars for adult protective services, child support, foster care and temporary assistance for needy families.
The Department of Education had $800 million worth of federal authorizations reduced. Most of the money was from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund set up during the COVID pandemic, the department said.
Money was used by schools to help students catch up on learning loss and HVAC upgrades, among other uses related to the pandemic, which has since passed.
The Department of Health and Human Services saw its federal authorization reduced by $90.6 million. However, the agency, which runs the state’s Medicaid program runs a $12 billion budget when including state, federal and other dollars, according to budget documents.
The adjustment is based on expenses coming in under last year’s projections, said HHS spokesman Jeff Leieritz said.
Projections are based on the services offered, expected utilization and number of people on the rolls.
Leieritz said the agency does not anticipate the authorization adjustment to be affected.
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 9:34 AM.
