South Carolina 2026: Tax Reforms, Infrastructure Challenges, and Public Health Crises Reshape Palmetto State Landscape

South Carolina is opening 2026 with a mix of political maneuvering, economic investment, and public health concerns shaping daily life across the state. According to South Carolina ETV, lawmakers return to Columbia on January 13 for the second year of the 126th General Assembly, with Republicans in control of both chambers and public safety, tax reform, and election-year politics expected to dominate the agenda.[10][2] News 19 WLTX reports that a major income tax overhaul that could eventually drive the state income tax rate toward zero remains on the table in the Senate, while legislators also eye faster transportation projects and juvenile crime reforms.[2][9]

New laws are already changing life for listeners. ABC News 4 and News 19 note that liquor liability reforms took effect January 1, easing insurance requirements that bar and restaurant owners said were driving them out of business, and South Carolina’s hands-free driving law will begin bringing penalties for holding a phone while driving later this winter.[5][9]

On the economic front, debate continues over whether the state is helping or hurting small businesses. FitsNews recently published a guest column arguing that South Carolina’s tax structure and incentives favor large corporations while shifting school tax burdens onto small businesses and commercial property owners, raising questions about who is truly carrying the state’s growth.[7] At the same time, workforce and innovation investments are expanding. Spartanburg Community College reports it has secured more than 1.15 million dollars in public and private funding, including 776,200 dollars from the South Carolina Department of Commerce, to build a state-of-the-art clean room at its Spark Center, strengthening training for life sciences and advanced manufacturing jobs.[4]

Infrastructure remains a central concern. The South Carolina Department of Transportation says it has made “tremendous progress” on its 10-year road recovery plan, citing major work at the I-26/I-20 and I-26/I-95 interchanges and interstate widening along 121 miles of corridors, even as inflation erodes gas tax buying power and congestion worsens in fast-growing coastal and urban areas.[3]

Community news highlights both opportunity and strain. Coastal Community Foundation reports a 1.5 million dollar investment in a new Cristo Rey high school campus in North Charleston, designed to serve more than 400 students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds through a college-prep curriculum and corporate work-study model.[8] The University of South Carolina notes its Board of Trustees has formally approved a 65 million dollar renovation phase for Thomas Cooper Library to upgrade life safety systems and modernize learning spaces.[15]

Public health is an urgent storyline. The South Carolina Department of Public Health reports an escalating measles outbreak centered in the Upstate, with 211 related cases, dozens of new infections this week alone, and hundreds of people in quarantine, alongside recent rabies confirmations in a cow in Anderson County and a stray cat in Greenwood County.[1]

Looking ahead, listeners can expect an intense legislative session with Governor Henry McMaster’s State of the State address setting priorities on taxes, infrastructure, and safety, a high-stakes gubernatorial race ramping up toward the June primary, continued debate over a long-stalled hate crimes law, and close monitoring of the measles outbreak and road funding challenges as growth pressures mount across South Carolina.[2][5][10][1]

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