SC Senate’s $12.6B budget gives workers raises, no bonuses

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)– South Carolina’s budget will likely face intense negotiations in the Legislature after Senate budget writers advanced a $12.6 billion plan based on $2 billion in income tax cuts and rebates. The Post and Courier reports lawmakers in the Senate Finance Committee adopted the spending plan unanimously Wednesday. The Senate version doesn’t include the $1,500 one-time bonus for state employees suggested in the House version. Senators also want to raise teachers’ minimum pay to $38,000, compared with the $40,000 proposed by the House. Spokespeople for Gov. Henry McMaster and the Palmetto State Teachers Association say the Senate’s teacher pay proposals aren’t high enough.