Case Explained: Statehouse Dispatch: March 16, 2026 – Legal Perspective

Last week was Budget Week in the House, and this week Senate budget subcommittees will meet in preparation for the budget debates on the Senate floor April 21-23. The House will be on a furlough this week.

As we predicted last week, some state House representatives attempted to legislate their morality via provisos, or one-year rules in the state budget. Representatives in the South Carolina Freedom Caucus attempted to slash funds to Clemson University because its president was insufficiently mournful about the death of Charlie Kirk, and to reduce funding to Tri-County Technical College apparently because a trans woman used a women’s bathroom on campus.

Fortunately the Freedom Caucus’ efforts were rejected by representatives from both parties, as Joseph Bustos reported in The State. In response to State Rep. Josiah Magnuson of Spartanburg County attempting to cut tourism marketing funds while delivering a theological rant about planets orbiting the “sun of justice,” State Rep. Daniel Gibson of Greenwood announced, “I’m not a smart man, but I’m dumber now than I was 10 minutes ago.”

We’ll keep a close watch on the Senate as its members discuss budgetary matters this week.