Gov. McMaster touts economic success, offers hopeful vision for 2025 in annual State of the State address
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster delivered his annual State of the State address Wednesday, reflecting on the economic success of the previous year and offering a hopeful vision for the future.
From the House chamber, McMaster – who became the state’s longest-serving governor Wednesday – detailed the policies and priorities he wants the Republican-controlled legislature to focus on in 2025.
He touted the expansion of several companies, including Boeing and Google, which generated billions of dollars in capital investment and brought thousands of jobs to the state.
Still, he acknowledged the “fierce” competition in the southeast region and pushed lawmakers to advance business-friendly policies.
“Whether it is lower taxes, less regulation, plentiful power, quality education, our natural and cultural resources, a trained and healthy workforce, or unmatched livability – South Carolina’s future prosperity requires that we constantly work to maintain or develop competitive advantages in the ever-accelerating race for new jobs and capital investment,” he said.
He reiterated many of the asks laid out in his executive budget from more money for hurricane relief and infrastructure improvements to accelerated tax cuts.
“This year, I am proposing that we cut the state’s personal income tax rate again, from 6.2% to 6% – allowing taxpayers to keep an additional $193.5 million of their hard-earned money instead of sending it to state government,” he said. “However, we should not stop at 6%. We should keep cutting as much and as fast as we can until we can eliminate the personal income tax altogether.”
He also asked for continued teacher pay raises, more funding for school resource officers, a more streamlined permitting process for businesses, and tort reform.
McMaster further called on legislators to look at ways to meet the state’s growing energy demand, echoing a priority outlined by Republican leadership.
“Our electric generation, distribution, and transmission capacity and capabilities must be able to handle enhanced future economic development, anticipated technological advances, and population growth,” he said.
He advocated for restarting the construction of two abandoned nuclear reactors at the site of the failed V.C. Summer nuclear plant, a possibility currently being examined by Santee Cooper.
“I believe that restarting these two reactors will not only help fuel our state’s future power needs but will also usher in a nuclear power renaissance across the country, one that will spur nationwide investment and construction of new nuclear power generation,” McMaster said.
The governor reupped his request to make two state agencies – the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs – into cabinet agencies, pointing to a review that found South Carolina has one of the “most fragmented and siloed” healthcare delivery systems in the country.
“They are run by a board of commissioners who are accountable to no one – and it’s virtually impossible for a governor to remove them,” McMaster said, referencing the saying: “If everyone is in charge then no one is in charge.”
He urged lawmakers to give the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) additional funding to target and end the “unforgivable savagery” of animal fighting, particularly dog fighting.
Finally, McMaster posed a question as he noted the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War: What will South Carolina look like in 100 years?
“The next hundred years? We’ve answered that question,” he said. “For years we’ve invested billions of dollars in time and talent in education to prepare our children to build their lives and economy. And we’ve invested billions in our lands and waters to protect our health, expand our economy, preserve life in all its forms for its beauty and wonder, our education and joy, and the fulfillment of our duty to nourish the Lord’s Garden.”
Sen. Margie Bright Matthews (D-Colleton) offered the Democratic rebuttal to McMaster’s address, laying out her party’s vision for a “more equitable and prosperous South Carolina.”
“Although the governor has painted a picture of progress, I’m here to share the truth about the challenges our state continues to face as well as the actions and opportunities we cannot afford to overlook if we intend to truly prosper,” Matthews said.
The senator challenged McMaster’s characterization of the state’s economy, arguing it “can’t be as robust” as described due to the $1.8 billion discrepancy found last year that ultimately ended in the resignations of the Comptroller General and Auditor.
At the time Treasurer Curtis Loftis asserted that he knew where the money was, had invested it, and it had generated some $200 million in interest for the state.
But, a recent forensic audit found the money never actually existed and the mystery account was the result of an accounting error.
Loftis has refused to resign.
“Governor, how can our state’s economy thrive if you are not willing to demand transparency and hold the treasurer accountable?” Bright-Matthews asked.
Bright-Matthews, one of only two women in the South Carolina Senate, called for further investments into workforce and infrastructure, protecting consumers from rising insurance costs, and criticized the ongoing effort to expandthe state’s school choice voucher program.
“That’s what one-party domination has gotten us,” she said. “We’re missing billions of our tax dollars. Our schools are underfunded, and our infrastructure is crumbling.”
She concluded with a plea to her fellow lawmakers to engage in bipartisan work this year.
“A government that is by the people and for the people must be accountable to the people,” Bright-Matthews said. “Let’s work together to improve the lives of all South Carolinians and make our state the very best that it can be.”
